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First Bites

Name: First Bites
Author: Dixie Moss
ISBN: 978-1-4897-0205-0

TIDBITS OF AMERICAN HISTORY FOR THE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART

by Dixie Moss ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2014

Short pieces that rely more on wishful lore and received knowledge than historical research and evidence.

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A potpourri of pieces from a personal, patriotic point of view for “the young and young at heart.”

Debut author Moss offers short “tidbits” (or “bites”) about historical people, places, things, and events in this collection. The author introduces each entry with a brief selection of original verse, followed by an equally epigrammatic explanation (“What can I say about Lincoln? He was a great man who genuinely cared for the people and this country”). After entries on Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Léon, and the Pilgrims, the rest of the “bites” relate to the history of the United States proper, from George Washington to the first man on the moon. A personal section on World War II, including entries on rationing, “My ‘Victory Garden’ and the War Effort,” and V-J Day, is the highlight of the text, as it focuses on Moss’ firsthand experiences as a child during the war. The accounts are presented roughly in chronological order, and accompanied by artwork, photographs, and illustrations from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, as well as photographs by the author. However, the sequence is flawed; for example, the book introduces Washington as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775) before Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment (1752). Furthermore, the poetry has no particular rhyme scheme, meter, or shared form. Topic choices range from the expected (Paul Revere) to the puzzling (“The Minstrel Show”), and the length of an entry seemingly bears no connection to its importance. For instance, Abraham Lincoln merits five lines of verse and two lines of exposition, while a selection on “Fun Words” has five lines of verse and more than a dozen lines about a Native American word (skookum), a name (Winnemucca), and a made-up word. Some comments show an antiquated, romanticized, and sometimes ahistorical slant, as in a description of Paiute leader Winnemucca (“He welcomed the white men when they arrived, but they were suspicious of him because he was an Indian”). The book also lacks a bibliography.

Short pieces that rely more on wishful lore and received knowledge than historical research and evidence.

Pub Date: June 18, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4897-0205-0

Page Count: 98

Publisher: LifeRichPublishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY | CHILDREN'S POETRY

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THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 2012

Preaching to the choir, perhaps, but an invigorating sermon all the same.

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Zinn-ian conspiracy theories, propounded engagingly and energetically by filmmaker and gadfly Stone and Cold War scholar Kuznick (History/American Univ.).

If you’ve read Howard Zinn—or if, like Jeff Lebowski, the Port Huron Statement is still current news for you—then you’ll have at least some of the outlines of this overstuffed argument. Premise 1: Though the United States may pretend to be a nice, cuddly sort of democracy, it’s the font of much trouble in the world. Premise 2: When, post-9/11, neocons began pondering why it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for the U.S. to become an imperial power, they were missing a train (or Great White Fleet) that had pulled out of the station long ago. Premise 3: We like European fascists better than Asian fascists, as evidenced by propaganda posters depicting our erstwhile Japanese foes as rats and vermin. Premise 4: War is a racket that benefits only the ruling class. Premise 5: JFK knew more than he had a chance to make public, and he was gunned down for his troubles. And so forth. Layered in with these richly provocative (and eminently arguable) theses are historical aperçus and data that don’t figure in most standard texts—e.g., the showdown between Bernard Baruch and Harry Truman (“in a colossal failure of presidential leadership”) that could only lead to a protracted struggle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union for post–World War II dominance. Some familiar villains figure in as well, notably the eminently hissable Henry Kissinger and his pal Augusto Pinochet; the luster of others whom we might want to think of as good guys dims (George H.W. Bush in regard to Gorbachev), while other bad guys (George W. Bush in regard to Saddam Hussein) get worse.

Preaching to the choir, perhaps, but an invigorating sermon all the same.

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4516-1351-3

Page Count: 784

Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012

Categories:

GENERAL HISTORY | UNITED STATES | HISTORY | CHILDREN'S HISTORY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

- BOOK REVIEW
CHASING THE LIGHT
by Oliver Stone

- BOOK REVIEW
THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, VOLUME 2
by Oliver Stone & Peter Kuznick ; adapted by Eric S. Singer

- BOOK REVIEW
THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, VOLUME 1
by Oliver Stone ; Peter Kuznick ; adapted by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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GIVE ME LIBERTY!

THE STORY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

by Russell Freedman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

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If Freedman wrote the history textbooks, we would have many more historians. Beginning with an engrossing description of the Boston Tea Party in 1773, he brings the reader the lives of the American colonists and the events leading up to the break with England. The narrative approach to history reads like a good story, yet Freedman tucks in the data that give depth to it. The inclusion of all the people who lived during those times and the roles they played, whether small or large are acknowledged with dignity. The story moves backwards from the Boston Tea Party to the beginning of the European settlement of what they called the New World, and then proceeds chronologically to the signing of the Declaration. “Your Rights and Mine” traces the influence of the document from its inception to the present ending with Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The full text of the Declaration and a reproduction of the original are included. A chronology of events and an index are helpful to the young researcher. Another interesting feature is “Visiting the Declaration of Independence.” It contains a short review of what happened to the document in the years after it was written, a useful Web site, and a description of how it is displayed and protected today at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. Illustrations from the period add interest and detail. An excellent addition to the American history collection and an engrossing read. (Nonfiction. 9-13)