Civil War

November 1, 2008
Gr 4-7-This flawed multivolume chronicle of African-American history has little to recommend it. There is overlap between slim volumes, with nearly identical paragraphs turning up in several places; for example, under the subheading, Racism as an Institution, which appears in "Reconstruction" and "Civil War". Several of the books contain glaring typographical errors, and in one volume, text is missing. However, there are interesting highlights on important individuals from various time periods, including Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglass. Glossy pages contain a variety of full-color and black-and-white photos and reproductions, with inconsistent or occasionally misleading captions. Backmatter in each volume includes an illustrated time line, a brief quiz, and a writing activity suggestion.

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