John Hancock: A Signature Life (Book Report Biographies) [Library Binding]

Philip Koslow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Book Report Biographies

Recounts the life of the colonial statesman, merchant, and patriot who became prominent during the American Revolution.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531114295
• ISBN-13: 978-0531114292
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Hancock, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: John Hancock: A Signature Life (Book Report Biographies) (Library Binding)

This is a very good resource for John Hancock. It tells a complete story of his life. In the story John seems like a very interesting character. I suggest teachers use this for there students.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to Life & Times of John Hancock, August 15, 2008

By 

Christopher A. Harris (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Hancock: A Signature Life (Book Report Biographies) (Library Binding)

This slim book (100pgs of main text) serves as a nice introduction to the subject either for 'young adults' or, err... not-so-young adults.

The chapter titles are as follows:

1. "Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land"

2. The Making of a Merchant Prince

3. The House of Hancock

4. Boston on the Boil

5. The Revolution Begins

6. Fighting for Freedom

7. Victory

8. Forging a Nation

Koslow's approach is a pretty straightforward, chronological one -- always best for a biography, in my opinion. The book has good info on Hancock's family, education, and early career. But, not surprisingly, it concentrates on his participation in the early colonial protests in the mid-1760s thru early-1770s, his involvement in the First & Second Continental Congresses (including being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence), and through the American Revolution. It also discusses Hancock's governorship of Massachusetts, his part in getting the new U.S. Constitution ratified, and finally his death in 1793. Various areas of his personal life (e.g., marriage, kids, sickness, business problems) are interwoven throughout.

Koslow's writing style is quite fluid and readable for his intended audience. Only a couple of times did I notice him repeating something unnecessarily. I also only caught one or two typos, which is not bad, though they should have been caught by a copy-editor.

There are no endnotes, which I suppose is typical for such a short, youth-oriented book. There is a 'Chronology' of Hancock's life at the end of the book, as well as 'A Note on Sources' and a list 'For Further Reading', which should prove helpful for further research, and a brief index. There are several black-n-white reproductions of paintings, documents, etc., which I really appreciated, but they weren't too large or too many as to overwhelm the text. Nicely done.

Content: 4

Style & Structure: 4

Average: 4