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A review by jenbsbooks
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History by Sharon McMahon
3.5
I liked this ... didn't love it. 3.5 stars. I'm not sure how much I'll really remember. Honestly, I've not heard of Sharon McMahon, not one of her millions of fans. My SIL read (and really enjoyed) this, so I put it on my list (it IS Non-Fiction November so it fit right in). I guess my main issue was that it seemed to jump all over the place. It says this is about 12 people? I feel like it featured 30+ ... including a heroic pigeon (who was a little too anthropomorphized for comfort in a book that is considered nonfiction).
The Table of Contents is broken into seven parts, with several chapters in each: Angel of the Rockies, The Next Needed Thing, America the Beautiful, Forward Out of Darkness, An Orientation of the Spirit, Go for Broke, Momentum. There is also an introduction and a conclusion.
While the title indicates 12 people spotlighted, there are more than that who get a chapter attributed to them (14) and MANY more people who are talked about a lot, even without their name making it into the table of contents ...
Clara Brown
Virginia Randolf
Katharine Lee Bates
Inez Milholland
Maria de Lopez
Rebecca Brown Mitchell
Anna Thomas Jeanes
William James Edwards
Julius Rosenwald
Booker T Washington
Daniel Inouye
Norman Mineta
Claudette Colvin
Septima Clark
I appreciated learning about history. I went with the audio, and the author narrated and she was good ... if a little OVER. It really did sound like she was talking directly to YOU/the reader, or an audience in a Ted Talk (with as much animation, there was a lot). Very conversational as she would indeed talk directly to the reader/audience. While audio is so much easier for me (I have more ear time than eye time) I wonder if I'd retain a bit more if I read it myself, took some notes? There was just SO much information. Like [book:A Short History of Nearly Everything|21] ... it was good, I felt like I learned ... but will I remember? Really? Perhaps a tidbit, some recognition if a particular topic comes up, but I just don't know how much will actually stick with me.
This reminded me (especially with the concentration on women) of the She Persisted series for middle schoolers (expanding on the elementary picture book). I have really only read one, [book:She Persisted: Nellie Bly|55835954], and while the latter is definitely aimed at a younger audience, it had a very similar feel.
One benefit to the reading/Kindle copy, is the note/references, which I didn't follow on many, but just seeing them here and there reinforces the research.
It was first person (the author refers to herself here and there) but felt like 3rd person (past tense) for most of it, as she was telling other's stories. Clean// no language/sex, some violence.
The Table of Contents is broken into seven parts, with several chapters in each: Angel of the Rockies, The Next Needed Thing, America the Beautiful, Forward Out of Darkness, An Orientation of the Spirit, Go for Broke, Momentum. There is also an introduction and a conclusion.
While the title indicates 12 people spotlighted, there are more than that who get a chapter attributed to them (14) and MANY more people who are talked about a lot, even without their name making it into the table of contents ...
Clara Brown
Virginia Randolf
Katharine Lee Bates
Inez Milholland
Maria de Lopez
Rebecca Brown Mitchell
Anna Thomas Jeanes
William James Edwards
Julius Rosenwald
Booker T Washington
Daniel Inouye
Norman Mineta
Claudette Colvin
Septima Clark
I appreciated learning about history. I went with the audio, and the author narrated and she was good ... if a little OVER. It really did sound like she was talking directly to YOU/the reader, or an audience in a Ted Talk (with as much animation, there was a lot). Very conversational as she would indeed talk directly to the reader/audience. While audio is so much easier for me (I have more ear time than eye time) I wonder if I'd retain a bit more if I read it myself, took some notes? There was just SO much information. Like [book:A Short History of Nearly Everything|21] ... it was good, I felt like I learned ... but will I remember? Really? Perhaps a tidbit, some recognition if a particular topic comes up, but I just don't know how much will actually stick with me.
This reminded me (especially with the concentration on women) of the She Persisted series for middle schoolers (expanding on the elementary picture book). I have really only read one, [book:She Persisted: Nellie Bly|55835954], and while the latter is definitely aimed at a younger audience, it had a very similar feel.
One benefit to the reading/Kindle copy, is the note/references, which I didn't follow on many, but just seeing them here and there reinforces the research.
It was first person (the author refers to herself here and there) but felt like 3rd person (past tense) for most of it, as she was telling other's stories. Clean// no language/sex, some violence.