《学校图书馆杂志》(School Library Journal)书评
Gr 4-8-These titles focus on two separate eras of westward expansion. Frontier describes life on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails, along with the sea routes taken by many California-bound adventurers. Dolan conveys some of the excitement that led so many to risk their lives on these journeys, along with the hardships and disappointments they encountered. The emphasis is on the travel experience rather than on any long-range effects of westward settlements. Quotations from journals lend realism and detail to the clear and readable accounts. A chapter devoted to the Donner Party vividly captures the tragedy. Extended shifts to a second-person narrative ("Let's imagine that you're a forty-niner-") are less compelling. Black-and-white photos and reproductions capture the frontier spirit. Land is riveting from start to finish. Though Dust Bowl journeys make up the heart of the book, Meltzer offers a fascinating and valuable historical perspective, effectively relating the plight of farmers to other events in the world. Well-chosen statistics emphasize the devastation of the Dust Bowl, while lengthy first-person descriptions and excellent black-and-white photos, including several by Dorothea Lange, capture the human element. The author quotes not only those who suffered, but also government officials who recognized the suffering and tried to help, clearly describing the challenges faced by both. Stepping a little beyond the "Great Journeys" focus of the series title, Meltzer has produced an excellent piece of history.-Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR (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
Designed for primary-grade readers, the volumes in this series offer brief, sanitized accounts of milestones in American history. The books are amply illustrated with maps, (colorized) period engravings, posters, paintings, and photographs. Each includes a timeline and a short list of books and websites. 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. 6^-10. Books in the Great Journeys series highlight great migrations in U.S. history. In accessible formats, they combine clear, engaging text, primary source material, boxed insets, strong images and photographs, and even songs to tell nonsensationalized stories of displacement and devastation. Meltzer uses gripping exerpts and his trademark fine prose to present the history of the slave trade and the Dust Bowl. In They Came in Chains, he places slavery in its global and historical context, using subsequent chapters to convey the horrors of the Middle Passage and life in the Americas. In Driven from the Land, he first discusses the causes of the Great Depression, then travels through the decade's poverty and loss, ending with the New Deal and World War II. Well-reproduced photographs by Dorothea Lange and others of the time greatly enhance the text. The lack of documentation in the books is frustrating, but each volume has an excellent bibliography and a list of further readings to complete its powerful, evenhanded overview. See the Series Roundup in this issue for two more titles in this excellent series. --Gillian Engberg