(4) K-3 Blazers: Gross History series. This volume examines areas that made life unhygienic, difficult, and often risky during the Colonial period, including inadequate housing, moldy food, lack of plumbing, deadly diseases such as small pox, and poor personal hygiene. Sidebars extend the text with word definitions and additional "Gross Facts." Illustrations add interest and heighten the "grossness," but the splatter- and stain-like graphics are a bit much. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Blazers: Gross History series. This volume presents a brief history of Golden Age pirates, focusing on their ships' dangerous and squalid conditions. The swashbucklers suffered from unhealthy hygiene, spoiled food, filthy clothing, dangerous lifestyles, and severe punishment for wrongdoing. Sidebars extend the text with word definitions and additional "Gross Facts." Illustrations heighten the "grossness," but the splatter- and stain-like graphics are a bit much. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Blazers: Gross History series. This book briefly relates the unhealthy living and working conditions of the Middle Ages. Examples include lack of sanitation, poor hygiene, spoiled food, dirty cities, and medical ignorance. Sidebars extend the text with word definitions and additional "Gross Facts." Illustrations add interest and heighten the "grossness," but the splatter- and stain-like graphics are a bit much. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg