A History of the United States Through Art (History Through Art)

Grade 5-8-The purpose of these books is ambiguous; they are neither introductions to art, nor serious attempts to teach history. Powell relies almost entirely on standard political and military milestones, and the art she chooses includes a few lesser known or anonymous works along with many famous portraits and dramatic scenes. The layout, while attractive, presents three different threads to follow: introductory passages in bold print under each heading, several paragraphs of narrative text, and captions. The large, full-color reproductions force the narrative to be extremely brief, and some of the statements risk confusing readers not acquainted with French history. Van Zandt's volume is more successful, possibly because the span of time covered is only three centuries, and because the author has chosen to document eras and peoples rather than politics. The major wars are illustrated, but other pages feature the frontier, slavery, the Depression, the building of the railroads, and other decades of social history. While most of the paintings and photographs are not major works, they are appropriate, and the text flows smoothly. However, since the history component is hardly comprehensive enough for class reports, it seems that these books will languish on the shelves unless an occasional browser enjoys looking at the pictures.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
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