Whistle-Blowers

January 1, 2015

Gr 5 Up-This book looks at the most famous cases of whistle-blowing in the recent past. Doeden starts off by examining what kinds of protections have been put in place over time to help protect whistle-blowers from potential threats to their jobs or personal safety. Each chapter includes a different whistle-blower, such as W. Mark Felt, aka Deep Throat; Jeffrey Wigand, who exposed the risks of tobacco and nicotine; Kathryn Bolkovac, who outed sex trafficking within the UN Peacekeeping Corps; Mike McQueary, a key witness in the Penn State child sex abuse; and Edward Snowden, who exposed the extensive surveillance by the National Security Agency. Because the author presents the cases from the perspectives of the whistle-blowers themselves, the book is somewhat biased in their favor, though there are some sidebars that present other views of the story (particularly with Snowden). Full-color photographs abound, and each image is well captioned, with additional information not found elsewhere in the chapter. There are also brief introductions to related films and books. At under 100 pages, the book is a little light for the intended audience, but there are few other works that cover this topic. A useful purchase.-Heather Massa, East Rockaway Public Library, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2015
Doeden makes the effort here to bring whistleblowing out of the seamy shadows and describe its role.It may be a new word, but whistleblowing is no new phenomenon; the Continental Congress acknowledged the citizen's duty "to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds and misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge." Of course, this brings up the age-old question of who is spying on the spies or, even more vital: to whom does a whistleblower give the information? Doeden makes it clear that whistleblowing is a selfless deed, one that may well have implications for the whistleblower down the road, including exile, as those in Washington wrangle over whether Homeland Security trumps the First Amendment when it comes to "misconduct, frauds and misdemeanors." As Doeden shows, nearly one-third of the states do not have laws protecting whistleblowers' "rights to report illegal activity [as] part of a philosophy of social obligation...when it could prevent or reduce harm of suffering." To illustrate his case, he draws a number of sharp vignettes (accompanied by photographs) of whistleblowing importance: Enron, the Jerry Sandusky scandal, Watergate, FBI withholding of crucial 9/11 information; Edward Snowden's story leads everything off. A keen challenge to received opinions for high schoolers to chew long and hard upon. (Nonfiction. 13-18)

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March 1, 2015
Grades 7-10 The first chapter of this succinct book notes that although the term whistle-blower dates from the 1970s, the practice is much older. One of the first laws protecting whistle-blowers was passed during the Revolutionary War, after American sailors petitioned the Continental Congress to stop the torture of British prisoners of war aboard their ship. The description of this historical precedent sets the stage for accounts of twentieth and twenty-first century whistle-blowers. These include the role of Mark Felt (Deep Throat) in the Watergate scandal, corporate executive Jeffrey Wigand's revelations about the tobacco industry, Kathryn Bolkovac's exposure of human-trafficking corruption among U.N. peacekeepers in Bosnia, and Edward Snowden's release of classified documents collected by the National Security Agency. Attractive page design and well-chosen color photos enhance the appeal of the clearly written text. In addition to telling what happened in each case, Doeden reflects on matters such as the complex motivations of individual whistle-blowers and the degrees of risk that they were willing to take. This thought-provoking volume will fill a gap in many library collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)