   | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 05/01/2014 *Starred Review* This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the watershed summer of 1964, when civil rights workers flooded into some of the most socially oppressive areas of Mississippi. These student volunteers opened schools, registered voters, and promoted positive reform. Set against the backdrop of the puzzling disappearance of three of these young volunteers (known by the FBI case file as “Mississippi Burning”), Rubin’s crackling narrative chronicles the work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee amid threats by the Ku Klux Klan. It’s no surprise, coming from Rubin, that this reads like suspenseful—and almost unbelievable—fiction, filled with courageous characters, shocking turns of events, and potent emotion. Fascinating and copious details are drawn from the author’s personal interviews with key figures, oral histories, and primary documents, all meticulously sourced in the back matter. Design is the sole weak spot: nonglossy pages and spreads of unadorned text are not especially welcoming. The photographs themselves, though, are well chosen, as are the reproductions of leaflets, reports, and papers, all of which bring vivid life to the events and speak to the human aspects of history. An educator’s guide available on the publisher’s website offers countless more leads for deeper research and lesson-plan inspiration. This well-researched and heartfelt work covers every angle, thereby honoring the brave inroads made by activists a half century ago. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. School Library Journal - 05/01/2014 Gr 9 Up—Fifty years after the Freedom Summer murders, this meticulously researched, compellingly told account covers an incredible moment in history. Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney were three young civil rights workers who decided to work for the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to confront bigotry in Mississippi and register African Americans to vote. They left for Meridian, accompanied by student volunteers from across the United States, (where only 6.4 percent of eligible African American voters were registered.) Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney were killed by Klansmen after being arrested. Their deaths deepened the conviction of the others and served to engender incredible strides in the forward momentum of the civil rights movement. This work gives a real sense of the time and place, the issues and the opposing sides, and the impact on the nation. Including myriad period photos and drawings, facsimiles of reports and records, meticulous source notes, an extensive bibliography, picture credits, and an extensive index, this title is the epitome of excellent historical reporting, with the human element never forgotten.—Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2014 Everyone knew that heading into the deep South to urge disenfranchised blacks to claim their right to vote would be fraught with danger. The 1964 Mississippi Summer Project organizers, drawn from a coalition of civil rights groups, trained their fresh-faced volunteers to withstand beatings and cautioned them to have bail money pre-arranged. The possibility of death, acknowledged but still remote, turned to reality when three volunteers-Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman-were arrested, released, ambushed, murdered, and buried on June 21st, when the project had barely begun. Rubin’s account of the infamous Mississippi summer skillfully follows two intertwined threads: the murders and subsequent investigation, with its crafty maneuvering on both the local and federal levels; and the Project’s full-speed-ahead implementation of education programs and community centers, with the group’s focus on literacy, civic engagement, and ultimately, voter registration. The expansive cast of characters may be a bit overwhelming, but the wealth of intimate family photos, scenes of local activity, and line and watercolor sketches by observer Tracy Sugarman help put faces to the names and make the high stakes for both residents and volunteers all the more tangible. Extensive back matter, also illustrated, includes a timeline, document reproductions, source notes, bibliography, pictures credits, and index. EB - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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