Don Nardo
Author of Migrant mother : how a photograph defined the Great Depression
About the Author
Don Nardo has written many books for young people. He specializes in history and loves writing about ancient civilizations.
Image credit: GoodReads
Series
Works by Don Nardo
Assassination and Its Aftermath: How a Photograph Reassured a Shocked Nation (Captured History) (2013) 37 copies
The Split History of the Women's Suffrage Movement: A Perspectives Flip Book (Perspectives Flip Books) (2014) 20 copies, 1 review
Braving the New World 1619-1784 from the Arrival of the Enslaved Africa : From the Arrival of the Enslaved Africans to the End of the American Revolution (1994) 17 copies
Lords, Ladies, Peasants and Knights: The Role of Class (Lucent Library of Historical Eras) (2006) 12 copies, 1 review
The Golden Spike: How a Photograph Celebrated the Transcontinental Railroad (Captured History) (2015) 10 copies
The Declaration of Independence: A Model for Individual Rights (Words That Changed History) (1999) 10 copies
Mummies, Myth, and Magic: Religion in Ancient Egypt (Lucent Library of Historical Eras) (2005) 9 copies
Arts, Leisure and Entertainment: Life of the Ancient Romans (Lucent Library of Historical Eras) (2004) 9 copies
Artistry in Stone: Great Structures of Ancient Egypt (Lucent Library of Historical Eras) (2005) 7 copies
Philosophy and Science: The Pursuit of Knowledge (Lucent Library of Historical Eras) (2004) 6 copies
The Industrial Revolution's Workers And Their Lives (Lucent Library of Historical Eras) (2009) 6 copies
Hubble Deep Field: How a Photo Revolutionized Our Understanding of the Universe (Captured Science History) (2017) 5 copies
Miguel de Cervantes: Novelist, Poet, and Playwright (Signature Lives: Renaissance Era) (2008) 4 copies
Freedom Fighter: William Wallace and Scotland's Battle for Independence (Taking a Stand) (2010) 4 copies, 1 review
The Theory of Evolution: A History of Life on Earth (Exploring Science: Life Science) (2009) 4 copies
The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt: Confronting the Great Depression and World War II (The Greatest U.S. Presidents) (2014) 3 copies
Julius Caesar: Roman General and Statesman (Signature Lives: Ancient World) (2008) 3 copies, 1 review
The Industrial Revolution: Social and Economic Effects (Lucent Library of Historical Eras: Industrial Revolution) (2009) 2 copies
The Rise of the Roman Empire 1 copy
Exploring Celtic Mythology 1 copy
King Arthur 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1947-02-22
- Gender
- male
- Education
- home schooled
Syracuse University
Worcester State College - Occupations
- historian
composer
writer - Short biography
- Don Nardo is a historian and award-winning writer who specializes in the ancient world, especially the civilizations of Greece and Rome. He taught high school for eight years, while writing part-time, before devoting himself to his research and book-writing full time. In the past two decades, he has published nearly 200 volumes on diverse historical topics. And having earned numerous favorable reviews, he is widely recognized as the country's leading writer of historical works for young adults. Mr. Nardo also composes and arranges symphonic music and writes screenplays and teleplays.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Columbia, Missouri, USA
- Places of residence
- Natick, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA
Mashpee, Massachusetts, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Migrant Mother: How a Photograph Defined the Great Depression is the second title I've read in the "Captured History" series (after Little Rock Girl 1957), and I really can't say enough about this series. It's amazing! The photographs, of course, are stellar, but the text is just as compelling. Migrant Mother focuses on the photographs of Dorthea Lange, the Farm Security Administration photographer who took the title photograph, an almost-missed opportunity that would later become one of the show more most iconic pictures of the Great Depression. It starts out telling of the event from Lange's point of view, explaining how her spur of the moment decision to visit the pea picker's camp came about. Next, the author backs up a bit to explain the Great Depression itself, focusing especially on the plight of migrant workers, in both pictures and text in a way that is very accessible to young readers. The background of the "mother", Florence Thompson, is discussed (ironically, Lange never knew the identity of her subject. She died of cancer before Thompson's identity was revealed to the country at large.) Then the author takes us into a closeup of the six photos--their sequence, composition, and what Lange was probably trying to achieve with each. (An interesting sidebar discusses the "thumb contraversy"--apparently, for the final and most famous photo, Tompson felt the need to brace herself by grasping the tent pole in front of her as she rested her chin in her right hand. Consequently, the