The Industrial Revolution: A History in Documents (Pages from History)
Grade 10 Up–Frader presents the development of the Industrial Revolution through a complex mixture of documents and narrative. After a general introduction on how to read documents for context as well as content, she begins each chapter with an overview of the topic, followed by a combination of her own words in bold or as captions and primary documents. The author introduces and places in context letters, diaries, government reports, laws, songs and poems, association statements, newspaper articles, posters, paintings, illustrations, and photographs of artifacts. The widely varied and fascinating black-and-white illustrations have good resolution and are an integral part of the narrative. The author emphasizes the socially complex results of the Industrial Revolution, including the great hardships the new labor force experienced. She concludes with an afterword in which she balances the negative with the positive social changes that have resulted from the new technologies that, through improved means of production, transportation, and communication, have brought about rising living standards, and the expansion of leisure–not only for the middle class, but for workers as well…. Frader's style is clear and easily readable; however, the complexity and variety of the sources that constitute the total narrative make this a challenging though intriguing text for high school students. The time line at the end provides useful guideposts of significant events. A list of further reading arranged by topic completes the work.–Judith V. Lechner, Auburn University, ALCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.