Plessy v. Ferguson

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Three landmark cases are examined through primary sources. Photographs, mug shots, police records, court transcripts, memos, newspaper clippings, and other documents lend human interest and visual variety to the intricacies of legal wrangling and reasoning. Each case is approached from its broader social context as well as the specific incidents involved. The Jim Crow laws that followed the Civil War set the stage for Plessy v. Ferguson, which in turn led to Brown v. Board of Education. Students will have heard of Miranda rights on TV cop shows and will find the particulars of the case laid out in sufficient detail. The writing in all three volumes is generally clear, although these are technical subjects that do not make for particularly easy reading. The glossaries, photo captions, and sidebars offer further information and explanation. The archival images and reproductions of documents put a human face on the court cases, and are the books' best features. Susan Dudley Gold's Miranda vs. Arizona (21st Century, 1997), Harvey Fireside's Plessy vs. Ferguson: Separate but Equal? (1997), and Harvey Fireside and Sarah Betsy Fuller's Brown vs. Board of Education: Equal Schooling for All (1994, both Enslow) cover the same material and sources for slightly older readers.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.