The Complete History of Railroads

April 1, 2012

Gr 10 Up-This disappointing series recycles vast portions of its text from Britannica Online. Articles in all volumes are verbatim from similarly titled ones in the Britannica School Edition. Overly formal language makes many passages difficult to understand for readers unfamiliar with the subjects, even with recourse to the glossaries. Technical detail crosses the line into mind-numbing minutiae on a regular basis. Despite claims to comprehensiveness, military history is barely covered-not even in the volumes on aviation and naval vessels, whose covers feature a fighter jet and a modern warship, respectively. Other notable omissions include urban mass transit train systems or any discussion of canoes, which played such an important part in the exploration of North America and the Pacific. The smattering of photos, reproductions, and diagrams does little to break up the texts. Better sources are readily available on these subjects.

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