Hard to beat for scope but offering a slanted view at best.
A panoramic view of history and prehistory on a loooong sheet, supplemented by select “breaking news” highlights.
The timeline stretches over 7 feet and is accordion-folded for ease of storage—though not so much for readability (notwithstanding a magnifier tucked into a front pocket), as many of the hundreds of tiny captions and images are cut off by creases. It begins with the Big Bang and then repeatedly branches until, by the end, 11 parallel tracks record select events and discoveries both in nature and in five broad human geo-cultural areas. Not only is the Eurocentric bias as visually blatant as it gets (guess which of the historical tracks is in the middle and, by a good margin, the widest from beginning to end), but ugly Eurocentric assumptions are well in evidence too: in the “Stone Ages” track, where hominids get lighter-skinned as they get closer to Homo sapiens; in “Sub-Saharan Africa,” where three of Forshaw’s five larger figures are whites; and in the portraits of Lenin, Stalin, and an unidentified Gorbachev that shoulder their way into the “North Africa and Middle East” track. The long sheet is easily detachable, but bound in behind are 29 “news” articles covering arbitrary highlights such as the opening of the Colosseum in Rome (with a picture of a panther carrying off a gladiator’s severed leg) and a pleasantly difficult multiple-choice quiz.
Hard to beat for scope but offering a slanted view at best. (Informational novelty. 10-13)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9932-8472-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: What on Earth Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
Logically pointing out that the American cowboy archetype didn’t spring up from nowhere, Sandler, author of Cowboys (1994) and other volumes in the superficial, if luxuriously illustrated, “Library of Congress Book” series, looks back over 400 years of cattle tending in North America. His coverage ranges from the livestock carried on Columbus’s second voyage to today’s herding-by-helicopter operations. Here, too, the generous array of dramatic early prints, paintings, and photos are more likely to capture readers’ imaginations than the generality-ridden text. But among his vague comments about the characters, values, and culture passed by Mexican vaqueros to later arrivals from the Eastern US, Sadler intersperses nods to the gauchos, llaneros, and other South American “cowmen,” plus the paniolos of Hawaii, and the renowned African-American cowboys. He also decries the role film and popular literature have played in suppressing the vaqueros’ place in the history of the American West. He tackles an uncommon topic, and will broaden the historical perspective of many young cowboy fans, but his glance at modern vaqueros seems to stop at this country’s borders. Young readers will get a far more detailed, vivid picture of vaquero life and work from the cowboy classics in his annotated bibliography. (Notes, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8050-6019-7
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2000
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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