The Complete Book of U.S. History (Paperback)

~ School Specialty Publishing (Author)
Key Phrases: United States, New World, World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Complete Book of U.S. History covers pre-United States history with the native peoples of the American continent to present day, using text and activities to reinforce learning of those concepts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: American Education Publishing (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561896799
• ISBN-13: 978-1561896790
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,297 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read material, but very incomplete, February 18, 2005

By	Jane James "homeschoolmum" (California) - See all my reviews

Some things about this book I really like. The pages are large, the text is big, the illustrations are very colorful. The stories are easy to read. It's so less overwhelming than the average history textbook, and presented in a much more interesting format.

It starts with the theory of early Americans coming over the land bridge from Asia. However, it presents this as FACT, rather than the theory it really is. Just recently, human fossils were found that proved humans were in North America 50,000 years ago - long before the last ice age began (which I believe was about 13,000 years ago.)

That's always been an irritant to me - books that present theory as fact, without giving kids the opportunity to judge for themselves, or even allowing them the possibility that "the teacher" might not know everything!

The book doesn't give much to 20th century America - and it focuses very heavily on Indian affairs. In fact, the second half of the 20th century is covered in only about 30 pages.

There is an unusually high percentage of text devoted to causes that normally don't get so much attention. For instance, the Vietnam Memorial gets 5 pages, and Exxon Valdez disaster gets 5 pages - but there is NO mention of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, or either George Bush!

It's definitely not enough for a full years' curriculum, but a good book for any student who is shy of history - because the stories really are easy to read and nicely illustrated.

Each section has interesting but not really educational activities (draw a mural about life in America, write a message in Morse code) but doesn't contain tests, essays, or other difficult tasks.

It's labeled for grades 3 - 5, but I wouldn't give it to the average 3rd grader, due to the reading level. And for children older than that, this is only supplementary or remedial.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars super book!, February 21, 2007

By	shannontk "shannontk" (austin, texas) - See all my reviews

my daughter and i use this book in our homeschool studies. we find them to be fun, interesting and helpful with our american history. we also use several of the other books in the complete book series. accurate information in an easy to read format. great for the homeschooler or other students!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for homeschooling, but not great, December 1, 2007

By	C. Mischo (Blue Springs, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this book to homeschool my 4th grader. I like the pictures and the format. The activities at the end of the sections don't really show wheither or not your child has remembered or grasped what they just read. There are also no tests or questions to judge what he is learning. I am having to create my own tests and worksheets to go along with this work, which I don't really have time for. Also, I am having to suppliment with books from the library to make sure that he is really learning about each subject. This book is OK, but not great.