The Century for Young People [Hardcover]

Peter Jennings (Author), Todd Brewster (Author), Jennifer Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Adapted from the #1 national bestseller especially for children 8-12!

The twentieth century has been a time of tremendous change, the most eventful hundred years in human history. Join Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster for a fascinating journey back in time to experience the century's greatest moments. Through the vivid first-person accounts of eyewitnesses, the most thrilling--and the most terrifying--events of the past hundred years come to life. Here are the voices of ordinary people--children and adults--expressing their joys and sorrows, their hopes and fears, as they watched history being made. This is history as it was lived, and as it will be remembered for the next hundred years.

This lavish book, in association with the television series presented by ABC News and The History Channel, includes more than 200 exquisitely reproduced photographs with an astonishing power to illuminate history. They will delight and appall you, educate and entertain you, as you watch the century unfold before your eyes. This spectacular book is a keepsake for every family's library. It is a riveting read and an essential research volume. It is the story of our time for all time.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The 20th century brought seeds of change, global nightmares, years of doubt, and machine dreams. These are also some of the chapter headings of this stunning tribute to the past 100 years. Adapting the bestselling adult version of The Century, journalists Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster take an unusual approach to the overwhelming task of capturing a century in 241 pages. Rather than using a standard didactic, textbook-style method, the authors choose to focus on the lives of ordinary people--those who influenced, and were most affected by, the radical changes of the 1900s. Marty Glickman describes the effect Teddy Roosevelt had on him as a boy. Gilda Snow's father, an electrician for the 1939 New York World's Fair, took her on a "backstage" tour of the event when she was 9 years old. Inez Jessie Baskin experienced the Montgomery bus boycotts firsthand. Stacy Horn, creator of an Internet virtual community, muses on the phenomenon of online relationships. Each sumptuous spread comes alive with Life magazine-style photos (over 200 total), compelling captions, feature essays on historical events and people, and pale blue sidebars with the stories of ordinary men and women of the century. With a new introduction aimed at young readers, and a higher personal story to narrative ratio than the full-length version, this magnificent volume belongs in any family's collection. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

With Armstrong's (In My Hands) help, news veterans Jennings and Brewster here smoothly adapt their bestselling tome for adults, The Century, for a younger audience. They offer young Americans a unique look at the past 100 years, via not only archival material but through the eyes of the people who lived through it. The volume combines the authors' affecting storytelling style with an exceedingly appealing design to draw readers into the major events that have shaped our nation (and often the world) in the 20th century. A clear chronology emerges in 12 concise chapters that explore events from the Wright Brothers' early flights to the world's devastating wars, to racial strife and the AIDS epidemic. Each chapter contains illuminating accounts in the words of ordinary people living in extraordinary times. Victor Reuther, a 1930s labor union organizer Ernest Michel, an Auschwitz survivor; and Inez Jessie Baskin, who sat at the front of a bus with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the end of the 1955 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott, are examples of the myriad personalities that give voice to familiar textbook facts. Although the title implies a global approach to the century, many of the world events are limited to the situations that acted as catalysts to drive people to the U.S. from their native countries (e.g., the Russian Revolution, the chaos leading to WWI) or that affected America directly (such as the Vietnam War). What's most noteworthy here is the sense of immediacy the authors' approach offers: the reading experience is akin to peeking at hundreds of fascinating family trees and may well encourage youngsters to inquire about their own relatives' experiences. A bounty of excellent photographs (especially those taken at the turn of the century) accompanied by ample, detailed captions rounds out this essential addition to the family library. Ages 8-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers (September 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385327080
• ISBN-13: 978-0385327084
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Children's Books > History > Modern

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A trove of information & images kids won't find in textbooks, August 17, 2000

By 

"panayiotis" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Century for Young People (Hardcover)

To relate a century's history and ideas cogently into 241 pages at a level that will involve kids is a tough task. To pull that off with photos and archival images AND first-person accounts is, to me, pretty astonishing. It would be easy to carp about what's left out, but I think this book is a square-on portrayal of the U. S. as it was. We read about the immigrant experience, the emerging technologies, the wars and injustices and what they taught us, the ascendance of movies and sports in our culture, style trends, space exploration, the dismantling of Communism. The authors take pains to show that along with the tragedies and triumphs came valuable lessons that have impact on our lives today. Events are intelligently organized and analyzed without sugar-coating. The photos and illustrations are extremely well-chosen (not the ones always trotted out in history books), and in some cases, breath-taking -- due no doubt to the authors' access to a wealth of news images. In this sense, I think the book benefits greatly from the joining of a major media figure with a respected journalist. My two boys, 9 and 12, find this endlessly fascinating, and we've had some spirited and sophisticated dinnertime conversations. This is valuable stuff and, I think, a brave book.

That said, I've read some of the previous reviews and find them baffling. Kids enjoy reading about the conflicts and drama that have led to present-day life. My own awareness of the complicated horrors and triumphs of WWII as a child, through my father's stories and literature, opened my eyes to what society is capable at its best and worst, in a way my bland textbooks never did. I agree that some of the images and text might be strong for a 9-year-old. But as a parent, I've learned several lessons: (1) common sense must be exercised; it is always a good idea to pick up the book and look through it BEFORE buying it to determine appropriateness; (2) that the term "9-to-12" is a marketing category for booksellers -- to distinguish books from, say, picture books or YA material. To hold the book accountable for being appropriate for every child in this range is plain silly; and (3) if it ain't right, wait. A 9-year-old becomes 10, 11, 12 very fast.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., December 26, 1999

By 

John - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Century for Young People (Hardcover)

This book is excellent. The hundreds of pictures in this book alone could vividly describe what the twentieth century was like in America. I especially enjoyed how the book contained descriptions of the events by the people that were affected by them. Jennings and Brewster also did a great job in describing the first and second World Wars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Century-For Everyone, July 2, 2002

By 

Allyn "pianogirl" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Century for Young People (Hardcover)

I own three timelines, and this is probably my favorite of the three. Unlike other reviewers, I don't find this book to be a chronicle of "gloom and doom" exclusively-anyone can see that events such as the invention of the car, the era of movie theaters, the 1969 Apollo flight, and the prosperity of the Fifties are covered as well in this book. The thing that I really appreciate about this book is the testimonies of people who really had a part in the events. I found it interesting to read an Indiana man's explanation of the appeal and seeming harmlessness of the Ku Klux Klan, and thought it enlightening to read a German girl's description how Hitler was allowed to "go as far" as he did in Germany. In between the numerous personal accounts of events are generous portions of factual writing. I think the authors did a great job of thoroughly describing important happenings without moving into too much overwhelming detail. This book really transcends its "ages 9-12" label-my whole family has enjoyed it and there is something new in it for everyone.