Disclaimer: I read this
book as an advance copy from Netgalley. My thanks go to them, ABRAMS Kids and
to the author, Linda Barrett Osborne, for this opportunity. The opinions stated
in the review are my own.
This is a very interesting look at the events surrounding the United States
involvement with World War I. I studied some US history several years ago, both
at school and at University, and was fascinated by how the different US
political approach to conflict contrasted to that of the European history
that I also studied. This book focuses on the build up to and the fighting of World War I from a US perspective and gives an interesting and
detailed account of this time in American history. The information is presented
with clarity and insight that make it a illuminating read. The text is
augmented by photographs which portray both military and civilian life as well
as propaganda posters. The text never veers into stuffy fact recounting
but gives a human look at the political decisions, the character of the
decision makers involved, the prevailing attitudes and concerns to
American citizens and the experience of fighting the markedly different form of
warfare to any that preceded it.
I enjoyed the details that were included such as the victory garden grown
in the White House, complete with sheep to trim the lawn. They certainly would
wreak havoc with the security sensors of the modern day White House!
This book has a wide scope but it doesn't feel messy in any
way, it balances the importance of the war, the impact it had in both human and
social terms and is an excellent text. From reading this there are now areas I
wish to learn about in greater details. As a text aimed at young people
studying this period in history for the first time I think this would be very
suitable.
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