Customer Reviews

The World of Captain John Smith

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This book is a tremendous piece of living literature. What a shame that the subject matter of history isn't taught in this manner from the earliest ages. I'm homeschooling my children and am delighted to be in a position to share these treasures with them.

For me, reading a book by Genevieve Foster is as enjoyable as reading well written fiction. What a superb way to read about actual people and events with life breathed into them. Historical figures weren't one dimensional when they were living. It's a tragedy to reduce them to nothing but a dry retelling of their lives (done in the traditional "textbook" fashion).

We can gain such a rich view of life though historical people and events. The study of history should enable a person to have more than a narrow view of life and the world they live in. Books like those written by Genevieve Foster accomplish this purpose in a remarkable way.

This is a fascinating review of history from 1451 to 1522. The horizontal history concept that the book is based upon lets the reader see the interweaving of the histories of the various nations of Europe (and their colonies in the New World). I read it for my own enjoyment, but it would also be very useful in a homeschool setting.

Genevieve Foster presents history in a horizontal fashion that is just simply great story telling. I recommend all of her "World of" series. You get to follow the life of John Smith, while at the same time going learning about many of the other important events and people who shaped history. Included are Queen Elizabeth, Bloody Mary, Galileo, Pochahontes, Shakespear, King James, Ben Johnson, The Pilgrims, John Winthrop and the Puritans and many more. It is interesting to learn about the settlement of America.