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THE CENTURY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Name: THE CENTURY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Author: Peter Jennings
ISBN: 0-385-32708-0

by Peter Jennings & Todd Brewster ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Just in time for the millennium comes this adaptation of Jennings and Brewster’s The Century (1998). Still a browsable, coffee-table edition, the book divides the last 100 years more or less by decade, with such chapter headings as “Shell Shock,” “Global Nightmare,” and “Machine Dreams.” A sweeping array of predominantly black-and-white photographs documents the story in pictures—from Theodore Roosevelt to O.J., the Panama Canal to the crumbling Berlin Wall, the dawn of radio to the rise of Microsoft—along with plenty of captions and brief capsules of historical events. Setting this volume apart, and making it more than just a glossy textbook overview of mega-events, are blue sidebars that chronicle the thoughts, actions, and attitudes of ordinary men, women, and children whose names did not appear in the news. These feature-news style interviews feature Milt Hinton on the Great Migration, Betty Broyles on a first automobile ride, Sharpe James on the effect of Jackie Robinson’s success on his life, Clara Hancox on growing up in the Depression, Marnie Mueller on life as an early Peace Corps volunteer, and more. The authors define the American century by “the inevitability of change,” a theme reflected in the selection of photographs and interviews throughout wartime and peacetime, at home and abroad. While global events are included only in terms of their impact on Americans, this portfolio of the century is right for leafing through or for total immersion. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-385-32708-0

Page Count: 245

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY

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THUNDER BEAR AND KO

THE BUFFALO NATION AND NAMBE PUEBLO

by Susan Hazen-Hammond ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1999

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A somber, useful study in how cultures both continue age-old traditions and change, given new circumstances. In her first book, Hazen-Hammond documents that combination of tradition and change among the Indians of the Nambe Pueblo of New Mexico, focusing on Thunder Bear Yates, an eight-year-old, and his family (his grandfather, Herbert Yates, is the spiritual leader of the Nambe Pueblo, a role Thunder Bear’s father, Ben, will assume, as will Thunder Bear). Thunder Bear is a contemporary child who likes baseball and computers, and a member of his tribe, learning the old ways. The author recounts the history of the Winter People, who, in the early 19th century, traveled each winter to the plains to hunt the ko, or buffalo. By 1860 the buffalo became scarce, greatly changing the life of the Winter People. Mere decades ago, Herbert Yates established a buffalo herd on Pueblo land, and renewed the old traditions. Tawny gold light fills the photographs of daily life, the buffalo and the charm of their young, the dignity of the people, and the incongruity of the smooth adobe walls with decorative bear tracks and a roof that sprouts a television antenna. A captivating photo essay, handsomely presented. (Nonfiction. 10-12)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-525-46013-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HISTORY

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TO BIGOTRY NO SANCTION

THE STORY OF THE OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN AMERICA

by Leonard Everett Fisher ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 1999

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The Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, is the oldest Jewish house of worship in the US; Fisher traces its history and details the design and construction of the beautiful two-story Georgian-style building, describing “the quietness of the building’s exterior, its gentleness” which “belied the tormented history of its congregants, resolute in their beliefs.” Constructed from 1759—1763, the synagogue was the focus of President George Washington’s comments in 1790 that “the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” This well-documented history will remind readers that the US was settled by people of many faiths who were united in their “search for freedom and peace of mind.” (photos and reproductions, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)