While Hussein, Arafat, and bin Laden attempt to provide unbiased biographies of controversial figures, Powell is an adulatory look at the Secretary of State. The books cover childhood and early influences but do not go into much detail about the current "war on terrorism." Some of the photos aren't relevant to the text. Reading list. Bib., ind. [Review covers these A & E Biography titles: Saddam Hussein, Colin Powell, Yasser Arafat, and Osama bin Laden.]

Gr 6-10-The popular television show Biography has generated print treatments of people in the news. These topical titles cover both the personal and political lives of these leaders. Each author maintains a high level of objectivity given the sensitive and controversial subject matter. Personal anecdotes and psychological insights are woven into the story of how these men rose to power and what they have done, or in Hussein's case, did, to maintain it. All three books are current through the spring of 2003. (Hussein ends with a paragraph noting the unraveling of the Iraqi regime and the missing dictator.) Each book has black-and-white and color photos.-Carol Fazioli, formerly at The Brearley School, New York City Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.