Book Reviews



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TOP OF THE….
Top 10 Standout Selection 2009
WALL STREET JOURNAL


Top 5 Adult Books for Young Adult Readers
BOOKLIST 2009 EDITORS’ CHOICE


Top 5 Biographies 2009
NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO


Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2009
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“Ms. Reisen is a master story-teller” - WASHINGTON TIMES
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“Reisen’s rich empathy never falters…heart-rending” – PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY


“A deliciously palatable biography of the iconic writer whose life was “as full of plot and character as any [she] invented.”- KIRKUS REVIEWS


“Reisen’s cinematic eye brings Louisa to whirling life as a coltish, fearless girl of “explosive exuberance” and sharp intellect,” – BOOKLIST [starred review]
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“Fans will adore Harriet Reisen’s sympathetic biography Louisa May Alcott. With charming verve, she details Alcott’s remarkable if difficult life (1832-1888).” – USA TODAY
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“a biography as vibrant as its subject” - VOGUE


“Reisen portrays Alcott’s life with precision and sympathy…compelling … highly recommended” - LIBRARY JOURNAL
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“[Her life] is richly examined in Ms. Reisen’s full and vivid portrait.”- MELANIE KIRKPATRICK, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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“full of humanity, heart, and soul”… - WINONA RYDER, PRODUCER AND STAR OF LITTLE WOMEN


“A marvelous book, impossible to put down, …rich in affecting scenes and colorful anecdotes …and the historic backdrop… of 19th century New England. “- BUFFALO NEWS
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“Harriet Reisen’s Louisa May Alcott captures the grit and grace notes of the hardscrabble life and eventual fame of the Little Women author. When not writing books, magazine pieces, journal entries, and letters, Alcott tended Civil War soldiers, traveled, and taught. Her story equals—maybe bests—her beloved book about the lively March sisters.”- ELLE


“Harriet Reisen’s Louisa May Alcott is terrific. Reisen’s lifelong fascination with Little Women and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcott’s own life. Alcott is shown here as the energetic, imaginative, wild, risk-taker she was. Alcott as writer is kept firmly center stage. The utterly compelling force of Alcott’s personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldn’t put it down.”- ROBERT D. RICHARDSON, BIOGRAPHER OF WILLIAM JAMES, RALPH WALDO EMERSON, AND HENRY DAVID THOREAU


“Anyone who has ever read and been charmed by Little Women should pick up this book on a rainy morn with cookies and a hot cup of tea. Reisen proves that she is a seasoned biographer, taking time to carefully and thoroughly distinguish between the writer and the individual. The May/Alcott family histories display superior research and provide a fine prologue to the mood-filled, vibrant story of Louisa May Alcott. “- SACRAMENTOBOOKREVIEW.COM


“Harriet Reisen is to be congratulated for her fine work on Louisa May Alcott, which is brilliantly researched and brings to light significant new information on the author of Little Women. Beautifully and sympathetically written, her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.” - JOHN MATTESON, PULTIZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF EDEN’S OUTCASTS: THE STORY OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT AND HER FATHER