The Formation and Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Gr 9 Up—Starting with burning contemporary and recent conflicts, this series brings vast fields of history within a clear lens of understanding. Earlier chapters in each book trace the histories of the included cultures and set more recent events in the context of longer historical movements. However, authors occasionally try to take on too much—for example, lurching from the settlement of the Indus Valley 60,000 years ago to English colonial rule, all in the space of a few pages. Side articles provide important context, noting the sheer cultural and spatial vastness of the Soviet Union (182 ethnic groups and 149 languages in 1923) or profiling David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister. Photos of the Irish civil war and the partition of India and Pakistan are especially poignant. Each title includes links to online videos as well as a lengthy bibliography.