A mostly satisfying mix of history and geography for the curious armchair traveler.
A broad picture of roads and trails from many parts of the world and many eras.
Richardson highlights roads, trails, and routes that played important historical roles, from the land bridge Beringia, the route by which the first people may have traveled from Asia to North America, to the Ho Chi Minh Trail (1959-1975), now the Ho Chi Minh Highway in Vietnam (begun in 2000). In addition, this book makes stops along the Roman roads in Britain, the Inca roads in South America, the animal migration route in the Serengeti plains, the Khyber Pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the Spanish pilgrimage route el Camino de Santiago, the Chilkoot Trail through the Alaska Coast Mountains, and Depression-era Route 66. Each chapter opens with a map (readers will wish for more detail), introductory data including name, age, description, “Claim to Fame,” and “Who Uses It Now?,” and an illustrated, one-page, unnecessary fictional story to set the scene and engage readers. The informational parts of each chapter, with their accompanying photos (unfortunately uncaptioned), are ably written. Carefully distinguishing between hypothesis and fact in the Beringia chapter and elsewhere, the author does an excellent job of helping readers understand the current relevance of many of these routes.
A mostly satisfying mix of history and geography for the curious armchair traveler. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55451-876-0
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Logically pointing out that the American cowboy archetype didn’t spring up from nowhere, Sandler, author of Cowboys (1994) and other volumes in the superficial, if luxuriously illustrated, “Library of Congress Book” series, looks back over 400 years of cattle tending in North America. His coverage ranges from the livestock carried on Columbus’s second voyage to today’s herding-by-helicopter operations. Here, too, the generous array of dramatic early prints, paintings, and photos are more likely to capture readers’ imaginations than the generality-ridden text. But among his vague comments about the characters, values, and culture passed by Mexican vaqueros to later arrivals from the Eastern US, Sadler intersperses nods to the gauchos, llaneros, and other South American “cowmen,” plus the paniolos of Hawaii, and the renowned African-American cowboys. He also decries the role film and popular literature have played in suppressing the vaqueros’ place in the history of the American West. He tackles an uncommon topic, and will broaden the historical perspective of many young cowboy fans, but his glance at modern vaqueros seems to stop at this country’s borders. Young readers will get a far more detailed, vivid picture of vaquero life and work from the cowboy classics in his annotated bibliography. (Notes, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8050-6019-7
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2000
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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