{"data":[{"id":206,"title":"U.S. History","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2015,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":"","accessibility_features":[],"description":"U.S. Historycovers the breadth of the chronological history of the United States and also provides the necessary depth to ensure the course is manageable for instructors and students alike. U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most courses. The authors introduce key forces and major developments that together form the American experience, with particular attention paid to considering issues of race, class, and gender. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). OpenStax College has compiled many resources for faculty and students, from faculty-only content to interactive homework and study guides.","contributors":[{"id":3539,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"P. Scott","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Corbett","location":"Ventura, California","background_text":"Senior Contributors P. Scott Corbett, PhD - Ventura College"},{"id":5054,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Volker","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Janssen","location":"Fullerton, California","background_text":"Volker Janssen, PhD - California State University-Fullerton"},{"id":5055,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"John","middle_name":"M.","last_name":"Lund","location":"Keene, New Hampshire","background_text":"John M. Lund, PhD - Keene State College"}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":116,"url":"https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:37.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-08-11T15:04:44.000-05:00","name":"OpenStax"}],"formats":[{"id":160,"type":"Online","url":"http://cnx.org/contents/a7ba2fb8-8925-4987-b182-5f4429d48daa/U.S._History","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":161,"type":"PDF","url":"https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":162,"type":"Hardcopy","url":"http://www.amazon.com/US-History-OpenStax-College/dp/1938168364","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":4866,"type":"Audiobook","url":"https://audileo.com/openstax-us-history-audiobook/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4.5","textbook_reviews_count":42,"reviews":[{"id":345,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Maloy","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"University of Massachusetts Amherst","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is impressively comprehensive.  Its 1052 pages include 32 chapters, beginning with the “Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492” and ending with the “Challenges of the 21st Century.”   The first eight chapters explore colonial America, the War for Independence and the formation of a new republic.  Chapters 9 through 16 focus on early industrialization, the contrasting economies of the North and South including the divisive impact of slavery, territorial expansion, political reform, and the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Chapters 17 through 22 deal with post-Civil War industrialization, westward expansion, Progressivism, and American imperialism.  Chapters 23 through 30 continue the narrative through the 20th century with material on World War I, the 1920s, the Depression and the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the changing American society and economy from the 1950s to the 1980s, including the struggle for African American civil rights.  The final two chapters focus on contemporary history from 1980 to the present.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book reflects the latest scholarship, blending political, social and economic history very effectively.  The authors discuss seminal events, dramatic moments, and hidden histories from every time period in the past.  Readers learn about different time periods from the perspectives not only of leaders and elites, but individuals and groups who are often neglected or omitted by more traditional texts.  Throughout, the lives and stories of famous and ordinary people are used to reveal the pressures and patterns of life during different time periods.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Given its treatment of seminal events, dramatic moments, and hidden histories, the book is highly relevant to the lives of students and teachers today.  Teachers and students can use the book to generate a present-to-past-to-future teaching methodology where contemporary issues are discussed and then explored historically, all to generate opportunities to envision better futures for all people.  Teachers and students can also use the book in a more traditional format, moving chronologically from the past to the present.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is well written, in an engaging and informative style that should appeal to students and teachers alike.  Importantly, the use of interactive web links, primary source excerpts, and photographs and other visual material support the book’s approach without distracting readers from main ideas.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book has a consistent approach throughout, balancing the larger historical context of key developments and important people with explorations of less-known, but still important events along with the stories of lesser-known historical figures.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The inclusion of 32 separate chapters creates a book that will be read and understood effectively by both students and teachers.  