Walt Whitman

This young adult biography of Walt Whitman was wonderful. The nature of young adult biographies allows reasonable depth into a topic without getting too theoretical or complicated. You get some neat facts and a relatively simple timeline. This biography chronicles Walt Whitman's entire life, outlining his relationship with each of his family members, his shaky job history, and his numerous revisions of Leaves of Grass, his poetic masterpiece. Walt Whitman showed the world it was okay to not use meter, rhyme or line breaks in his poems. He also showed his acceptance of all races and classes, abolishing slavery, and homosexuality in his poetry. Walt celebrated his love for all humans, all of humanity, for Abe Lincoln, and for the wounded soliders he nursed in the Civil War. This book is inspiring, and shows how Walt Whitman is an inspiration to all Americans.

Ms. Reef is a superb writer who has captured the essence of what Whitman was about. Writing of this quality is not often found.