Ethics

School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-- A balanced, thorough, up-to-date perspective on the subject. With a stated purpose of not giving easy answers, but of encouraging young people to find their personal moral codes, Terkel provides an interesting and readable overview that discusses major issues and invites application. An attempt is made to define ethics by tracing its beginnings as unwritten rules. Basic guidelines are provided, and broad and complex issues are divided into smaller, more digestible portions. Specific instances of teens who made a difference are cited, showing that all can take part in making these challenging choices. In an understanding, self-affirming manner, the author gives psychologically sound advice throughout. Endnotes document a plethora of references; a selected bibliography of nonfiction titles and periodical citations complete a useful source. The scope of John Langone's Thorny Issues (Little, 1981; o.p.) is more an application of ethics to complex issues rather than guidelines for life, while James Blake's Common Sense in a Complex World (CSI Pub, 1989) is designed gives specific advice for young adults on the personal/moral choices that accompany life's transitions. --Celia A. Huffman, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland