Places In Time
Book Reviews
School Library Journal, August 2008
On Places In Time Series
Titles have lots of color, large type, many photos, plenty of maps, and clear writing. Chapters are followed by a one-page sidebar that features a biography or important event. Chapter source notes and further reading lists add value... These volumes are attractive and may interest readers in history and geography...
VOYA, February 2008
On A Brief Political History of Asia adn A Brief Political History of Latin America
This colorful, vividly produced new geographical series provides an interesting take on the subject of place names. All continents except Antarctica are represented in the six series titles. (The Middle East is in a separate volume from Asia). Each book examines the general history of a continent and then chooses specific countries to demonstrate how explorations, wars, and political regimes have affected the place names as well as the culture of the area. Colorful illustrations, chronologies, and maps clarify the evolution of the countries discussed from the ancient era to the present. In fact, many 2007 events are mentioned in the time lines. In Latin America, it is explained why only Brazilians speak Portuguese, how viceroyalties were formed, and how the struggle for independence redrew South American borders for more than a hundred years. In Asia, the impact of the Vietnam War is explained in the renaming of many places, including Cambodia to Kampuchea and Burma to Myanmar. Also included are the dynastic history of China and the influence of Genghis Khan and his descendants on the rest of the continent.
Although somewhat slight in content and size, the series tells many of the stories behind the outdated maps a reader would find in a historical atlas. Many interesting historical photos and a pleasing graphic layout add to the volumes’ attraction for browsers. The writing style is simple and clear, and the text covers more political and historical subjects than the cultural ones usually found in juvenile country studies. All series authors are well know writers of other children’s books. Each volume has comprehensive index and extensive source list.
Booklist, October 2007
On A Brief Political History of Latin America
The six books in the Places in Time series divide the world into regions and offer historical surveys of countries, including their changing names, shifting borders, and occasional disappearances. Defining Latin America as everything south of the U.S. border with Mexico, this volume subdivides the region into eight areas and, chapter by chapter, traces the history of each one, not from its beginnings but from the beginning of European contact in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. Each chapter includes an information-packed text; a time line running along the page bottoms; one or more good, clearly labeled maps; photos of people, sites, and artifacts; and reproductions of several period paintings and prints. Concluding the chapters are sidebars carrying related information, such as the history and meaning of the term banana republic or a biography of Eva Peron. The many color illustrations give the pages and approachable look. A regional time line, a glossary, chapter notes, and lists of books and Internet sites conclude the presentation. A useful addition to many library collections.