Students can read a chapter and follow the historical narrative without becoming overwhelmed in factual detail.  Teachers can assign chapters or sections of chapters to complement what they are discussing in class.  The size of the book is therefore an advantage because some sections can be explored in more depth using primary sources and other materials while other sections can be read mainly for historical background.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book has logical organization and an engaging narrative flow.  It is easy to navigate and to read.  The chapters present the major periods of United States history chronologically.  Every chapter title includes dates so readers can follow the flow of events.  For example, Chapter 8 dealing with events leading to the War for Independence is entitled “Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774.”  Similarly, the chapter on the New Deal era is entitled “Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1941.”  Maps, pictures, charts, timelines, primary source readings, and web links are placed in the center of the page, calling the reader’s attention to the information.  Figures and Tables are numbered by chapter and linked so readers can move seamlessly to the visual material.  The Table of Contents is interactive so clicking on a chapter title immediately brings readers to that chapter in the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Every chapter in the PDF and Read Online version of the book has a live web link feature called Click and Explore.  This feature takes readers to a website where they can explore a topic in more depth by viewing primary source material, viewing video on the site or accessing other resources.  For example, a figure of showing Alexander Graham Bell’s patent of the telephone is followed by a Click and Explore link to “Everyday Mysteries,” a Library of Congress site that lets readers explore competing claims for Bell, Elisha Gray or Antonio Meucci as the phone’s inventor.  Most Click and Explore links take readers to sites maintained by government agencies, museums, historical organizations, libraries, and news network sites (“Tocqueville C-Span:  Retracing the Steps of Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1831 Journey” is one such example).  Occasionally, the link goes to dot.com site where readers will find pages that include advertisements for commercial products and services.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"While the vocabulary is mainly geared for college students, with scaffolding by teachers, the book can certainly be used in high school classes as well.  ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Cultural Relevance:  The book incorporates the diverse histories and herstories of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds throughout.  Three features—“Defining ‘American’ “, “My Story” and “Americana”—present a wide-ranging multicultural view of the past. \n“Defining ‘American’ “ uses short selections from documents, speeches, photographs and other writing to uncover hidden histories and untold stories of what it means to an American, including a selection from Sarah H. Bradford’s 1869 book Scenes from the Life of Harriet Tubman; Chief Justice John Marshall’s 1832 ruling on the principle of Native American tribal sovereignty in Worcester v. Georgia; the photography of Jacob Riis documenting urban slums and tenements during the Glided Age; the story of African American soldiers during the Spanish American War; and a letter from Mary Childs Nearney, a secretary of the NAACP, requesting racist scenes be cut from the film, Birth of a Nation.\n“My Story” uses diaries, interviews, letters and other sources to set a context for important events and dramatic moments in American history, including Solomon Northup remembrance of the New Orleans Slave Market; a selection from Andrew Carnegie’s The Gospel of Wealth, a first person account of World War I trench warfare, a selection from a colonial Virginia planter, and a woman’s account of the devastation of farm lands during the 1930s Dust Bowl.\n“Americana” explores artifacts from pop culture to highlight the values and philosophies of different time periods, including Walt Whitman’s 1855 poem, “Song of Myself;” Joseph Glidden’s 1873 invention of barbed wire that changed land use patterns in the American West; lyrics from the Depression-era song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”, and pro-World War I propaganda posters in English and Yiddish.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"There is a list of key terms, a short summary of key content, a set of multiple choice Review Questions, and several critical thinking questions at the end of each of the book’s 32 chapters.  An Answer Key at the back of the book provides succinct explanations for the correct answers to the Review Questions making that a very useful feature for classroom instruction.  Questions can be given in paper format or entered into a student responses system where students can discuss the questions and analyze the answer choices.","created_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2016-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":436,"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Lindaman","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Winona State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Very comprehensive in scope and coverage.  If possible, I would like to see a few more primary sources.  However, perhaps they could be located in an appendix as the flow is strong \"as is.\"","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate.  