出版社周刊评论
Sandler ( The Story of American Photography ) orchestrates the debut of a Library of Congress line of American history books with panache, drawing on the Library's picture collections to augment lucid, age-appropriate text with a wealth of illustrations. Except for its awkward use of present and future tenses (``the outlaws will be killed or driven from the territory''), the prose nimbly sidesteps the numbing filmstrip-speak that can be the pitfall of historical nonfiction, even if the effect is a bit more sedate than Linda Granfield's Cowboy (Children's Forecasts, Dec. 6). Wonderful archival photographs help provide a window on the world of the cowboy, from the reality (hard, lonely, dangerous work) to the Hollywood myth, and of the pioneers who pushed west in search of a better life, settling the country along the way. Crisply written, beautifully designed and blessed with an abundance of art--from maps and lithographs to paintings, movie posters, handbills and song lyrics--these two volumes are a valuable addition to American history for the middle grades. Surprisingly--and disappointingly--no captions or endnotes identify the subjects, settings and sources of the pictures. Ages 8-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
《儿童读物杂志》(Horn Book)书评
Two pictorial essays, illustrated with vintage photographs, engravings, lithographs, and posters, portray frontier and pioneer times and the legend of the American cowboy. Occasional quotes from diaries, contemporaneous observations, and songs punctuate the narratives -- written in the present tense -- with apt commentary. By offering an exciting glimpse into nineteenth-century America, the archival images take center stage. Ind. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.