The California Gold Rush

Gr 5–8—Updated versions of the publisher's "In American History" series, these titles are characterized by solid research, dramatic details, and an accessible and attractive format. Each volume opens with a vivifying vignette: a foghorn sounding in a Buffalo, NY, harbor as three fugitive slaves enter the final leg of their journey to freedom, a man with gold fever whistling "Yankee Doodle" as he pushes a wheelbarrow full of his belongings westward. The volumes then transition into chapters that relay historical information, including facts about the political and social climate of the time, with excitement. These revisions consist mainly of improving the color quality and increasing the number of photographs, maps, and ephemera. Thorough and engaging, they are representative of what lively writing and clean, clear presentation can do to add oomph to history lessons.—Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC