The Diary of Joseph Plumb Martin, a Revolutionary Soldier (In My Own Words)

Grade 5-9-During the 19th century, people enjoyed reading published diaries of travelers, adventurers, gunfighters, and others. These first-person accounts provided fascinating information about historical events, semi-exotic places, and day-to-day living conditions. The Roops have taken three of these accounts and edited them for a new generation of readers. Each title contains the most interesting and informative segments from the original piece. Highlighted, unfamiliar words are defined in the margins, and sidebars and boxed sections contain additional background material on people, places, and events. All include color illustrations and maps. These are uniformly good titles, especially appealing in their immediacy. Leeper's diary is filled with details about the hardships of getting to California and the disappointment of not finding a fortune once there; Martin's diary describes the years he was enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Young Jemison recounts events from her life before and after she was captured and adopted by members of the Seneca tribe. The Roops have "here and there-revised a sentence in order to make its meaning clear to the modern reader" and the resulting texts are polished, readable, and reliable.
Dona J. Helmer, College Gate School Library, Anchorage, AK
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Recommended." -- The Book Report, May/June 2001