Jefferson Davis

School Library Journal

A disappointing entry in an established series. The focus is on the president of the Confederacy, a West Point graduate and former U. S. Senator who led the South during the Civil War. The book opens ominously, with Davis on his way to Montgomery, Alabama, for his inauguration, aware that the ``South's situation was not as bright as he indicated.'' King then digresses to Davis' youth and early life on a Mississippi plantation, and descends to the use of stereotypes of Southern men: ``courtly,'' ``spiritual descendents of medieval knights,'' and ``impulsiveness.'' Other than that, the coverage of Davis' life before the war is thorough and informative. The chapters on the Civil War itself are just brief overviews, covering the most important moments. In the final chapters, on Davis' post-war life and his importance during the Civil War years to the Southern states, the book again loses impact due to King's editorializing. Although there are several good biographies of Davis available for an adult audience (especially that by Clement Eaton Free Pr, 1977), this is one of the few suitable for a younger audience. --Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN