50 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR

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50 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR

Name: 50 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR
Author: John D. Wright
ISBN: 978-1-68297-157-4

From the 50 Things You Should Know About… series

by John D. Wright ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2017

It’s the details that grab readers’ attention here instead of the big picture.

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This series entry delivers exactly what the title says.

There is nothing surprisingly new in Wright’s gathering of United States Civil War facts, and most of the material centers on slavery and battles. The book is mostly laid out in page-long spreads, built up of colored boxes of highlights, an eye-catching collection of artwork, and a timeline running along the foot of the page. Various characters receive modest attention: generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, John Brown, Andrew Johnson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and, of course, Abraham Lincoln throughout. Signal battles, technology, and political maneuvering are also touched upon. Where Wright will capture readers is in the details: torpedo boats, code breakers, giant mortars ferried by railroad cars, “Sherman the Destroyer,” the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and Native Americans brought to prominence (Confederate Gen. Stand Watie, Grant’s secretary Ely S. Parker, the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters). The result is a historical narrative that is not so much disjointed as scattershot, with a concentration of activity surrounding the famous battles and sieges and a gradual disbursement of information as readers move away from the fighting. The end may be a collection of fairly unrelated politics and artifacts that prove to be the most captivating of all.

It’s the details that grab readers’ attention here instead of the big picture. (thumbnail bios, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-68297-157-4

Page Count: 80

Publisher: QEB Publishing

Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY

EXCLUSION AND THE CHINESE AMERICAN STORY

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EXCLUSION AND THE CHINESE AMERICAN STORY

From the Race to the Truth series

by Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.

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An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.

Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.

Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: March 26, 2024

ISBN: 9780593567630

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HISTORY

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GIVE ME LIBERTY!

THE STORY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

by Russell Freedman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

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If Freedman wrote the history textbooks, we would have many more historians. Beginning with an engrossing description of the Boston Tea Party in 1773, he brings the reader the lives of the American colonists and the events leading up to the break with England. The narrative approach to history reads like a good story, yet Freedman tucks in the data that give depth to it. The inclusion of all the people who lived during those times and the roles they played, whether small or large are acknowledged with dignity. The story moves backwards from the Boston Tea Party to the beginning of the European settlement of what they called the New World, and then proceeds chronologically to the signing of the Declaration. “Your Rights and Mine” traces the influence of the document from its inception to the present ending with Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The full text of the Declaration and a reproduction of the original are included. A chronology of events and an index are helpful to the young researcher. Another interesting feature is “Visiting the Declaration of Independence.” It contains a short review of what happened to the document in the years after it was written, a useful Web site, and a description of how it is displayed and protected today at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. Illustrations from the period add interest and detail. An excellent addition to the American history collection and an engrossing read. (Nonfiction. 9-13)