From Publishers Weekly
Prominent American men and women, whose accomplishments range from politics to poetry, are scrutinized in this intriguing, unorthodox collection of essays by award-winning historian Ward ( Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt ). He delights in pointing out little-known attributes and foibles of these folk, and the good or bad influences they have exerted on our lives. Lillian Hellman is placed in his "Bad Men and Liars" category, along with Roy Cohn, Alger Hiss and presidential assassins Booth and Oswald. Confederate General Lee's status as a national hero, Ward asserts, is due largely to his peacemaking role, which brought his soldiers back into the Union. FDR, descended from a China opium trader, is described here as a passionate ornithologist whose pack-rat habits led to the establishment of his presidential library at Hyde Park, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA-- Thumbnail sketches of several heroes and villains of American history from Harry Truman and Mark Twain to John L. Sullivan and Billy the Kid. Ward has culled some of the best of his book reviews and biographical essays, mostly from American Heritage , to offer some brief, entertaining profiles of American personalities that should not only please and inform YA readers but, in many cases, pique their curiosity about these figures.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
