But as a balanced portrait of a tragic civil war, it is simplistic and opaque.

"After the Fire" does not purport to be a full or balanced portrait of Amish life.

American critics praised the book as a thorough and balanced portrait of Jung's ambition, arrogance and original thinking.

Hayakawa desperately sought to show a more balanced and fair portrait of Asians.

We can only hope your readers go to Merridale's splendid book to get a balanced portrait of these men, who saved this planet from fascism.

The question, he said, is whether they are effectively using their clout to bring to the screen more balanced portraits of black life.

What it usually is not is a writer's balanced portrait of the lived life - a publicly recognizable representation of career, marriage, family and relationships.

We wanted to present a balanced portrait.

He also hoped "to present a more balanced portrait of certain people with whom my relationships were at times adversarial."

Still, Bair has presented a balanced, full-blooded portrait of a tremendously flawed and divisive figure.