《学校图书馆杂志》(School Library Journal)书评
Gr 5-8-On the title page, The Move West leaps out at readers-and may mislead them. Whatever is meant by ``Multicultural Portrait'' is not made clear in the text, as the content is pretty standard information about westering whites doing in Indians. Specifics of dates, places, and people are needed to complete the portrait. ``Overland Migrations'' between 1840-1860 are mentioned; and unwary readers may learn that ``Some people [traveled] to California on huge clipper ships, by way of the Panama Canal....'' (The Canal was completed in the early 1900s). Mining is mentioned, but the treatment is skimpy-and chiefly of the Gold Rush days, when ``mining'' was more gold-gathering than shaft or excavation mining. Because of misleading or confusing statements, much of the first four chapters is unreliable as history. One chapter, ``Indians Lose Their Sacred Lands,'' is well done. Illustrations throughout vary in effectiveness: some are merely decorative, some have scant or poor captions, and those accompanied by cameo explanations are used to good effect.-George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
《儿童读物杂志》(Horn Book)书评
Using primary source material and numerous illustrations, the series presents a diverse and realistic account of American history. Each book provides a detailed look at the lives and contributions of Native Americans, African Americans, and other minority groups and reasonably and directly confronts sensitive issues such as the Columbus controversy, the devastating impact of European expansion, and stereotypes. Bib., glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Gr. 7-12. In the same Perspectives series as Piggins' Multicultural Portrait of the Civil War [BKL Mr 15 94], this history challenges popular stereotypes of brave white explorers and cowboys "opening up" the empty western frontier. Press tells the story from the point of view of all the people who lived there, including how and why they came, what kind of communities they built, their courage and their failure. Some of the political and military detail is dry, but the discussion is lively, especially the debunking of myths ("The first Europeans in the American West were neither conquerors nor explorers. They were merely lost"). The impassioned account of the forced removals and relocations of the various Indian nations describes the horrific loss of life, of home, and of cultural identity that made the survivors refugees in their own land. The type is small, but it's broken up with many illustrations and sidebars. There's a good short bibliography and a glossary, but unfortunately, no documentation, even of direct quotes. ~--Hazel Rochman