World War II: From the Rise of the Nazi Party to the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb

Gr 4–6-The only positive feature of this title is the time line that appears before the introduction, which presents a brief overview. It's challenging to adequately discuss the causes of World War I, the problems it left behind, the causes of the Second World War, the campaigns in two theaters, the devastation, and the resulting problems of the postwar era in 120 pages—and this volume does not rise to it. Vocabulary words are discussed in the text and poorly defined in a glossary; rationing is described, but neither the text nor the glossary explains that the short supply of rationed products was caused by the diversion of those products to military use. The text incorrectly states that Germany invaded Poland from the east and the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the west. The print on the map of the Pacific theater is too small to be legible. Finally, the text incorrectly states that Manila Bay is near the island of Luzon, when, in fact, it is in Luzon.