From School Library Journal
Kathleen A. Nester, Downingtown High Ninth Grade Center,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
Gr. 6-8. Each of these serviceable studies in the Historical American Biographies series imparts a relatively detailed overview of its subject's life, works, distinctive outlook, and character. Of the two, Thoreau makes drier reading, as McCarthy is given to name-dropping and extraneous details. He does, however, include a discussion of Thoreau's enduring influence, along with brief passages that capture the flavor of his writing, and refreshingly frank descriptions of him by contemporaries. Like Thoreau, Remington is presented as a maverick with a yen to wander, who died young and at the height of his creative powers. But unlike Thoreau, he was an outgoing, robust sort, who achieved almost immediate fame as soon as he turned to art full-time. Both books are sturdily supported by endnotes, plus lists of print and Web resources, but their black-and-white illustrations of old photos and prints are poor in quality, and Remington mentions many works that are not illustrated at all. Despite the weak visuals, both biographies do a good job of illuminating key figures in our cultural history. John Peters
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