This Is Who We Were: In the 60s

Gr 9 Up—This extensive work is chock-full of data, detail, and the drama of the 1960s. After an opening essay on the era and an introduction, a "Profiles" section covers individuals such as a "Plumbing Salesman, Honolulu, HI," "Disillusioned Beatles Fan, Birmingham, AL," and "Vietnam War Bride, Saigon, Vietnam and Boston, MA." The sections that follow discuss "Historical Snapshots," "Economy of the Times," "All Around Us—What We Saw, Wrote, and Listened To," and "Census Reports." The work is a veritable treasure chest of secondary and primary sources, including newspaper reprints and census reports. However, like an older relative's scattered but overflowing archive, this title is a little random and disjointed. Its layout is fairly cluttered and dense, the fonts are small, and there is too little white space and narrow margins. The format may deter high school students who are used to the clean, boxed DK style of reference work. The books in Salem Press's "Decades" are similar and may be more appealing for the high school audience.—Carla Bosco, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, MD