The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age: From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR [Hardcover]

Susan Wise Bauer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Story of the World

This third book in the four-volume narrative history series for elementary students will transform your study of history. The Story of the World has won awards from numerous homeschooling magazines and readers' polls—over 150,000 copies of the series in print!

Where was the Crystal Palace? Who was the Sick Man of Europe? And how did cow fat start a revolution?

Now more than ever, other countries and customs affect our everyday lives—and our children need to learn about the people who live all around the world. Susan Wise Bauer has provided a captivating guide to the history of modern nations all around the world. Written in an engaging, straightforward manner, the final volume of the popular Story of the World series weaves world history into a storybook format, covering major historical events in the years 1850-2000. From the Middle East and China to Africa and the Americas—find out what happened all around the world in the last century and a half. Designed as a read-aloud project for parents and children to share together, The Story of the World includes the stories of each continent and people group.

Each Story of the World volume provides a full year of history study when combined with the Activity Book, Audiobook, and Tests—each available separately to accompany each volume of The Story of the World Text Book. Volume 4 Grade Recommendation: Grades 3-8. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white drawings and maps

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This may well be the best multi-age read aloud narrative of world history yet to have been written.” (Homeschooling in Japan )

“This works wonderfully as a family read-aloud... There's plenty of dialogue and enough detail to keep adults interested.” (Cafi Cohen, author of Homeschooling The Teen Years )

About the Author

Susan Wise Bauer is the best-selling author of the Story of the World series for elementary students, author of The Well-Educated Mind, The History of the Ancient World and The History of the Medieval World, and the co-author of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home. She is a faculty member in English at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, where she teaches writing and literature.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Peace Hill Press (July 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972860347
• ISBN-13: 978-0972860345
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Children's Books > History > Modern

More About the Author

Susan was born in 1968, grew up in Virginia, and was educated at home by pioneering parents, back when home education was still unheard of. She worked as a professional musician, wore a costume at Colonial Williamsburg, toured with a travelling drama group, galloped racehorses at a Virginia racetrack, taught horseback riding, worked in radio and newspaper ad sales, learned enough Korean to teach a Korean four-year-old Sunday school, and served as librarian and reading tutor for the Rita Welsh Adult Literacy Center in Williamsburg, Virginia.

In her less haphazard adult life, she earned an M.A., M.Div., and Ph.D. She has taught at the College of William & Mary in Virginia for the last sixteen years. Susan is married and the mother of four.

Susan's most recent book for Norton, The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade (2010), is the second in a four-volume series providing a narrative world history. Look for the first volume, The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome, as well!

Her previous book, The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had (2003), is a guide to reading the classic works of fiction, poetry, history, autobiography, and drama. Norton also published The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (with co-author Jessie Wise); originally published in 1999, this bestselling guide to education in the classical tradition was revised and updated in 2004 and again in 2009.

For Peace Hill Press, Susan has written a four-volume world history series for children, The Story of the World, for Peace Hill Press. Volume 1, Ancient Times, was published in 2002 (revised edition 2006); Volume 2, The Middle Ages, in 2003 (revised edition 2007); and Volume 3, Early Modern Times, in 2004. The final volume, The Modern Age, was published in 2006. She has also written a best-selling elementary writing program, Writing With Ease.

Susan is also the author of The Art of the Public Grovel (Princeton University Press) and many articles and reviews. Visit her blog at http://www.susanwisebauer.com/blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good volume, sorry that it is the last, June 9, 2005

By 

Henry Cate III (CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age: From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR (Paperback)

My family has greatly enjoyed the first three volumes of "The Story of the World" series. Our daughters have listened to the "Story of the World" CDs again and again. My oldest daughter on her own will pick up the first three books to read. So when Peace Hill Press sent out an email saying a few advanced copies were available, I quickly ordered a copy. When it arrived I had to take turns with my oldest daughter as we both wanted to read it.

In many ways this is a good conclusion to the series. It is a bigger book than the previous ones. Susan Wise Bauer says in the forward that Story of the World Volume 1 was written for children in grades 1 to 4, volume 2 was written for children in grades 2 to 5, volume 3 was written for children in grades 3 to 6, and volume 4 was targeted at children in grades 4 to 8. So this last book is written for a much higher level than the first book.

Be warned, in many ways this is a sad book, it focuses mainly on the wars, revolutions, and civil strife over the last 150 years. This is probably its biggest weakness. The book makes little mention of positive things that have happened over the last 150 years. Most of the discussions of changes in technology, business, or other areas of life have to do with how the changes affected war.

It was sad to see some basic patterns. Again and again some leader, or group of leaders, would try to gain power or expand power, there would be a lot of fighting, many people would die, and often things wouldn't fundamentally change.

The book is very comprehensive. It covers every part of the world. I learned a lot about South America and Africa. I had not realized that it was only in the 1870s that Europe carved up Africa.

This is a good conclusion to the series. It is well written. It was hard to put down. If you have read the first three volumes then you should buy this book. If not, you might want to start with the first volume.

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars and now for something completely different..., October 3, 2005

By 

Karen J. Morton (Burnsville, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age: From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR (Hardcover)

To be honest we are only ten chapters in to this volume (having read the previous three volumes), but this volume seems very choppy and disconnected. She does put a disclaimer at the beginning of the book stating the older age (fourth grade to eighth grade) of her intended audience, however the "storytelling" style of the previous volumes seems to be missing; that, in addition to the seemingly unrelated topics in each chapter make this book a much more difficult read, and certainly a more difficult "follow." We are hoping that the Activity Guide will make it more cohesive, however, it has not yet been released, which is very frustrating. Not giving up yet, however, as this has been a very good series overall.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I highly recommend this book to everyone 10 and up, July 23, 2005

By 

K. Arbuckle "Kate" (Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age: From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR (Paperback)

I would say all ages, but I think it is several pages too long for a reader much younger than ten unless they are a gifted reader. A parent or caregiver could easily read it aloud for younger children. I really appreciate the author's vision in recognizing the need for unbiased, classic books that simply try to tell history rather than interpret it. In today's global environment, it is important for people to know a little of the history from around the world, and this author makes it more enjoyable than most of our carbon-copy textbooks that we all had in school. She tells history as a story, which is perfect because that is exactly what history is-the story of how people have lived and what they have accomplished.