There are no errors found in the text.  The text is unbiased.  Organizationally, it does not favor an overtly political, diplomatic, social, or cultural approach, which in turn might lend to bias.  Instead, it is a nice blending of approaches.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It is a history book and therefore will stand a longer test of time.  Any relevant changes should be easy to make.  I will comment on the images elsewhere.  Fur purposes of evaluating longevity however, I will note that the historical images are sharp or crisp in appearance.  By largely staying away from photos, these will stand the test of time.  A few contemporary photos were used in the early chapters, but they are not many in number and should not look dated.  In any case, they could be easily replaced.  Thus, as far as images were concerned, I found the selections strong and ones that look sharp in a contemporary setting.  Second, I thought the authors did a masterful job of including hooks to current or contemporary cultural references that were embedded in the materials of the past.  This inclusion piqued my curiosity as a reader and will provide an number of great avenues of discovery and discussion for student readers.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The clarity was solid throughout.  IT was not overly filled with jargon.  Paragraph structures were the appropriate length,  While on the subject of clarity, I want to underscore my appreciation for the clarity associated with the labeling of the images.  They were  not only neat in appearance, but also including the appropriate materials (in a succinct manner) to allow student to practice historical sourcing as a skill.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"There were no issues in this area.  I have more to say under the theme of modularity which I see as a great strength of the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"If I could, I would give this a five plus rating!!  I found this to be a very pleasing aspect of the open source platform.  Without worry of page number or length impacting printing prices, the authors were able to assemble a great number of chapters, or at least a greater number of sub-themes within the chapters.  Three examples stand out: the Crusades, greater coverage of Africa, and deeper coverage of the European Reformation; all of these allowed greater depth to the historical story, with the option of covering them on the assigned readings, or not, without missing the flow.  Likewise, within the chapters, the modularity was a strength, allowing a fluent reading experience between themes.  It appears the book is driven by theme or key vocabulary concepts as opposed the \"the great individual\" in history approach.  As stated under the bias theme, this means it does not come across favoring any one approach to hisoty.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"All topics were logical.  The flow was sound,  I appreciated the opening hook and the lead prompts or questions under the sub-chapter sections.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I was very impressed with the interface of the text.  Approaching this review, I was skeptical, or though one of the main things I like about texts, the infusion of images, might be lost in an open source platform.  This was not the case.  I came away very impressed with the interface.  The paragraphs were embedded with images, or use of primary sources.  This kept the flow of the chapters lively and provides many opportunity to go into a deeper discussion of the images or primary sources in relation to the context of the material covered.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any issues with the grammar.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This was generally good.  With the vast use of images, the authors may consider using a bit more cultural diversity over the last half of the text.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Entering with an open mind, though somewhat skeptical of open source as a platform, I came away very impressed.  The modularity and interface of the text were definite strengths.  The material is solid, but definitely enhanced with the use of images, embedded primary sources, and links to additional open source materials.  This will allow the students opportunity to gain coverage of materials, while also providing the opportunity for the flipped classroom in that great discussions can take place surrounding the images and primary documents, including the opportunity to practice historical thinking skills of sourcing and contextualization.  Along these lines, I want to applaud the authors for the use of lead images to introduce each chapter.   This was something I thought would e lost on an open source platform.  Instead, as I was reviewing, I could not wait to get to the next chapter to see what the authors included as the image-hook-historical context opening.  Well done, creative, and I would love to use in the classroom!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":443,"first_name":"Joe","last_name":"Austin","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"NOTE: My comments apply ONLY to the post-1865 chapters (16-32). I'd judge this book's comprehensiveness to be about average or a little better. The chapters prior cover the material prior to the 1960s (chapter 29) are more comprehensive than those that follow. The chapters before 1930 (16-25) are the most comprehensive.