This biography of a lesser-known president is intriguing and timely. Quirk touches briefly on the private scandals and negative aspects of Lyndon B. Johnson’s life, then outlines his childhood and rise to the presidency. Her focus is his pivotal role in civil rights legislation and she talks about his relationship with colleagues and other politicians, as well as his personal convictions and choices. She’s not afraid to touch on parallels to current events and voting rights issues surfacing today and tells the story of Johnson’s life in a brisk narrative that will hold the interest of young history buffs.
The last chapters of the book deal with the Vietnam War and Johnson’s legacy and this is something I’ve been particularly looking for as I’ve been getting requests from teachers for the Cold War era but there is not much solid nonfiction for middle school during this time period.
Verdict: An interesting, readable, and unique biography, this is an excellent addition to most collections especially if you serve middle school students or have kids interested in the evolution of voting rights and politics in the US.
No comments:
Post a Comment