YALSA 2015 Hub Reading Challenge, Update #1

Even knowing that the YALSA Hub Reading Challenge was coming up, I still managed to get a late start with most of the list. Luckily, I've already read the Morris and Nonfiction selections, so I should be able to catch up. I'm only reviewing one book this week. This book is what set me so far behind! Even though there were many elements that I SHOULD have connected with, I simply couldn't get into it. I checked it out from the library in January and forced myself to finish it today. I'm not sure why it was such a difficult read for me, possibly because I have very little background knowledge about the information presented. Here's my review.  

Ida M. Tarbel: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business--and Won! by Emily Arnold McCully

Ida Tarbell was a successful investigative journalist at a time when most women did not work outside the home. Despite the fact that she herself was not a "typical" woman of the day, she did not support the right of women to vote. Her investigative work helped to shine a light on the dirty business tactics of John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil.

While this book is well-researched and written, it just never really grabbed me. I think it's because I'm not all that interested in this particular period in history. That said, McCully's book would be an excellent resource for students looking for quality research about the social and political landscape of the early 1900's.