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I found no errors in the material. In my view, the book could have used a more critical viewpoint; it's \"bias\" as primarily a kind of uncritical blandness. Otherwise, I saw no consistent viewpoint across the chapters. The viewpoints across some of the chapter sections seemed to vary quite a bit.","relevance_rating":2,"relevance_review":"I thought the book was about 10-15 years behind the times in terms of terminology. For instance, there was no serious discussions of \"whiteness\" or \"settler colonialism\" or even the intellectual history of race that would have helped to conceptualize and unify some of the material. The material is fairly modular (perhaps to a fault -- it seems fragmented in places), so it shouldn't be too difficult to add these sorts of conceptual tools with minimal editing.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Jargon-less to a fault: lacks the kinds of conceptual tools that might challenge students to engage more deeply and critically with the material (see above). Very accessible language, but also very bland overall (this varied quite a bit). This book is unlikely to inspire anyone to become more interested in history, but it is also unlikely that many students will misunderstand the textbook's intended meanings.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"With rather little terminology or framework, one could call this textbook consistent. The \"side bars\" did not add significant thematic consistency. In general, the textbook navigated a middle road, the most consistent focus on political, military, economic/business, and diplomatic subfields across chapters.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"In my opinion, this was a weakness in this textbook. I understand that modularity is important for this textbook format, but it works against narrative and critical/analytical consistency, and in this case, also results in an inconsistency in the authorial voice. Yes, it would be relatively easy to add new sections without major disturbances in the existing flow of the text. Is that a good thing in a narrative presentation? Doesn't this suggest that any new sections had little significant impact or importance?","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The chapters prior to WW1 (chapters 16-22) are organized thematically across broad, overlapping periods, while those that follow (23-32) are arranged in a stricter chronological order. The post-1945 chapters (chapters 28-32) tend to cover longer periods of time (15-20 years). The organization seems to have an implicit argument that the last 100 years (and certainly the last ~50 years) are less well understood or important than the last half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. That said, this one does not seem too far out of the standard range among US history textbooks.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"These seemed to be about standard quality. These \"side bars\" generally were well written and worthwhile, but more seemed like \"spice\" rather than \"nourishment.\"","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The only major grammar problem in the text is the use of the passive voice, which is noteworthy in some sections. Given my emphasis on causation and action in student writing, this is a problem for me. Some sections would seem to encourage a kind of vague, \"zeitgeist\" thinking that seems more appropriate to entertainment venues (e.g., the History Channel) as opposed to an academic textbook. I noticed the repeated use of the word \"spirit\" (e.g., \"the progressive spirit\").","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"I found nothing that was identifiably offensive, but there was a notable turn away from critically examining the reproduction of long-term inequalities. Thus, racism was primarily caused by \"racists\" rather than everyday embedded racial ideals, presumptions, bad science, or unrecognized \"special privileges.\" There is no critique of modernity nor a serious challenge to \"Western Civilization.\" Likewise, there was no critical examination of the inequalities generated by capitalism, aside from a few bad actors. Even when examining the Gilded Age, the textbook repeated the long-outdated \"debate\" about the virtues of the Robber Barons. No conservative K-12 school board would be offended by this textbook.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"As you may have detected if you have read this far, I am not a fan of US textbooks. That said, I am a big fan of Eric Foner's textbook, particularly in its least-expensive form. No, by no means is it perfect, but my students consistently rate it highly, and it avoids most of the flaws of the genre. \n\nIn my experience, standard US history textbooks do little to challenge the patriotic, \"glorious past\" propaganda that is pushed on our K-12 students. Historical thinking and critique tend to be episodic and anecdotal -- although inequalities seem to \"reappear\" in textbook narratives, there is rarely any sense that inequality is systematic or structural. US history textbooks are more likely to damage any enthusiasm students display in understanding US history than to nurture it. \n\nThis general description of US history textbooks fits this particular textbook quite well. It seems to be \"standard\" in every way, with its primary distinction being its blandness. As I mentioned before, this textbook is very unlikely to win new converts to historical thinking, though it will likely satisfy the History Channel enthusiasts.