Great Lives from History

Gr 5 Up—The 800 essays presented here succinctly outline the lives, experiences, and accomplishments of African Americans who contributed to fields such as art, education, literature, music, and science. The selections, which are approximately two to four pages each, quickly and effectively provide important and interesting facts about their subjects. The strength of the set is the breadth of information offered and the high number of figures included. The coverage spans centuries and describes high-profile people such as Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks and individuals who are perhaps lesser-known, such as Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and sociologist Kenneth Clark. The clearly written, accessible essays open with dates of birth and death and areas of achievement and are divided into three parts—early life, life's work, and significance—and are followed by further-reading lists. Sidebars, a pronunciation key, and (in most entries) captioned, archival black-and-white photographs are included. The material is easy to navigate, given the alphabetical table of contents in each volume and multiple indexes in volume five. Although this is not an ideal set for in-depth, lengthy research, it is great for quick reference and/or for supplementing longer biographies for reports.—Rita Meade, Brooklyn Public Library, NY