The Century for Young People

I must say that as a future history teacher, I am pleased with the choice of events in the timeline for this book. Jennings and Brewster do a decent job outlining the basic facts of the most important events of the 20th century.

I would also like to point out that this would be an excellent source for young readers who may want to get a small taste of American history. The first-hand accounts given by people who lived during this time are riveting and they truly give readers a taste of what it was like to experience history as it was happening.

However, there were some omissions in this book that bothered me as I was reading. For example, the section about the Vietnam War was very bothersome. It seemed to me that the only thing that was focused on was the negative losses Americans suffered. And conversely, battles like the Tet Offensive were left out of the book and not even mentioned (for those that may not know, the Tet Offensive was the most successful attack American forces participated in while in Vietnam). To me, it's obvious that the authors want to leave a bad taste in the reader's mouth about Vietnam. Sure, we were unsuccessful, but there is no mention of any success we had.

One other error that is somewhat hidden is the section dealing with the Watergate Scandal. After giving a brief synopsis of what happened to President Nixon, the book states that Nixon's vice president (Gerald Ford) was sworn in after Nixon's departure. However, the book fails to mention that Spiro Agnew (Nixon's original VP) was forced to resign from office due to charges of tax evasion and money laundering (when he was the governor of Maryland).

If I were to recommend this book to young readers, I would defintely tell them to focus on the first-hand accounts that were given. But to the adult, be wary of what you read and cross-reference this book with other sources. I'm not saying that this book is awful in its reporting. The facts that they do give are true. However, there seems to be some bias in the selection of facts that were reported. Overall, this book was an average synopsis of the 20th century, but definitely not the best out there.

This book was recommended by a Charlotte Mason Homeschool I belong to. However, the emphasis on certain issues in the 80s and 90s may be troubling for some Christian parents. The narratives in the book are excellent and the book is not boring. There are some tough issues you need to review and be able to talk at length with your children (i.e., AIDS). I don't agree with some of the things emphasized (the OJ Simpson trial) and not mentioned (Pope John Paul's role in Poland's shaking off the yoke of communism and bringing down the iron curtain).

THE CENTURY for young people is a brillant book. With well taken pictures and interesting pages. I advise it for anyone.
It told me many things I did not know about. Going form Panama Canal to the Prohibition. It shows the sad experiences of the Jewish people to the Great Depression.
It is not all doom and gloom it shows landing on the moon to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Though it does show the Wars we had in the 20th century.
In it there is paragraghs of people who ACTUALLY experienced it. Not many people were there when the Wright Brother made the first the airplane.

It shows how diffrent our world is from the Great Depression to the death of Princess Diana.
It is a very educational book. I advise it to adults too. Top notch. Hope you like it too.

Just as in the adult version of The Century there are many informative pictures that help students understand our history. We use the video series to introduce various decades in the 20th century. This book helps to reinforce the information presented. Students enjoy looking at the pictues and reading about them.

I own three timelines, and this is probably my favorite of the three. Unlike other reviewers, I don't find this book to be a chronicle of "gloom and doom" exclusively-anyone can see that events such as the invention of the car, the era of movie theaters, the 1969 Apollo flight, and the prosperity of the Fifties are covered as well in this book. The thing that I really appreciate about this book is the testimonies of people who really had a part in the events. I found it interesting to read an Indiana man's explanation of the appeal and seeming harmlessness of the Ku Klux Klan, and thought it enlightening to read a German girl's description how Hitler was allowed to "go as far" as he did in Germany. In between the numerous personal accounts of events are generous portions of factual writing. I think the authors did a great job of thoroughly describing important happenings without moving into too much overwhelming detail. This book really transcends its "ages 9-12" label-my whole family has enjoyed it and there is something new in it for everyone.