The Big Moo

Starred review from February 9, 2004
In this photo biography, Robinson (Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By
) offers an affectionate profile of her father who, she writes, "taught me to flip pancakes, hit a baseball, question political leaders, solve problems, and keep promises." The author's concise history of race relations in the United States enables youngsters to understand the underpinnings of the "segregated world" into which Robinson was born and the racism and injustices he encountered throughout his private and professional life. Especially intriguing is the author's incisive explanation of why her father was selected in 1947 as the individual to "pioneer the integration of Major League Baseball"; her discussion provides insight into the man's abilities and determination on and off the field. The volume's abundance of family photographs and reproductions of Robinson's letters to his wife and children amplify the highly personal nature of the narrative. The author notes that her parents encouraged her and her brothers to "measure our lives by the impact we had on other people's lives." Here she clearly, often eloquently, gauges the enormous impact Jackie Robinson had on so many lives as father, husband, athlete and crusader for justice and equality. Ages 9-12.

October 3, 2005
Godin derived the title for this engaging anthology of business homiletics from his marketing manifesto Purple Cow, which extolled the importance of garish new products that grab customers' attention. Phrased as a feel-good kindergarten platitude ("you are not ordinary/In fact, you're remarkable"), the principle seems a harmless nod to fancy-free individualism. But set in an adult business context of constant "change" and cutthroat price competition, where "winning the game has absolutely nothing to do with hard work and paying your dues" and "a constant stream of industry-busting insights and remarkable innovations" is the only guarantee of survival, the exhortation to uniqueness becomes terrifying and demoralizing. Fortunately, the cacophony of unsigned contributions from a "Group of 33" writers (Malcolm Gladwell and Tom Peters are in there somewhere) includes more reassuring and realistic lessons. There's a lot of New Economy histrionics ("They say, 'sure, we need change'"/ "I say, 'we need revolution now'"), but also comparatively restrained parables about marketing and customer service. Some writers note that competent imitation of proven ideas is often a better strategy than innovation, that self-effacing Bill Murray did better than self-aggrandizing Chevy Chase, and that, yup, hard work and paying your dues does pay off. The selections are for the most part brief and pithy, and while they don't add up to a coherent viewpoint, browsers are bound to find something that hits a chord.

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