The Making Of America [Hardcover]

Robert D Johnston (Author), First Lady Laura Bush (Foreword)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

From the first contact of Europeans with Native Americans in 1492 to the current events of the 21st century, this comprehensive volume makes the story of America interesting and fun for today’s visually oriented kids. Major eras and social movements unfold chronologically. Each chapter includes biographies of two key people and a “Great Debate” focusing on some heated issue of that era and an explanation of its relevance today. Throughout the book, the roles and accomplishments of men and women of various racial and ethnic backgrounds are represented. Intriguing period art and photography bring people and events to life while specially designed maps make it easy for kids to follow the growth of our nation. Time lines, historic documents and speeches, a guide to historic sites, a list of Presidents, statehood dates, additional resources, and a detailed index further enhance this valuable family reference.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-This book stands in stark and wonderful contrast to the dry textbook approach to learning about history, and is exactly the type of book an informed teacher would want. Divided into eight 20- to 25-page chapters, the beautifully illustrated and fluidly written narrative manages to encapsulate the seminal events in American history from Columbus through the attack on the World Trade Center, including not only accurate facts but also evenhanded debates on major issues. Each chapter begins with a spread showing eight pictures representing major events during the period covered, an introductory paragraph raising framing questions, and a reproduction of the American flag as it looked in the epoch under consideration. The text itself takes issues and events in greater detail, is refreshingly devoid of sidebars, and is enhanced with full-color photographs and reproductions. Each chapter contains two profiles-and they alone are invaluable and brilliantly chosen to throw issues of the time period into high relief. For example, "War, Prosperity, and Social Change: 1941-1968" profiles Joseph McCarthy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; "The Age of Conservatism: 1969 to the Present" features Sandra Day O'Connor and C‚sar Ch vez. Especially notable is the presentation of the debate surrounding the last presidential election and the mixed response to the loss of civil liberties resulting from the War on Terror. The closest competitor to this exemplary presentation is John A. Scott's The Story of America (National Geographic, 1992). The Making of America supersedes it, not only in currency but also in intellectual scope.
Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma,
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In this single-volume history of the U.S., Johnston takes on an enormous, complex topic and presents an excellent overview for young people. Rather than just marching along the time line from 1492 to the present, the text pauses from time to time for close-up views of significant people and issues. Each of the eight chapters includes two one-page profiles of individuals, such as Abigail Adams, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Joseph McCarthy, and a two-page "Great Debate" feature. These sections discuss questions of concern during a certain era, such as "How to Rid the United States of Slavery?" or "How Should America Combat the War on Terrorism at Home?" This well-written book does a particularly good job of balancing political and social history. Although the text is engaging, readers will also appreciate finding at least one full-color illustration on nearly every page. These include reproductions of period paintings, prints, and photographs; pictures of artifacts; and many fine maps. The heavy, glossy paper allows for excellent reproduction, and the use of color makes this large volume very attractive. The scope of coverage, the excellence of presentation, and the reasonable price make this a solid choice. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books; First edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792265661
• ISBN-13: 978-0792265665
• ASIN: 0792269446
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.8 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #564,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of U.S. History, Somewhat Biased, April 11, 2010

By 

D. Mills "dmills1555" (Anchorage, AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Making Of America (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book. I used it to refresh my memory of U.S. History. In that respect, it did not disappoint. I find it hard to believe that this was written for 5-8 graders. Adults could easily read the book and benefit. I did find Dr. Johnston to do a lot of editorializing, especially as it related to social issues. I would not necessarily disagree with many of his conclusoins, but I believe that he provides them at the expense of his objectivity. He doesn't gloss over the warts in our nation's past, and evidently that is a problem for some reviewers. I appreciated that fact. I thought the last couple of chapters, dealing with 1960's to present were somewhat choppy. In many cases he covered major events in less than a paragraph (i.e. Watergate). I really agonized over whether to give the book 3 stars or 4. Ultimately, I gave it 4 in order to balance out some of the negative reviews. Overall, its not a bad book, but one would definitely need to look at other sources for more indepth study.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Overview of American History, June 19, 2007

By 

T. Carlsen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Making Of America (Hardcover)

The Making of America, by Robert Johnson, with a forward by Laura Bush, is a well-written picture book history of America. It includes numerous not only good history and pictures, but also unusually insightful profiles of important debates in American history, such as the Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists and the struggle over slavery culminating in Civil War.

The books includes loads of concise facts that ever American should know and profiles of important people from different aspects of American history, such as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and President Abraham Lincoln. It also includes important documents at the back of the book, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

In only 199 pages you gain a solid understanding of the making of America. Keep in mind that this book seems designed to 1) be interesting and 2) provide an excellent overview. Therefore, you will need to seek a more thorough history books for a more thorough adult history of America.

My daughter thought that the sections on the Great Depression, World War II, Cold War and post-WWII era, Civil Rights, and Mexican War were the strongest. The profiles were good. I thought the Revolutionary War era was good. My daughter thought some parts were a little disjointed, which is expected for a brief book like this. Realistically, the Civil War, including the numerous battles and politics, cannot be easily convered in a book of this size.

My daughter also liked "Don't Know Much About American History" by Kenneth Davis as a supplement. It seems more factual and has fewer pictures, so that book is geared to older kids.

The tone of "The Making of America" is optimistic, patriotic and factual. I disagree with the nagative comments posted by another reviewer. Concerning Columbus, the book tells that traditional story but also states factually the very important historical fact that "when Europeans arrived, the population of North, Central and South America was about 60 to 70 million people. Between 5 million and 15 million of them were spread throughout the land that is now Canada and the United States. Over the next four centuries, that figure fell by more than 90 percent before it began to rise again. Millions of Indians died in what many scholars, and most Native Americans, consider the greatest disaster in all history."

That is a truthful statement and a very important fact of history. Big events like that should not be supressed because someone today feels attahced to person many centuries ago. Indeed, my daughter knows many more stories about Columbus and Cortez that were left out. The coverage in this book is fair and honest.

Nobody today should be personally offended. Is anyone from 500 years ago still around? That event is a story of another time and different people. WE did not do anything.

To put this in perspective, my ancestors were Vikings, and the truth is that they could be brutal savages. I have nothing to do with what they did centuries and so take no offense with telling the entire story of the Vikings. The complete story of the Vikings is fascinating history.

In summary, this is an outstanding picture book history of America that is optimistic and engaging, unless you are an extremist and hate simple facts.

18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Direct and straightforward and highly readable, October 11, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Making Of America (Hardcover)

Enhanced with a Foreword by First Lady Laura Bush, The Making Of America: The History Of The United States From 1492 To The Present by historian Robert D. Johnston (Associate Professor of History and American Studies, Yale University) is an impressively written history of America ranging from Columbus' voyage through national independence, two world wars, and down to the present day. Maps, photographs, and even historical cartoons add visual impact to this direct and straightforward and highly readable historical summary, which is fascinating to simply browse through -- especially for those whose high school history classes were a long time ago.