Thurgood Marshall

School Library Journal

A well-written, interesting biography that concentrates on Marshall's enduring commitment to civil rights. It opens with his arguments for the NAACP in the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka case, and then offers a fine blend of information about his personal life and career. Aldred shows readers how closely Marshall was linked with much of civil rights progress through his extensive work for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund. Her comprehensive description of many of the cases Marshall argued provides readers with crucial background and shows why those cases were important. She also covers his career in the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. Marshall is presented positively, with little discussion of politics and with an emphasis on his achievements. Quoting both Marshall and others to describe his full life, Aldred succeeds in portraying him as a real person; this is a welcome change from the many biographies that depict one-dimensional figures. A strong book that offers a look at a great man's life and the history of the black civil rights movement in the mid-20th century, and one that should be considered by all libraries. --Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High Sch . , MO