World History Series - The Abolition of American Slavery - Hardcover

"Fledgling historians should find this title a good, well-documented read."
-- School Library Journal (September 2001) (School Library Journal 20010901)

"Kids looking for background into contemporary Middle East conflicts will do welll to start here."
-- Booklist (May 2003) (Booklist 20030501)

"There is a good deal of information packed into the brief text and both report writers and the general readers will be well served."
-- School Library Journal (September 2002) (School Library Journal 20020901)

"Well designed for research and reports, this account includes primary and secondary source quotations, all fully footnoted. Most of these quotes are in separate boxes with source information included so readers do not need to flip back and forth. This informative, approachable text will be useful in most collections."
-- School Library Journal (August 2002) (School Library Journal 20020801)

"Captioned black-and-white photographs and reproductions complement the text. This is an excellent title."
-- School Library Journal (May 2002) (School Library Journal 20020501)

"The writing is clear and easy for beginners on the subject. Useful for reports."
-- School Library Journal (April 2002) (School Library Journal 20020401)

"Vivid descriptions, quotes from the participants, and newspaper accounts written by war correspondents bring readers to the battlefront in this well-documented title."
-- School Library Journal (January 2002) (School Library Journal 20020101)

"These titles offer a great deal of useful and readable information. The information is presented clearly and is suitable for reports and for leisure reading."
-- School Library Journal (January 2002) (School Library Journal 20020101)

"The strengths of the book include its parenthetical definitions, maps, footnotes, substantial extracts from primary sources, the annotated bibliography, and a time line."
-- School Library Journal (March 2001) (School Library Journal 20010301)

"This series addition lives up to the high standards achieved by its predecessors. The book is enriched by numerous, well-chosen quotations from primary and secondary sources, and by a wealth of interesting black-and-white photos and reproductions. A fine source for beginning research."
-- School Library Journal (March 2001) (School Library Journal 20010301)

Grade 5-9-Beginning with a description of the arrival of the first African slaves in Jamestown and the horrors of the slave trade that flourished throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Tackach then notes some of the early voices raised in opposition to this most "peculiar institution." Students familiar with the topic will recognize many of the names mentioned, although Lucretia Mott and Sojourner Truth are notable omissions. The author traces the work of the abolitionists up to the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, then concludes with a brief chapter on the "Legacy of Slavery," which touches on segregation, Jim Crow, the KKK, and the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. There is a good deal of information packed into the brief text and both report writers and general readers will be well served. The book is illustrated with archival photographs and reproductions of prints and broadsides. Sidebars feature relevant quotations from primary and secondary sources. There are individual biographies available on many of the people covered in this volume, and there is no shortage of titles dealing with the larger topic. Linda J. Altman's Slavery and Abolition in American History (Enslow, 1999), Stephen R. Lilley's Fighters Against American Slavery (Lucent, 1998), and James T. Rogers's The Antislavery Movement (Facts On File, 1994) are among them. Tackach's volume is a useful addition to those works.
Elaine Fort Weischedel, Franklin Public Library, MA
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