The Century for Young People Summary and Reviews

The Century for Young People
by Peter Jennings, Todd Brewster, Jennifer Armstrong

The Century for Young People
List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $4.25
You Save: $25.70 (86%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Jennifer Armstrong, Peter Jennings, Todd Brewster
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-09-28
ISBN: 0385327080
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers

Book Reviews of The Century for Young People

Book Review: A trove of information & images kids won't find in textbooks
Summary: 5 Stars

To relate a century's history and ideas cogently into 241 pages at a level that will involve kids is a tough task. To pull that off with photos and archival images AND first-person accounts is, to me, pretty astonishing. It would be easy to carp about what's left out, but I think this book is a square-on portrayal of the U. S. as it was. We read about the immigrant experience, the emerging technologies, the wars and injustices and what they taught us, the ascendance of movies and sports in our culture, style trends, space exploration, the dismantling of Communism. The authors take pains to show that along with the tragedies and triumphs came valuable lessons that have impact on our lives today. Events are intelligently organized and analyzed without sugar-coating. The photos and illustrations are extremely well-chosen (not the ones always trotted out in history books), and in some cases, breath-taking -- due no doubt to the authors' access to a wealth of news images. In this sense, I think the book benefits greatly from the joining of a major media figure with a respected journalist. My two boys, 9 and 12, find this endlessly fascinating, and we've had some spirited and sophisticated dinnertime conversations. This is valuable stuff and, I think, a brave book.

That said, I've read some of the previous reviews and find them baffling. Kids enjoy reading about the conflicts and drama that have led to present-day life. My own awareness of the complicated horrors and triumphs of WWII as a child, through my father's stories and literature, opened my eyes to what society is capable at its best and worst, in a way my bland textbooks never did. I agree that some of the images and text might be strong for a 9-year-old. But as a parent, I've learned several lessons: (1) common sense must be exercised; it is always a good idea to pick up the book and look through it BEFORE buying it to determine appropriateness; (2) that the term "9-to-12" is a marketing category for booksellers -- to distinguish books from, say, picture books or YA material. To hold the book accountable for being appropriate for every child in this range is plain silly; and (3) if it ain't right, wait. A 9-year-old becomes 10, 11, 12 very fast.

Modern Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Modern Books
Cold War ImageCold War
by Michael Burgan
Heinemann Library; Published: 1999-05; Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops: $148.29
The Persian Gulf and Iraqi Wars (Chronicle of America's Wars) ImageThe Persian Gulf and Iraqi Wars (Chronicle of America's Wars)
by Lawrence J. Zwier, Matthew Scott Weltig
Lerner Publishing Group; Published: 2004-10; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $8.71
Price in other shops: $27.93
Failed States: Unstable Countries in the 21st Century (In the News) ImageFailed States: Unstable Countries in the 21st Century (In the News)
by Matthew Bukovac
Rosen Pub Group; Published: 2010-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.87
Price in other shops: $12.95
The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age: From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR ImageThe Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age: From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR
by Susan Wise Bauer
W. W. Norton; Peace Hill Press; Published: 2005-07-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.19
Price in other shops: $21.95
The Persian Gulf and Iraqi Wars (Chronicle of America's Wars) ImageThe Persian Gulf and Iraqi Wars (Chronicle of America's Wars)
by Lawrence J. Zwier, Matthew S. Weltig
Lerner Publishing Group; Published: 2005-01; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops: $27.93
Atlas of the Twentieth Century ImageAtlas of the Twentieth Century
by M Pierre
Fitzhenry and Whiteside; Published: 1999-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $10.95
The Vietnam War (U.S. Wars) ImageThe Vietnam War (U.S. Wars)
by Carl R. Green
Myreportlinks.Com; Published: 2003-10; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $25.26
The Cold War (U.S. Wars) ImageThe Cold War (U.S. Wars)
by R. Conrad Stein
Myreportlinks.Com; Published: 2002-10; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops: $25.26
The World in the Time of Albert Einstein (World in the Time Of...(Dillon Press Hardcover)) ImageThe World in the Time of Albert Einstein (World in the Time Of...(Dillon Press Hardcover))
by Fiona MacDonald
Dillon Pr; Published: 1998-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops: $23.00
1940s Pb (Take Ten Years) Image1940s Pb (Take Ten Years)
by Ken Hills
Evans Brothers; Published: 1996-09-27; Paperback; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion ImageWhere Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion
by Linda Granfield
Fitzhenry and Whiteside; Published: 2005-04-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.66
Price in other shops: $9.95
Hitler ImageHitler
by Albert Marrin
Beautiful Feet Bks; Published: 2002-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.75
Price in other shops: $13.95
LIFE: Our Century in Pictures for Young People ImageLIFE: Our Century in Pictures for Young People
by Richard B. Stolley
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2000-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.69
Price in other shops: $25.95
Three "Whys" of the Russian Revolution ImageThree "Whys" of the Russian Revolution
by Richard Pipes
Vintage; Published: 1997-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.90
Price in other shops: $13.00
Franklin Delano Roosevelt ImageFranklin Delano Roosevelt
by Russell Freedman
Sandpiper; Published: 1992-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.50
Price in other shops: $10.95
Essential Mathematics for Life (Essential Mathematics for Life Series) ImageEssential Mathematics for Life (Essential Mathematics for Life Series)
by Mary S. Charuhas, Dorothy McMurtry
McGraw-Hill/Glencoe; Published: 1995-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops: $29.33
The Complete Idiot's Guide to 20th-Century History ImageThe Complete Idiot's Guide to 20th-Century History
by Alan Axelrod
Alpha Books; Published: 1999; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.99
A Dream of Freedom : The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 ImageA Dream of Freedom : The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968
by Diane Mcwhorter
Scholastic Nonfiction; Published: 2004-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.89
Price in other shops: $22.99
War, Peace, and All That Jazz: 1918-1945 A History of US Book 9 ImageWar, Peace, and All That Jazz: 1918-1945 A History of US Book 9
by Joy Hakim
Simon Pulse; Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-02-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $15.95
The Century ImageThe Century
by Peter Jennings, Todd Brewster
Doubleday; Published: 1998-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: $60.00