The Making Of America - Hardcover

Johnston, Robert D

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792269446 ISBN 13: 9780792269441

Publisher: National Geographic Kids, 2002

Synopsis

From the first contact of Europeans with Native Americans in 1492 to the current events of the 21st century, this comprehensive volume makes the story of America interesting and fun for today?s visually oriented kids. Major eras and social movements unfold chronologically. Each chapter includes biographies of two key people and a ?Great Debate? focusing on some heated issue of that era and an explanation of its relevance today. Throughout the book, the roles and accomplishments of men and women of various racial and ethnic backgrounds are represented. Intriguing period art and photography bring people and events to life while specially designed maps make it easy for kids to follow the growth of our nation. Time lines, historic documents and speeches, a guide to historic sites, a list of Presidents, statehood dates, additional resources, and a detailed index further enhance this valuable family reference.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert D. Johnston is an award-winning professor of history and the director of the Teaching of History program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has written and edited numerous essays and books, including The Making of America: The History of the United States from 1492 to the Present.

Douglas Brinkley is the director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies and a professor of history at the University of New Orleans. He is a bestselling author who has written The American Heritage History of the United States, as well as books on Jimmy Carter, James Forrestal, and FDR.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-This book stands in stark and wonderful contrast to the dry textbook approach to learning about history, and is exactly the type of book an informed teacher would want. Divided into eight 20- to 25-page chapters, the beautifully illustrated and fluidly written narrative manages to encapsulate the seminal events in American history from Columbus through the attack on the World Trade Center, including not only accurate facts but also evenhanded debates on major issues. Each chapter begins with a spread showing eight pictures representing major events during the period covered, an introductory paragraph raising framing questions, and a reproduction of the American flag as it looked in the epoch under consideration. The text itself takes issues and events in greater detail, is refreshingly devoid of sidebars, and is enhanced with full-color photographs and reproductions. Each chapter contains two profiles-and they alone are invaluable and brilliantly chosen to throw issues of the time period into high relief. For example, "War, Prosperity, and Social Change: 1941-1968" profiles Joseph McCarthy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; "The Age of Conservatism: 1969 to the Present" features Sandra Day O'Connor and C‚sar Ch vez. Especially notable is the presentation of the debate surrounding the last presidential election and the mixed response to the loss of civil liberties resulting from the War on Terror. The closest competitor to this exemplary presentation is John A. Scott's The Story of America (National Geographic, 1992). The Making of America supersedes it, not only in currency but also in intellectual scope.
Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma,
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: National Geographic Kids
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0792269446
• ISBN 13: 9780792269441
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192