\n\nThe supposed virtue of open source textbooks at this historical moment seems to be price, and I have strong sympathies with attempts to reduce the outrageous costs that students in the US must pay for higher education. However, this textbook does little to challenge unexamined, \"commonsense\" assumptions about the US past that could as easily be acquired (and affirmed) from television programming or Hollywood. We have to do better than this. Otherwise, the ~$50 price for Foner's textbook is a far better choice.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":494,"first_name":"Charles","last_name":"Young","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Umpqua Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is quite comprehensive in covering key ares and ideas.  For example, I was quite impressed with the well written and broad details concerning \"John Winthrop and the Puritans\" in Chapter 3 and with \"The New Nixon,\" \"The Domestic Nixon,\" and \"Nixon the Diplomat\" in Chapter 30.  When I first began reading the textbook I felt there was was too much interruption and space given to the illustrations, maps, charts, and first person narratives (as engaging and colorful as they are) at the expense of narrative flow and needed textual content but by the second chapter I realized how well written and to the point the test is.  I did feel that the extent given to the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War was excessive (I served during this period). With that aside, because of this excellent focus the content does give sufficient depth to the issues and events in  relatively short textual spaces.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I am also impressed with the accuracy of the information given.  Only in a few areas do I feel the content on certain subjects to be too simplistic or indeed somewhat inaccurate.  To be specific, in Chapter 1, \"The Maya,\" the fall of the Classic Maya by 900 C.E. is far more complex than simply to say,  \"Because of poor soil and a drought that lasted nearly two centuries their civilization declined . . .  and they abandoned their large population centers.\"  A major increase in endemic, continuous warfare, raids by non-Mayan peoples, an urban population too large to be sustained by their agriculture, and the loss of faith in their rulers and the ceremonies centered in these urban ceremonial centers were also key factors in the decline.  I also feel the reasons given for using the atomic bombs in WWII, especially why a second bomb was dropped to be missing key factors and far too abbreviated.  Otherwise, however, i give this textbook high marks for accuracy and depth.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is quite up to date and relevant.  The treatment of the rise of the conservative movement politically  is outstanding in both its relevancy to today and in its depth of detail.  In particular I praise in Chapter 31 the sections on \"Creating a Conservative Policy\" and \"Conservative Christians and Family Values.\"   I did not see where the textbook would be out of date anytime soon.  The last chapter is excellent in bring us up to the last few years of history.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is exceptionally well written and to the point.  As I shared earlier, at first I thought that the text was too often broken up by the maps, pictures, and first person sections but soon came to realize that the authors do zero in well on the key information needing to be shared in a wonderfully engaging writing styles.  For example, the labor systems used in early New Spain is so well written, as is the material on Anne Hutchinson and the early Puritans.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in spite of the multiple authors (which is surprising)  Whoever had some editorial input did an outstanding job blending the no doubt different writing styles into a coherent, engaging, and always to the point brevity.  I am particularly impressed with the Civil War narrative in its consistency, and all through the book the repeated framework works well.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The division of the chapters into sections, readings, maps, illustrations, first person accounts, review questions, glossaries, critical thinking questions, on line sources all worked very well. Yes, such modularity does lend itself to easy reorganization to better fit individualized teaching methods, highlighting key sections, and an overall variety that I believe would be  very engaging to students.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"At first I felt the many different section breaks, especially the extensive maps and pictures/illustrations, caused  too much interruption of the narrative reading flow.  By the second chapter, however, I became aware of how well written the text was and how well chosen, perfectly paired, and visually attractive were the illustrations and maps (the color alone added to the engagement).  By the the third chapter I was even more impressed with the organization and flow and that view remained throughout the rest of the textbook reading.  Your choices of illustrations, maps, charts, and pictures are outstanding.  The \"Colombian Exchange\" map and text are examples of impressive and appropriate pairing and reinforcement.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"navigation of the interface is straightforward and easy.  I did not notice distortion or any issue here that would confuse the reader.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice problems with grammar.  In fact, I am very impressed with the level of writing, particularly its ability to explain  rather complex ideas in an engaging, to the point way.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I believe this textbook is culturally sensitive and relevant.  