The American West: An Illustrated History - Hardcover

Sonneborn, Liz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439219701 ISBN 13: 9780439219709

Publisher: Scholastic Reference, 2002

Synopsis

The history of the American West is the story of Lakota warriors, Spanish conquistadors, German farmers, African American cowboys, Morman settlers, Chinese railroad workers, and many more.

The real story of the American West begins when the Ancient Ones were in the West in about 50,000 B.C. The native cultures developed for thousands of years to clash eventually with the Europeans looking for wealth and converts. From the East came explorers looking for land for the new United States.The promise of easy gold lured more settlers.This thrilling story is told in first person accounts and narrative. Hundreds of pieces of art depict people, artifacts, and the changing face of this varied region.
Reference notes, bibliography, index.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 6 Up-This attractive book looks at the American West as a physical place, with magnificent vistas and extremes in weather, and also as an idea, a land of promise and new beginnings. It traces the different people who inhabited or crossed through this area west of the Mississippi River to make their dreams come true-indigenous tribes, fur trappers, miners, cattlemen, farmers, movie makers, and suburbanites. Quotes from individuals who lived in the region appear in sidebars, or "Western Voices." The text reflects the harshness of life in the West: it was dirty, rough, and, most of the time, far from glamorous. The history of the West is also one of conquest. Sonneborn tells the story in seven chapters: "The First Westerners," "Cultures Clash," "America Heads West," "A Land of Riches," "The Struggle for Control," "Closing the Open Range," and "The Living West." Numerous excellent-quality, black-and-white photographs and reproductions appear throughout. Page layout invites readers to browse and explore this book. A first-rate, engaging offering.
Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 6-12. Fifty-two-thousand years of history are crammed into a brief book that manages to be an engaging, interesting, and fairly informative treatment. The first chapter recaps the theory that hunters following big game across the Bering land bridge became the people we now know as Native Americans. The subsequent six chapters offer compact overviews of major historical developments--from the encroachment of European civilization and the Trail of Tears to Manifest Destiny, the California gold rush, and a variety of twentieth-century developments. The coverage, though brief, is enough to whet the appetites of readers curious about history and to inspire further research. Abundantly and attractively illustrated throughout, and with many sidebars and boxed highlights, the book is visually appealing enough to invite both browsing and serious reading. Suggestions for further reading are included. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Reference
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0439219701
• ISBN 13: 9780439219709
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144