Entebbe

Gr 7 Up—Bridging ancient and modern history, this British import offers examples of exciting assaults and conquests from as early as the days of the samurai to as recently as 2000. Except for Iranian Embassy, which features text that is repetitive to the point of redundancy, the books are packed with facts, covering the details of the action, the people involved, and the tools used, in engaging prose. The authors cite their sources thoroughly; in Samurai and Civil War, they extrapolate details based on what documentation is available and state these suppositions clearly and without fictionalizing. Diagrams, photos (where available), and maps make the action easy to follow and provide visual context for the raids. Some of the images have a blurred quality, some maps lose details in the gutters, and readability is hampered by a small font. Despite the formatting flaws, however, this series is sure to find a large readership due to its wide historical range and descriptions of action-packed exploits.