Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up
In the time that Sharpton has been on the public stage, he has drawn a great deal of controversy, so it is a pleasure to read a biography of him that is both objective and dispassionate. This volume chronicles his life from his early years in Brooklyn as a boy minister, through his street activism, to his run for the presidency of the United States. In between, the man's connections to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and James Brown are explored. The text is clearly and simply written. The plentiful, informative, color and black-and-white photographs will help students get a better sense of Sharpton's life and times. A time line links milestones in the subject's life to significant world events, a stratagem that gives a wider political and social context. Joining Hal Marcovitz's work of the same title (Chelsea House, 2001), this biography dwells less on the reverend's civil rights causes and more on his development as a leader and as a person.
—Carol Jones CollinsCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.