Synopsis
Discusses the many different factors that contributed to Britain's having become part of the contemporary industrial society.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8These books profile three of the world's major industrial powers. Their brevity dictates that information is broad in scope. The physical environment, growth of the country, and daily life are described, and each title closes with a look to the future. The bulk of the texts deal with farming, power, manufacturing, and service industries. Informative charts and graphs are interspersed throughout, as are many full-color photographs. Addresses for obtaining further information are appended. (United States mentions state tourist bureaus but gives no addresses, and then lists addresses and the phone numbers of three museums.) The "Passport to" series (Watts) and the "Visual Geography" series (Lerner) cover similar ground. The "Modern Industrial World" books have an open layout with a large typeface and double-spaced text. However, they have a more cluttered appearance that the "Passport to" series because of the placement and size of their pictures, graphs, and occasional quotes. The quotes are extraneous, and it is not always clear who is being quoted and why. There is some inconsistency in the back matter as evidenced by the above-mentioned addresses. Entries for these countries in "The Enchantment of the World" series (Children's Press) are more comprehensive and remain the first choices.Peg Glisson, Dewitt Road School, Webster, NY