Medical Causes

School Library Journal

Gr 5-10These books discuss the deeds and concerns of celebrity activists with respect to social action. Each volume begins with a message from the Celebrity Outreach Foundation pointing out the American tradition of philanthropy and the attention prominent media figures can bring to a charity or organization. Environmental Causes describes how musicians and actors such as Sting, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Chevy Chase, as well as politicians and businessmen, including Al Gore, Ted Turner, Ben Cohen, and Jerry Greenfield, support the efforts of groups ranging from the Rainforest Foundation to Mothers and Others for a Livable Planet. Greenpeace and Earth Communications Office rate sections of their own. Medical Causes, organized by issue rather than by occupation, highlights the contributions of stars such as Paul Newman, Jerry Lewis, and Mary Tyler Moore to pediatric medicine; Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John to AIDS issues; Linda Ellerbee, Richard Karn, and Larry Hagman in the fight against cancer; and Mandy Patinkin, Muhammad Ali, and Christopher Reeve on behalf of other medical research. Organizations such as The Starlight Children's Foundation are also mentioned. Full-color and black-and-white photographs of the people involved illustrate each article, and quotations from the subjects appear regularly. The repetitive format and undistinguished prose might deter casual readers but the books could be useful for research.Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC