The History Puzzle: How We Know What We Know about the Past (Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Upper Grades) [Library Binding]

Susan Provost Beller (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 Beller looks at more than 20 historical sites or archaeological excavations, from the World Trade Center to Olduvai Gorge, from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 to Noah's Ark, in order to present the varying interpretations of history and how they have been colored by tradition, socioeconomic factors, and religious beliefs. Objectively written chapters are brief, leaving readers longing for more detail and more depth and this may be the greatest strength of the book. Teachers can use this text to introduce social studies content in research formats. Frequent, well-placed sepia-toned photographs and period reproductions serve to enhance the text, and the source notes, further reading, and list of Web sites give students an ample list of resources for further study. A small quibble is the identification in a picture caption of the Easter Island hieroglyphics, called Rongorongo, as the language of the Etruscans but this hardly mars the worth of the book as both an introduction to a fascinating field and as a curriculum guide. Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Archaeology plays a prominent role in many of the 19 chapters in Beller's investigation of how historical facts are discovered and conjectured. Intriguing topics such as the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the identity of King Arthur are used as examples. Beller writes concisely, but her relatively short chapters allow limited space to explore each topic. The book includes black-and-white illustrations, warmed with sepia tones, photos, and a few period paintings. Though the subject is intriguing, the format is lackluster, and the discussion lacks the spark needed to fire enthusiasm in many readers. However, given the scarcity of books that lead young people to question the sources of historical facts and to appreciate the value of seeking different points of view, this will be a useful addition. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (CT) (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761328777
• ISBN-13: 978-0761328773
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,731,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in New England and loved the history all around me there. Then I went off to college in Washington, DC, where I met my husband, an actual native Washingtonian, who loved history but from a whole other period of time. Here was my soul mate, and so it has proven for 41 years, three children and five grandchildren--we still regularly head off to somewhere new to learn something new from history, even heading to the tip of Newfoundland this fall to visit L'Anse aux Meadows and walk where the Vikings walked.

As a writer, I consider myself to be mostly a "teller of stories" and I find the true stories from the adventure of history to be the ones I most enjoy telling. I have always been a reader of history. I especially loved to read biographies during my childhood. As an adult, I began reading more of the actual primary source material of history--diaries and letters and reminiscences by people who were actually involved in an historical event. The stories I found in this reading, especially the ones from the Civil War and Revolutionary War were fascinating and much too interesting to be left to just adult readers. So I became a writer of history, in addition to being a reader of it. All I try to do is to take my favorite stories from history and share them with younger readers, using the words of the people who were really there as much as possible. Over the years I have expanded the history I enjoy to some parts of European history especially anything to do with the Romans, and anything from the Medieval and Renaissance periods.

However, as the years have passed, I find that all that I have learned and then shared with my readers stays with me and makes me only want to write more. This time I want to be able to speculate of what these real people were really thinking, and that means writing fiction. My writing will still be full of history--I couldn't get away from that if I tried! But now I'll have room to close my eyes and pretend that I am there back in the past, part of all that real history I still love!
www.susanprovostbeller.com