Barbara Jordan (Black Americans of Achievement)

Gr 7 Up-- Tracing Jordan's life from her birth into a poor but striving black family in Houston, Texas, to her role on the House Judiciary Committee investigating the Watergate scandal, the authors present a clear picture of Jordan's life. Her surprise retirement from politics in 1978 to become a professor at the University of Texas and her self-imposed seclusion from the media make her a mysterious and largely unknown figure outside of Texas at present. But her accomplishments as a black American and as a female need to be known, and this book is a good vehicle. Although not flashy or fictionalized, there is enough human interest to hold YAs' attention. The black-and-white photographs break up the text and add sufficient data. The information is presented well, and a sense of Jordan's personality, integrity, determination, and outstanding oratory is evident. The list for further reading is a mixed bag of young adult and adult titles, but they won't daunt readers who want to explore this woman and her era at greater length. With only a few biographies of Jordan available, this is a good one to add to that usually sparse young adult biography/black history section. --Kathryn Havris, Mesa Pub . Lib . , AZ

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