From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10 A well-written, sympathetic biography of the leader of our nations' bloodiest slave revolt60 whites were killed by the insurgents in 1831, and 200 blacks lost their lives in the ensuing terror. Bisson creates an excellent background to Turner's life, describing not only the daily life of a slave, but also how it felt to have no control over one's destiny. The violence of Turner's revolt is toned down a bit for the younger audience, without losing the chaotic emotions behind it. In addition to the loss of life, Bisson points out that the revolution shattered the notions "that the slaves would not, or could not, fight for their freedom," and that "blacks were happy as slaves and would submit forever to be beasts of burden." Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Library Binding
edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. This new edition of a profile originally published in 1988 adds quoted passages, boxed essays on related figures such as Frederick Douglass and Toussaint L'Ouverture, and a short list of Web sites to a lightly edited version of Bisson's perceptive, analytical text. The illustrations, nearly all from nineteenth-century sources, are mostly replacements. There are considerably fewer than before (thus accounting for the reduced page count), but many are now in color. The fresh design and modest amount of new -material add up to a welcome new lease on life for this volume in the essential Black Americans of Achievement: Legacy Edition series. Similarly recast editions of
Marcus Garvey and
Jesse Jackson are listed in the Series Roundup, on p.980.
John PetersCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
