From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-These slim volumes do a reputable job of covering their complex subjects. Two-page treatments address such topics as the wars' origins, noteworthy battles, major offensive movements, and related aspects such as propaganda, women at war, and the home fronts. On each spread, less than a page of narrative is accompanied by snippets of various primary-source documents (diary entries, newspaper accounts, and/or government documents) as well as by black-and-white and full-color photographs, maps, and reproductions. The resulting format is a bit crowded. While these titles have the look of the "Eyewitness" series (DK) or other highly browsable pictorial surveys, the vocabulary is fairly advanced. Hatt presents a decidedly less pronounced Allied bias than is often found in comprehensive war histories. In World War II, descriptions of German and Japanese children being moved to the safety of the countryside, as well as the aftermath of the atomic bomb, give a balanced view of the tragedy of war.
Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert Middle School, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert Middle School, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
