From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-An adequate if somewhat dry biography of the talented actor/social activist. Cruz follows Juli 's life from his boyhood in Puerto Rico to his career as a Broadway and Hollywood actor of international renown and his activities as a committed humanitarian. A chronology of the actor's career and a selected list of his theater and film credits are included. Oddly, there is also a list of seven books for further reading, only two of which have anything specifically to do with the subject. Four are collections of Shakespearean tales and the fifth is a collection of scenes and monologues from Hispanic, Asian, and African-American plays. As a resource for students hoping to familiarize themselves with the works of the Bard, this list might have some value. As a list of titles for further reading on the actor, it reeks of the kind of padding one might expect from its intended audience, not its author. Most of the black-and-white photographs are a little fuzzy and some are so dark they verge on being unrecognizable. Also, one passage bears a close resemblance to the 1982 Current Biography entry but no note of this source appears in the 10 pages of chapter notes. Still, Juli 's life is a compelling story of a man who achieved success, yet avoided the many excesses of celebrity.-Herman Sutter, Saint Pius X High School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
