(3) YA People's History series. This informative and entertaining volume recounts the history of American teenagerdom. Originally considered to be "young vagabonds," American teens defined the culture of their times, from the 1920s Jazz Age to the Digital Age of the 1980s and 1990s. The text celebrates the vulnerability and passions of America's youth and its ability to implement change. Well-chosen photographs enhance the presentation. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Ashleigh Finn

(3) YA People's History series. This book examines the history of incarceration from colonial times to the present. Types and severity of crimes, society's changing attitudes toward treatment of criminals, and construction of and conditions in prisons are discussed. The coherent, readable text adequately presents the pros and cons of prisons and prison reform. Archival photographs and illustrations enhance the book. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA People's History series. Imagine picnicking in the shade of a tall tree or snapping a photo of a smiling couple getting married--in a cemetery. Without a hint of morbidity, Greene walks with readers amongst ornately carved headstones and flat lawn plaques in this well-researched volume. Accessible writing, accompanied by sepia-toned photographs, explains how history, art, culture, and beliefs about death intersect in American cemeteries. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(3) YA People's History series. This is a scrupulously researched look at the history of labor unions in the United States, beginning with 1619's first documented strike. Skurzynski keeps readers attuned to the public's evolving view of unions and to the particular experiences of African American, female, and child workers. Black-and-white reproductions shed additional light on groundbreaking struggles for justice. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 People's History series. This book provides a detailed overview of twentieth-century American comics. Krensky explores the histories and backgrounds of key comic book characters and their creators, along with the larger question of the cultural significance of the art form's development. Underground comix and the graphic novel get cursory treatment; the influence of European comics isn't addressed. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) 4-6 People's History series. This informative (though dry) text chronicles the changes in politics, from early colonial life and American independence through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that have resulted in current practices for campaigning and elections. Annotated illustrations, photos, and cartoons support the content. The appended chart of election results provides an interesting way to track changes and trends. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(4) YA People's History series. Beginning with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, Kuhn describes the history and mindset leading to the fierce competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first to send astronauts to the moon. The photographs and page layouts are disappointingly workmanlike, but Kuhn's prose is clear and lively. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 People's History series. Accompanied by sepia-toned images, this solidly written history presents a picture of bold ex-slaves and freedmen taking charge of their lives and their families, determined to not be returned to bondage. Excerpts from slave narratives add authenticity. Includes the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, and the 1875 Civil Rights Act. Reading list, source notes, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) 4-6 People's History series. Thoroughly researched, with numerous quotes from primary sources to add immediacy, this dense but highly readable treatise on the lives of women (including black and Native American women) in colonial America focuses on women's everyday lives and on societal attitudes about women. Sepia-toned reproductions of historical art portray women performing various tasks. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA People's History series. This is a clearly written account of how the Great Depression set the stage for a flowering of the arts in this country. Damon discusses art, literature, photography, film, and drama, as well as FDR's New Deal projects to benefit struggling artists. The text is supplemented by color reproductions of paintings and murals and black-and-white period photos. An annotated list of Depression-era movies, books, and murals is appended. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 People's History series. Illustrated with captioned black-and-white photos, this brief volume covers many milestones of the civil rights movement. The clearly written text shows how the leaders met new challenges and kept disparate groups focused on the same goals until the turning point in Selma. Each chapter opens with a quote or song from the era, and a timeline and a list of websites are appended. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) YA People's History series. A well-researched volume examines the voyages made by whaling ships in the 1800s. Solid prose describes what life was like for the crewmen (and the occasional captain's wife who joined the voyage); explains how whales were hunted and how bone, ambergris, and blubber were harvested; and discusses the end of the industry in the U.S. Quotes from whalers and archival images add authenticity. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) YA People's History series. The author begins her survey of public education with the Latin schools established in the colonies and includes sections on frontier schools, the impact of immigration, and desegregation. She concludes with a brief discussion of computers and virtual classrooms. This overview contains many interesting facts but jumps too quickly from one subject to another. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) YA People's History series. A well-written overview of American women's struggle for equal rights from colonial times, when outspoken women were accused of witchcraft, to the present. Although this subject can't be done justice in so few pages (only the last chapter discusses feminism's second wave and beyond), there's much to be learned from the book's anecdotes, celebrations of lesser-known feminists, and sepia-toned photos and drawings. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) YA People's History series. Whitman adeptly traces changes in the American diet and methods of food preparation, starting with the earliest immigrants and Native Americans and concluding with the controversial use of genetic engineering. Interspersed with black-and-white archival photos, the informative text explores advances in farming, the advent of supermarkets and packaged foods, and the effect of class and status on food choice. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Anne St. John