Customer Reviews

Chronicle Of America: American Revolution, 1700-1800

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I am a middle school student who never enjoyed history- that is, until I read this excellant book by Joy Masoff. I completely disagree with the Kirkus review. I believe that the many pictures made this book exciting and easy to understand. While reading my history text at school my mind usually drifts away on to other subjects. When reading this book on the American Revolution I was able to stay focused and get a deeper understanding of life in this time period. I cannot suggest a better book for anybody wanting to learn about the American Revolution. This book was fun and enjoyable and never had me wanting to put it down.

History sometimes seems to put my students to sleep, so I was very pleased to discover this book and its companion volume, Colonial Times. I was inspired by some of the projects and ended up having my very own Living History day. My students were fascinated, and it made for an involving, educational day--one that was never, ever boring! The children love the pictures!

Joy Masoff's "American Revolution, 1700-1800" from the Chronicle of America series is a supplemental volume that looks at this century of American history from a practical perspective. The reason for this is that the book is entirely illustrated with contemporary photographs from America's living history museums, so there are lots of pictures of reenactors and reenactments. Therefore it is concerned with questions like what colonial kids did for fun, how doctors treated their patients (leeches), and how everybody got from the springhouse to the outhouse.

Ultimately this book is more about seeing what American was like in the years before, during, and after the American Revolution than anything else. The chapters are arranged topically rather than chronologically and are devoted to topics like what people wore, what they ate (with a recipe for Apple Tansey), how criminals were punished, and what it was like to be a colonial soldier. The result is not a substitute for an American history textbook but a nice supplemental volume that teachers can use for images and details that provide greater depth on details of actual interest to younger students (what recess was like in the 18th century). This book is designed to tie in with middle-grade curriculum and it is perfectly suited to that task.

I am a student who, like many other kids my age, is forced to read those boring text books in school. I'm sure I can speak for most kids when I say that those text books teach me nothing. Most of the time my mind drifts away and I don't learn anything. I once thought that a good history book was never to be. This book proves me wrong. The pictures in this book are GREAT. The small drawings in assorted school books are nothing compared to the amazing, colorful photographs in Joy Masoff's book. This book was easy to read and unlike most history books, fun. The writing was excellent and that of which most kids my age could understand.

My kids were required to have this book for their co-op history class. We are enjoying reading it.

Veteran teachers know that many resources must be used in teaching complex issues. This book is full of information and pictures that hold the interest of elementary students. I would highly recommend this book for teachers of early American history.