Thomas Paine: Fighting for American Independence

Gr 7 Up—Marketing this broad spectrum of historical activists as "rebels" will be a draw for many students. Supplemental text blocks illuminate related topics, for example, an outline of Thomas Paine's slothful and immoderate habits or of the various classes of society in Simón Bolívar's colonial Venezuela. Authors do not shy from honest treatment of historical facts, as in, for instance, the overview of the Black Codes that allowed for brutal treatment of enslaved Africans in colonial Hispaniola in L'Ouverture. A wide range of images, such as maps, paintings, and photographs of contemporary monuments and locations, provide visual context to the narratives, though they are too often incompletely cited in the text. Numbered source notes, divided by chapter, appear at the end of each volume, along with recommendations for further study, including websites and films, and a substantial index.