Langston Hughes

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-These updated editions have new information boxes, more attractive covers, enhanced photographs, and referrals to Web sites that provide further information. By necessity, Rhodes emphasizes King's life as the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. While this aspect of her life is important, even critical, she is much more than the spouse of a Civil Rights icon. The format change creates a more humanized portrait of a woman whose public persona is one of faithful wife and keeper of the flame. Rummel explores Hughes's development as a poet, his maturation as a social critic, and his constant struggle to earn a living through his art. Photographs help readers better place the narrative in the social and cultural times in which he lived. If the book has a fault, it may be the portrayal of Hughes as a perpetual optimist, when, in fact, he seemed to have constantly been on the verge of abject poverty. There is no mention of his homosexuality. Both books should be solid additions to most collections.-Carol Jones Collins, Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.