The Great Depression

KLIATT

Greenhaven is the best-known name in publishing series across a wide range of academic disciplines and public affairs issues. Turning Points in World History looks at key events in history and examines a mix of political, social and scientific factors that help explain the event and its significance. The books have four or five chapters each, which include three to six excerpted essays that can be used by students in grades 9-12. Individual pieces run anywhere from two to ten pages each. Each section and each item has introductory material. One of the best features of these books is an appendix with documents. While chapters include some boxed sidebars with primary source material and the documents at the end include some personal narratives, the emphasis in this series is analysis and explanation. A bit dry, but useful for teachers to find background information or students to pursue research work. For comparative purposes, I found Houghton Mifflin's Nextext series book on civil rights to be more inviting, with personal narratives, speeches and even poems that made the material come alive. This series is better at presenting the material in a lively fashion, while the Greenhaven titles are better at offering a more systematic overview. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Greenhaven, 223p, bibliog, index, 23cm, $17.45. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Daniel J. Levinson; History & English Teacher, Thayer Acad., Braintree, MA, July 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 4)

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-A collection of essays by noted scholars that looks at varying issues surrounding the era, including "Rural Poverty, Drought, and Migration"; "The Struggles of American Blacks"; "Depression-Era Cinema Reflected Social Values"; and "Social Security Protects the Elderly and Infirm." The standard subjects such as origins of the Depression, the Crash of 1929, and the initiatives of the New Deal are covered as well. An appendix of 22 documents including excerpts from campaign and inaugural speeches, press releases, and personal memoirs completes the volume. Libraries already owning such solid titles as Richard Wormser's Growing up in the Great Depression (Atheneum, 1994), Jacqueline Farrell's The Great Depression (Lucent, 1996), Nardo's The Great Depression (Greenhaven, 1997), and Victoria Sherrow's excellent Hardship and Hope (21st Century, 1995) may not need this additional entry.-Joanne K. Cecere, Highland High School, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

School Library Journal

Gr 7 UpThis volume contains an aggregation of pieces that pertain to the economic depression of the 1930s. Greatly contrasting opinions delineate possible cures of the crisis (the New Deal and self-help plans), the implementation of the New Deal (the redistribution of wealth, Social Security, and the plight of Blacks), and a historical assessment of what the New Deal did or did not do for America. The writing is clear and lively. Primary and secondary sources are frequently quoted and footnoted, and include the words of Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Steinbeck, Walter Lippmann, Huey P. Long, Harold Ickes, and others. The book contains an appendix of excerpts from primary sources, an annotated bibliography, a few historical black-and-white photographs, a decent index, and some completely unnecessary study questions. A good companion to Milton Meltzer's Brother Can You Spare a Dime? (Facts On File, 1991) and Russell Freedman's Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Clarion, 1990).David A. Lindsey, Lakewood High and Middle School Libraries, WA