thumb of her left hand became visible in the foreground when the picture was developed. Lange's boss thought the thumb added to the composition, but Lange disagreed and had it airbrushed out. Now I've got to know--does the photo in my school textbook have the thumb, or no? I've got to head back to school and check it out.) The journey of Lange's photographs continues the story--their publication, the impact they had on both the public and the government (which sent 20,000 pounds of food to the camp; however, Thompson and her family had already moved on) and their continuing influence today, including the fact that the image was used on a U.S. postage stamp. Lange's career as a photographer is highlighted, and Thompson's later life is discussed. One of her daughters, Katherine, was also interviewed for the book--Katherine was one of four daughters also photographed by Lange. The book wraps up with a timeline showing the pertinent U.S. and world events as well as those in the lives of Thompson and Lange. Altogether this is a well-written, informative, and thought-provoking book that would be a great addition to any library. show less
Serviceable, but way too teleological. The people, the locations, the theories, the schools, all that is good. But with every instance of an ancient Greek cosmological or physical hypothesis that has some superficial resemblance to what we moderns know and the originating philosopher gets an implied gold star for being "almost right".
This book gets points for bringing together some of the greatest minds in science to discuss the topic of evolution. It loses points for the mealy-mouthed comments of the editor, who manages to make it sound like there really is a true controversy among scientists about evolution. He presents it as though there is a balanced argument on both sides, and hey, we can't know for sure, so can't we all play nice? This is not an accurate look at the issue, and many of the speakers he brought in on show more the side of "not evolution" demonstrated their lack of understanding of evolutionary theory. True to the spirit of every story has two (equal) sides, he managed to make it sound as though the proponents of evolution were merely giving their "opinion". This was OK in the early chapters, when he was just looking at the beginning of the controversy, and it could still be debated rationally whether evolution had, in fact, occurred. In the latter portion of the book, moving from the Modern Synthesis to the 21st century, this becomes less acceptable, as the commentary on the articles is misleading and gives the reader permission to say, hey, I have a different idea, and my idea is equal to evolution, because there really isn't any evidence, is there? Except, of course, there is. Lots of it. And this book does a disservice to that evidence by watering it down with timid commentary that points you in the direction of believe what you want, it's all good. Not a bad look at the history of the controversy; but not a very good discussion of the current state of the "controversy", which exists only outside of science, where people are ill-informed by books like this one. show less
A reasonably well-written book marred by poor editorial choices. Most appropriate for YA, where available, due to the sophistication of the writing. "Difficult" words, which are designated so more or less arbitrarily are glossed in many quotations with an ugly bracket system. The quotations are taken from translations of original sources and the works of more or less contemporary historians.
Presents the history of classical Greece as a gradually deepening conflict between the two cities of show more Sparta and Athens, with the Persian Wars as a fairly brief interruption. The conflict, presented this way, seems analogous to WWI, as a network of alliances dragged more and more allies into the war. As in WWI, the adversaries were evenly matched and had effective fighting forces, so the war dragged on and on, with great suffering over a deal of the Mediterranean. Eventually, exhausted, both formerly great powers were defeated by the Macedonian king, Philip.
Also covers the Athenian campaign in Egypt. show less
Presents the history of classical Greece as a gradually deepening conflict between the two cities of show more Sparta and Athens, with the Persian Wars as a fairly brief interruption. The conflict, presented this way, seems analogous to WWI, as a network of alliances dragged more and more allies into the war. As in WWI, the adversaries were evenly matched and had effective fighting forces, so the war dragged on and on, with great suffering over a deal of the Mediterranean. Eventually, exhausted, both formerly great powers were defeated by the Macedonian king, Philip.
Also covers the Athenian campaign in Egypt. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 494
- Members
- 3,932
- Popularity
- #6,431
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 55
- ISBNs
- 892
- Languages
- 1