A History of US: Book 6: War, Terrible War 1855-1865
Grade 6 Up-Hakim tries to show readers the horrors of slavery and the war that ended it, but format and content weaknesses limit the usefulness of this series entry. Short chapters cover an aspect of slavery or the war, or discuss a person or group that played a large role in the era. While some of the stories and portraits make for interesting reading, the overall result may be confusing to the intended audience. The tone of the text is appropriate for YAs, but there is only minimal background about how the disagreement over slavery escalated into war, and there is no clear chronological or thematic order to keep readers oriented. The battles in the western theater are virtually ignored and many people, laws, and events are brought up with little or no introduction. The layout is distracting, with three-to-four photos or illustrations plus quotes or excerpts on each set of facing pages, thus breaking the narrative flow. The book may draw browsers, but it will be of little help to researchers or even to students expecting a good general history of the Civil War. William L. Katz's An Album of the Civil War (Watts, 1974; o.p.) is easier to follow, and many of the titles in "The History of the Civil War" series (Silver Burdett) offer more complete biographical and topical information about various aspects of the crisis.Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MOCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.