The Revolutionary War (U.S. Wars)

Discusses the military tactics, battles, and famous figures of the war that gained the American colonies their independence from Great Britain and includes Internet links to Web sites and source documents.

Reveiwed with Carl R. Green's The French and Indian War.

Gr. 4-6. In addition to providing a concise introduction to a particular war, books in the U.S. Wars series offer students ready access to Internet sites that provide maps, photos of sites and reenactments, historical accounts, original documents, and profiles and portraits of individuals. Both Revolutionary War and French and Indian War begin with a section of "Report Links," an annotated list of 30 Internet sites that can be accessed through the Web site using a password. The sites' URLs do not appear in the book. Many of the online resources are excellent, making the Web sites quite valuable additions to the books. However, their presentation takes up more space than may be necessary within each book and leaves little room (33 illustrated pages) for the main text, which describes the causes, progress, and resolution of the French and Indian War or the American Revolution. The computer-related design features make strong visual connections between the book and the Web sites, but once students have made the connection, those design elements, with toolbars and buttons, become unnecessary. A brief time line, source notes, and a bibliography round out the presentation. The series is an interesting experiment in creating books that are not just resources for school reports but also portals to Internet research. Carolyn Phelan
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