Ida M. Tarbell was one of the first investigative journalists. Her work as a reporter for McClure’s Magazine and her interest in taking on the unsavory business practices of John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil changed journalism and business practices both. This fiercely intelligent woman who was working in a field largely dominated by men didn’t consider being female a barrier, and perhaps that is why she did not embrace or support, as logic seems to dictate she would, the suffrage movement and its fight for women’s right to vote. For Tarbell, there was no contradiction although it’s a puzzle that author Emily Arnold McCully openly considers, and readers will, too. As McCully states in her author’s note, “Ida can still be admired, but she also has to be explained. That’s what I set out to do in this book.” The lengthy biography will have limits to its appeal but offers insight into both Tarbell herself and the times in which we live today. (Age 14 and older)