Individual titles in every multivolume set present a historical perspective and a vivid picture of the cultural, political and social life of the era. Fully documented primary and secondary source quotations enliven the text, and each set includes well-organized primary source documents valuable for student research and reports.
“History can be viewed as a myriad of intertwining roads paved by human events,” reads the introduction to this entry in the Lucent Library of Historical Eras, and indeed, Nardo knows how to mix human stories with historical context. Chapters like “The Native Americans before Colonization” and “Establishment of Roanoke and Jamestown” lead up to “Changing Relations with the Indians,” and along the way, the detailed text is interspersed with sidebars of primary and secondary quotations and historical color illustrations that add both substance and visual interest. With its long paragraphs and dutiful citations, this is a fairly advanced take on the topic. So, move aside that yellowed copy of The Story of the Thirteen Colonies (1966) and make room for this very useful presentation for classroom discussions. Good back matter—an annotated bibliography, a time line, an index, and more—concludes. Grades 6-9. --Julie Cummins