James Baldwin

School Library Journal

Gr 8-12-- Two attractive volumes, each of which contains at least one black-and-white photo on almost every double-page spread, all of average to good quality. Margins are wide and photo captions, for the most part, are relevant. The first chapter of each volume relates a dramatic incident or turning point in the subject's life, while the actual biography starts in the second chapter. Richard Wright has a slightly more personal approach, but both biographers do an excellent job of relating how their subjects' reactions to the racial events of their times affected their writings. Both books are well written and informative. --Rosie Peasley, Sylvan Union Sch . Dist . , Modesto, CA