Data di nascita: 1907
Data di morte: 1975
Sesso: female
Nazionalità: USA
Luogo di nascita: Denver, Colorado, USA
Luogo di residenza: New York, New York, USA
Istruzione: University of Colorado
University of Illinois
Attività lavorative: children's book author
young adult writer
radio scriptwriter
Breve biografia: Robin McKown, née Clason, was born in Denver, Colorado. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She worked for several years for a publicist in New York. She also wrote newspaper columns on contemporary authors and their work and scripts for CBS radio. In World War II, she volunteered to raise funds to help support survivors of those killed in the French Resistance. She was a prolific writer who published more than 40 works for children and young adults from the late 1950s through the 1970s. Many of these were biographies of famous people such as Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, Thomas Paine, Eleanor Roosevelt and others.

Utenti

Recensioni

Seven famous trials in history di Robin McKown

5473. Seven Famous Trials in History, by Robin McKown (read 24 May 2017) This is an unpretentious book, published in 1963, and telling of seven trials: (1) Socrates in 399 B.C. which ends in his being found guilty by a vote of 280 to 220 and his being required to drink hemlock; (2) Joan of Arc, the most unfair and doleful one in the book ending in Joan being burned at the stake; (3) Galileo, in 1633, an unhappy event which was not reversed till 1885 and was denounced by Pope St. John Paul II, (4) Peter Zenger in 1733, a triumph for justice; (5) Robert Emmet in 1803, a sad event made memorable by Emmet's stirring address to the court before he was sentenced to be hanged, (6) Dreyfus, in the 1890's and early 20h century, which finally ended right--recalling for me the excellent books The Affair by Jean-Denis Bredin (read 29 Mar 1986) and Dreyfus: A Family Affair, by Michael Burns (read 6 June 1992); and (7) the Nuremberg trial in 1945-1946. Not a bad book to read.… (altro)

Segnalato

Schmerguls | May 24, 2017 |

GIANT OF THE ATOM ERNEST RUTHERFORD di Robin McKown

Scientific biography of Ernest Rutherford, a very important figure in the history of atomic theory.

Segnalato

MartyBriggs | Jun 11, 2014 |

The World of Mary Cassatt. (Women of America) di Robin McKown

Having recently read I Always Loved You, an historical novel about the relationship between Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas, I was eager to learn more about Cassatt and her contemporaries. I came across this book among donations made to our country library. It is a most interesting read and reveals so much more about Cassatt than the fictional account. It covers her entire life and provides greater historical perspective of life in both Europe and the US during the late 19th and early 20th century. This book also contains photographs of many works by Cassatt and other artists of this period. I thoroughly enjoyed it (much more than the novel) and would highly recommend it.… (altro)

Segnalato

Jcambridge | May 30, 2014 |

Girl of Madagascar di Robin McKown

This is a decent enough if not extraordinary story about a young Malagasy girl who defies the odds and becomes an excellent nurse in a difficult environment. It's set in the 1960s, just after Madagascar became independent from France. Though the protagonist, Sahondra, is in her twenties through most of the story, I think this has a more "young adult" tone than an "adult" feel.

Although it wasn't very literary, I liked this book well enough but for one thing: It's overly didactic. The characters are constantly slipping in facts about Madagascar and its history into their dialogue, to the point where they often sound like encyclopedias. For example, Sahondra's uncle remembers how he met his wife, who came from a different tribe: "Naturally I sought her out. Only to discover that she was Sakalava! You know about the Sakalava -- a tribe of valiant warriors whom our Merina ancestors never were able to subdue." I can't imagine actual Malagasy people talking to each other like that.… (altro)