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| TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY |
Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative |
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Book Reviews - Click on Title to read Review TAH Teacher's Book Review Read the book review by Kevin Vachon, an 8th grade teacher at Eastside Middle School in Bullitt County. Kevin reviews the book, Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution By: Woody Holton. Click here to read the review. 2008-2009 Book Reviews:
The Women Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
Synopsis: The story of Frances Perkins, the first women as Secretary of Labor to serve in a president's cabinet, is a story of a determined women who fought for the economic rights of American Workers. Landmark legislation such as Social Security and Unemployment Insurance were part of the legacy of Perkins who assisted Franklin Roosevelt implementing the New Deal in 1933. Her life story and her accomplishments are brought to center stage by author Downey after years of Perkins' work has faded from our collective memory. The book also provides an inside view of the workings of the New Deal from an important participant. No Sense of Decency: The Army McCarthy Hearings - A Demagogue Falls and Television Takes Charge of American Politics
Synopsis: In a seminal American moment in the spring of 1954, dramatic hearings in the United States Senate pitted Joseph R. McCarthy, the Senate's intimidator, and his slick and fearless chief counsel Roy Cohen, against the United States Army, President Eisenhower, and the rest of the political establishment. What made the hearings unprecedented was the gavel to gavel coverage by television. 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History
Synopsis: An engrossing book that captures in detail the political and civil war dramas confronting President Lincoln in this most fateful year of the American Civil War. The author brings to live Lincoln's presidency from the momentous decisions he faced to the most mundane events. Through it all we get a glimpse at the humanity and genius of Lincoln as political leader, as Commander-in-Chief, and as human being.
Andrew Jackson: American Lion - Andrew Jackson in the White House
Synopsis: Meacham's book profiles Andrew Jackson's political skill and courage in redefining the American Presidency. Through his use of the veto, and stubborn determination to be the representative of all the people in Washington, Jackson begins the first expansion of the executive branch into the powerful position it remains today. The Other Half: The Life of Jacob Riis and the World of Immigrant America
Synopsis: The life of Jacob Riis, a Progressive Era reformer who shocks the City of New York with his best selling book, How the Other Half Lives. The book describes and in haunting photographs shows the retched condition of the poor living in the City's tenements. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbooks Got Wrong
Synopsis: A scathing review of American History textbooks found in high schools across the United States and its implication on teachers teaching history of America. Every high school history teacher needs to read this book in order to become a better teacher and for their students to become excited to learn real history of our nation and its implications for their own lives. Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson
Synopsis: The author provides a complete look at the turbulence of a new democracy dealing with the issues of the rise of capitalism, expansion of urbanization, and the perplexing issue of slavery. Beyond the changes that Andrew Jackson brings to the presidency, changes we see even today, it was also an era of major reforms from the temperance movement to abolitionism. America's exploding religious freedoms changed the church going experience. Literature and blossom in unique American styles during this period. The issue of slavery is never far from the political and social issues of the era. Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy
Synopsis: The true story of Nathan Hale is conveyed from his childhood, his experiences at Yale, his teaching positions and finally, his leadership of the Connecticut militia during the early days of the American Revolution. His short lived adventure as a spy for America would not make him the instant hero we have come to expect. It was years later that the legacy of Hale became firmly fixed in American Folklore.
Synopsis: Racial strife in the Arkansas Mississippi delta region during the unrest of the Red Scare in 1919 leads to a massacre of blacks and and subsequent injustice that ultimately results in a major U. S. Supreme Court ruling that changed the nation. Our modern concept of Hapeas corpus stems from this legal confrontation.
Synopsis: A look at the hidden or forgotten early history of the American experience from Columbus' impact on the new world to the real meaning behind Shay's Rebellion. The author takes us back to people and their stories that are often overlooked today as to their impact on our nation's development. A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn - The Last Great Battle of the American West
Synopsis: The truth behind the military disaster of Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn is told in a bold and authentic detail that provides the reader with the secrets kept from the American public for over 75 years. Was Custer the blame for the defeat by Sitting Bull, or was there more to the story than previously told?
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