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Worth, Richard
41 Reviews
(3)
4-6
Americans--The Spirit of a Nation series.
From heroes and heroines to bandits and beloved American icons, these balanced titles consistently sort fact from fiction and confirm each figure's place in history. First chapters successfully introduce the subjects and draw readers in by describing dynamic events. Archival photographs, maps, primary sources, and sidebars combine with dry but informative texts to complete these well-documented biographies. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Americans--The Spirit of a Nation titles: Jesse James, Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Billy the Kid, and Johnny Appleseed.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(3)
4-6
America's Living History series.
Archival photographs, maps, and sidebars combine with dry but informative texts to provide introductions to voting rights or prohibition. Highlighting key events and figures, these titles portray the historical periods, the movements' successes and failures, and their lasting impacts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these America's Living History titles: Women Win the Vote and Teetotalers and Saloon Smashers.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(4)
YA
Modern World Leaders series.
This series, part history and part biography, challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership by placing the featured individual in a historical context. Each title includes childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology. Captioned photographs provide additional perspectives and break up the intimidatingly dense texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Ehud Olmert, Felipe Calderón, Roh Moo Hyun, and Kim Jong Il.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(3)
4-6
Deadly Disasters series.
This book gives a straightforward account of the Virginia Tech shootings, one of the worst days of violence on a college campus in American history. The sequence of events, profiles of pertinent figures, and related topics such as gun control are all discussed. Photographs of the killer, victims, and survivors lend chilling immediacy. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.
Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee
(4)
4-6
From Many Cultures, One History series.
Worth discusses Puerto Rico's culture and its relationship to the United States. The text is broad but accessible, offering insight into the island's history under Spanish rule, the transition to American occupation, and the island's emergence as a U.S. commonwealth. The useful information is supported by sidebars and well-captioned photographs. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.
Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett
(3)
4-6
America's Living History series.
Archival photographs, reproductions, maps, and sidebars combine with vivid texts to provide comprehensive introductions to the featured historical event or movement. Highlighting key figures and focusing on the human experience, these engaging volumes vividly bring their time periods to life. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these America's Living History titles: Alamo and The Harlem Renaissance.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(3)
YA
Football Superstars series.
When his family moved from Chicago's South Side to the suburbs, young Donovan encountered prejudice. His parents had an answer: respect others. Fans of McNabb will enjoy this honest portrayal of a man known for his football skills, his Campbell's Soup commercials, and his commitment to community. Quotes from coaches, friends, and family, in addition to vivid action photographs, add interest. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind.
Reviewer: Nancy Hull
(4)
4-6
Latino-American History series.
This series provides a general overview of Latino American history, with each book sketching out significant events over a particular period of time. The volumes are accessibly written, though information about notable figures is unevenly presented. "Fast Fact" boxes, sidebars, maps, and captioned archival reproductions and photographs enhance the books' design and extend the main text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Latino-American History titles: The Spanish Conquest of America, Fighting for American Values, Struggling to Become American, Spanish Settlement in North America, Creating a New Future, and Independence for Latino America.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
(3)
YA
Asian Americans of Achievement series.
These volumes discuss the lives and achievements of some noted Asian Americans. An abundance of facts are included in each book, in addition to some fascinating personal details and histories of the native countries of each subject's family. The books also include dynamic photographs and sidebars with further information. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Asian Americans of Achievement titles: Amy Tan, Bruce Lee, Daniel Inouye, Margaret Cho, Vera Wang, and Yo-Yo Ma.
Reviewer: Barbara Barstow
(4)
YA
Modern World Leaders series.
With the same foreword in each book, this series challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership by placing the featured individual in a historical context. Each title includes childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology. Captioned photographs provide additional perspectives and break up the dense texts. Reading list, timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Thabo Mbeki, Hu Jintao, Angela Merkel, Ali Khamenei, and Michelle Bachelet.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(3)
YA
Voices from Colonial America series.
These books offer thorough, well-documented information about the struggles and successes of early colonial settlers and settlements. Sidebars of primary source materials, biographical sketches, and other cultural data are embedded in each book's matrix of historical context. Many reproductions of period illustrations and some photographs of period documents and maps with relevant captions are included. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Voices from Colonial America titles: Connecticut, Maryland[cf], South Carolina, and New France.
Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian
(4)
YA
Rulers of the Middle Ages series.
These volumes introduce four personalities of the Middle Ages, each of whom had a profound impact on his or her own time and on history. Decorative borders and some papers, maps, and reproductions reinforce the particular nature of the historical period. Plenty of subheads break the narrative into manageable chunks. The writing, though clear, is unexciting. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Rulers of the Middle Ages titles: William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc, and Saladin.
Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn
(4)
YA
Modern World Leaders series.
By placing the featured leader in a historical context, this series, part history and part biography, challenges the reader to consider the concept of leadership. Each book features a comprehensive discussion of the subject's childhood experiences and rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and ideology. The text is dense; some photographs and drawings help break up the pages. Reading list, timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Hugo Chávez, The Saudi Royal Family, Pope John Paul II, Vladimir Putin, and Pervez Musharraf.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(4)
4-6
American Saga series.
The texts of these fact-laden volumes are broken up with multiple design features, including chapter subheads, sidebars, photographs, and archival reproductions. Because they lack narrative energy, the books, which shed light on significant periods in American history, are best used for report research. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these American Saga titles: The Transcontinental Railroad and Western Expansion, The Industrial Revolution, The New Deal, and Colonial America.
Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn
(4)
YA
American Rebels series.
The books offer accounts of the lives of these legendary musicians, writers, and actors. Although the authors spend considerable time on the subjects' early lives and career highlights, a concluding chapter in each book helps explain their lasting appeal and fame. The pull-quotes are well chosen, but more photos would have helped break up the dense-looking text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these American Rebels titles: Kurt Cobain, James Dean, Jimi Hendrix, and Jack Kerouac.
Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang
(3)
YA
Great Hispanic Heritage series.
These biographies provide substantive portraits of their subjects: Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to travel in space; Martí, the poet and a hero of Cuban independence; and Huerta, a union activist who fought for the right of farm workers. The well-documented texts effectively combine anecdotes, quotations, and historical details. Many photographs, some drawings, and sidebars are also included. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Hispanic Heritage titles: Ellen Ochoa, José Martí, and Dolores Huerta.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(4)
4-6
Slavery in American History series.
Judicious middle school researchers may find some interesting tidbits in the source documents collected in these books, but most readers will find the books dull. Archival illustrations accompany the texts. Each volume contains a timeline, chapter notes, selected readings, and additional resources. Glos., ind. Review covers these Slavery in American History titles: The Politics of Slavery, African-American History from Emancipation to Today and Slave Life on the Plantation.
Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson
(3)
4-6
Slavery in American History series.
These books offer accounts based on facts, figures, and personal narratives (of the enslaved, enslaver, and historical observer) that illustrate the economic foundations and ethical, religious, and legal responses to slavery. Black-and-white illustrations and excerpts from primary source documents support the readable texts. Timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Slavery in American History titles: Abolitionists and Slave Resistance, The Rise and Fall of American Slavery, and The Slave Trade in America.
Reviewer: Christina Dorr
(3)
YA
Spiritual Leaders and Thinkers series.
The subjects of these report-oriented biographies of religious leaders will be of varying interest to young people. The feature that sets these apart from other biographies are the appended primary source documents in most of the volumes, including the text of Luther's Ninety-five Theses and the Dalai Lama's Nobel acceptance speech. Chronology, reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Spiritual Leaders and Thinkers titles: Martin Luther, Thomas Merton, Mary Baker Eddy, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Dalai Lama.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(4)
YA
Women in Medicine series.
Four of these text-heavy books follow the same format: an initial dramatic scene; eight to ten chapters of text; chronological approach; a section of black-and-white photographs following chapter three. Mahoney is more a history of African American nursing than a biography, as there is little known about the subject. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Women in Medicine titles: Margaret Sanger, Mary Eliza Mahoney and the Legacy of African-American Nurses, Karen Horney, Rita Levi-Montalcini, and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.
Reviewer: Gail Hedges
41 reviews
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