Harlem Renaissance Artists and Writers.

Beckman, Wendy Hart.  Harlem Renaissance Artists and Writers.     Enslow  2014      112p  $31.93  ISBN 978-0-7660-4165-3  ms/hs series: Inspiring Collective Biographies   Biography   VG  

This collective biography portrays the lives and contributions of ten of the most influential contributors to the Harlem Renaissance.  Each of the ten brief chapters succinctly presents the background, childhood, education, and influence of one important person.  The text is accurate and well written, and the short but concise chapters provide information to young readers without overwhelming them.

In addition to the informative text, the book has a great deal of visual appeal.  The graphics and black-and-white photographs enhance the text and represent the time period while they support the professional presentation of material.

This newly republished edition of the 2002 Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance will engage young readers.  It is also a useful resource as it contains a table of contents, chapter notes, lists for further reading and a comprehensive index.

This is one book in the Inspiring Collective Biographies series. There are currently eight titles in the series. 

Summary: A collection of biographies about ten of the most influential African-American people that contributed to the Harlem Renaissance through art, literature, poetry, and music.        

Harlem Renaissance                                    --Virginia McGarvey

Innovators of American Jazz.

Mour, Stanley I.  Innovators of American Jazz.  Enslow      2014  112p  $31.93  ISBN 978-0-7660-4166-0  ms  series: Inspiring Collective Biographies  Biography  VG-BNS 

Jazz is considered by musicians to be the one true American form of music. Here is a collection of brief biographies that follow the history of jazz from its more popular inception, in the age of Scott Joplin, to Wynton Marsalis. Ten distinguished jazz musicians are discussed in chronological order, following the path of jazz through the twentieth century.  Each biography discusses the personal life and musicality of the musician, placing each in historical context.  Black-and-white photographs appear throughout.  The chapter notes and bibliography found at the back of this book clearly illustrate the depth of research that went into its writing.  Also of value for any jazz aficionado is the discography, also found at the back of the book.  

The six titles in this series of collective biographies are all well researched and documented, and written with enough depth of information that they will be very good research resources as well as leisure reading for interest alone.     

Summary: Jazz is considered by musicians to be the one true American form of music. Here is a collection of brief biographies that follow the history of jazz from its more popular inception, in the age of Scott Joplin, to Wynton Marsalis.     

Jazz musicians                                              --Lynn Fisher

Pioneering American Computer Geniuses.

Northrup, Mary.  Pioneering American Computer Geniuses.     Enslow  2014  112p      $31.93  ISBN 978-0-7660-4167-7  ms/jr  series: Inspiring Collective Biographies  Biography  VG-BN 

This volume is an update to Northrup’s 1998 text entitled American Computer Pioneers, and it contains a great deal of new information given the remarkable growth of computer technology in the past fifteen years.  In this accessible and informative text, readers are presented with biographical sketches of thirteen American innovators in the realm of computer science, moving through history from Herman Hollerith and John von Neumann to Marc Hannah and Marc Andreessen.  Naturally the best-known innovators like Grace Hopper, the Steves (Jobs and Wozniak), and Bill Gates are not overlooked, but they are not given undue attention either. Each biography is approximately ten pages in length, with some entries combining subjects that were known for their collaborations, like Jobs and Wozniak.  They include black-and-white photographs of the subjects, which do not enliven the text.  As with most Enslow publications, the book contains further reading suggestions and an index, but the expected higher reading level is indicated by the presence of scholarly chapter notes at the end of the text.  This book is great as a starting point for reports and contains the right kind of information to spark curiosity, as well as explaining the subjects’ contributions without using technical jargon.

The six Inspiring Collective Biographies cover a variety of topics, from American jazz to World War II generals, at a 5th to 9th-grade reading level.     

Summary: Brief biographies of thirteen American innovators in the realm of computer science bring the past history and present story of computers to life in this accessible and informative text geared toward readers in grades 5-9.

Computer scientists, Inventors                        --Bethany Geleskie