It certainly includes many first person accounts of discrimination and intolerance (an example being the attention to our past slavery and to the rounding up of Japanese- Americans at the beginning of WWII) in our history so as to remind us of how far we have come and to be ever more sensitive to equal treatment of peoples.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I am very impressed with this textbook, especially in its engaging use of appropriate and colorful maps and illustrations, its well chosen use of  photographs, and, most of all, its well written narrative that I believe will greatly involve the reader in the story telling aspect of what good history is all about.  I would highly recommend this book to others!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":497,"first_name":"Caryn","last_name":"Neumann","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"Miami University of Ohio","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is an acceptable replacement for any U.S. History textbook by a major publisher. To save costs, the publisher used open source material for images.  The book is not as polished-looking as a \"normal\" textbook. However, the quality of the text is high.  Full disclosure: I was one of many reviewers who looked at chapters for any possible errors or weaknesses. The quality control procedures of OpenStax matched that of traditional publishers.\n\nI have listed this book on my syllabus as suitable for my students in U.S. History.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook has been proofread by many eyes and I can find no errors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The vast majority of historians regard anything that has happened in the past 20 years as current events. It is not possible to have historical distance on a topic until a generation, at least, has passed.  Therefore, I do not regard this question of longevity as relevant to this book.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"It is quite readable.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book has no readability problems at all. It is consistent and easy to digest.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The table of contents matches the pattern of most history courses. Historians typically move chronologically.  The chapters are broken into easily digestible parts.  I read each chapter in one sitting without any difficulty.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The chapters match the flow of the vast majority of history courses.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The book is fairly straightforward and basic.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I would have a fit if the book contained grammar errors. It has none that I saw.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"It is quite inclusive and respectful.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"No.","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":522,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Jamison","position":"Visiting Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Miami University -- Middletown","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"At 1052 pages, \"U.S. History\" is nothing if not comprehensive. Maybe comprehensive to a fault. Although it fulfills its duty as a history textbook by including fairly detailed recountings of events (with some exceptions to come), the editors are guilty of including large chunks of information in the precolonial and colonial eras that are tangential at best to the story of U.S. History. One example is the entirety of Chapter 2. It’s called “Early Globalization in the Atlantic World,” but it’s not. The entire chapter is largely background information on contemporary European political and cultural history in order to give us context for when we later read about what was happening in the Americas.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"There were some glaring inaccuracies, mostly concentrating in the section on “West Africa and the Role of Slavery.” The text mentions that “West Africa . . . was linked to the rise and diffusion of Islam.” This statement is wildly vague and inaccurate. How can a region be \"linked\" to a religion that doesn’t reach it until the 8th Century? Are the editors not aware of the rise of the pre-Islamic Nok civilizations and their terra cotta figures and ironworking? The state of Ghana likewise exploited the gold-for-salt trade using Berber and Tuareg intermediaries before Islam had made it to West Africa. And what of the powerful non-Muslim states of West Central Africa, Kongo and Angola? Do they not merit a mention? \n\nA few sentences down, the text claims “Until about 600 CE, most Africans were hunter-gatherers.” This sentence was actually flabbergasting. The Agricultural Revolution hit West Africa at least as early as the second millennium B.C.E., and the Bantu peoples began their spread from Cameroon to over the entirety of southern Africa -- bringing agriculture and iron-working technology -- soon after, eventually replacing the hunter-gatherer culture of southern Khoisan speakers. There were large groups of people who were hunter-gatherers in 600 CE to be sure, as there large groups of pastoralists, but this sentence seriously decontextualizes the actual on-the-ground reality.  \n\nThere are more. In the very same paragraph, to say that “Sub-Saharan Africans had little experience in maritime matters. Most of the population lived away from the coast, which is connected to the interior by five main rivers” robs the teacher of the chance to teach students about the Liberian-area Kru people, who ferried African American colonists back and forth from the coasts because their ships couldn’t face the rocky shore. And this would be a direct tie-in to  American history. Of course there were hundreds of groups who lived near the ocean, but there was never economic or population-pressure motivation to explore transoceanic exploration. Suffice it to say, the research on this section left quite a bit to be desired and is in need of a general rewrite. I would say that this is one of the book’s more immediate concerns. The following section on African slavery, however, is excellent, particularly the connection between the construction of race with slavery. Although a section on parallel social institutions among Amerindian groups and on serfdom in Europe in this chapter would give the chapter more overall thematic balance.\n\nMuch as the text gives too much primacy to the role of Islam in the construction of political and cultural cohesion in West Africa, it gives too little credit to Muslim culture in the contribution it made to European culture, particularly the Renaissance, in its treatment of the events in sections 2.1 and later in the flowering of the Enlightenment in section 4.4. It ignores how the Moors brought algebra and Greek and Roman philosophy back to Europe, which led to the Enlightenment. This is inaccurate in that it gives students a warped view of the role Islamic culture has played in American culture. \n\nThe text calls the Dutch Republic “Holland” on page 50. Holland was but one province in the Netherlands, although people of the time called the Dutch Republic “Holland” in the same way some people think Manhattan is “New York City.”   \n\nI was very impressed that the book gave the definition of the word “slave” on  page 15. That is a rarely mentioned but important history.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is largely up-to-date, using the most accurate terminology for its historical referents. It uses the word “tribe” rather carelessly,(p. 16) though, without going into the history of that term, given that it was used by European anthropologists to (often inaccurately) classify and compartmentalize the ethnic groups they encountered in Africa and the Americas. A more useful term for classification would be “ethnic group.”","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The wording of the text is clear, and achieves a not-unreasonable level of grammatical and syntactical complexity for college students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework and terminology are consistent.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The modularity is fine, but the section titles are more confusing than helpful. It would be preferable to have section titles that use terms students will be familiar with. Rather than titling chapters “Religious Upheavals in the Developing Atlantic World,” title it “Protestant Reformation and Catholicism.” Instead of  “The United States Goes Back to War,” use “The War of 1812.” That way when students are looking for a topic they want to find in the Table of Contents, they’ll be able to navigate it faster.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"The organization of the first four chapters is inexhaustingly Eurocentric. Pages 34 - 39 and 42 - 46 are completely out of place in a U.S. history book, for instance. All of the information on those pages can be explained with quick in-text references in the sections that really have to do with America rather than long paragraphs in their own section. Chapter 4 on the British Empire is completely unnecessary. This is definitely a way the text can cut down on its word count. The chapter just seems like an excuse to tell European history. All that needs to be said in a U.S. history book about that period is covered in Chapter 3, which, by the way, is excellent, particularly the attention given to St. Augustine, Santa Fe, and Bacon’s Rebellion. The text sings when focusing on regional histories. The section on New France is extraneous, however.\n\nThe breaking up of the 1960s Countercultural Movement into two eras seems to rob the moment of its full contextual impact. The political issues from, say, p. 866 “Kennedy the Cold Warrior” directly led to the social upheavals covered right up to page 903, the beginning of Nixon’s story. That period represented a significant break with previous notions of American identity and should have its own chapter with a distinctive thematic focus.\n\nThere were great delights. I loved the inclusion of a section on transcendentalism and was pleasantly surprised to see a section on the flowering of antebellum Utopian communities.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"On the online version, there should be page numbers. The only way to refer a student to a particular sentence is by section number, and those are too long. If going over a passage in class, it will take too long for everybody to find it. \n\nIn the pdf version, the table contents have hyperlinks that take you right to the section, but there’s no way to go back to the Table of Contents from the different section. This will cause a delay, particularly if a student goes to the wrong section, they can’t go right back up to the Table of Contents. There should be a way back.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text contains this sentence on page 20: “In 1054, the eastern branch of Christianity, led by the Patriarch of Constantinople (a title that because roughly equivalent to the western Church’s pope), established its center in Constantinople and adopted the Greek language for its services.” I think the word “was” was supposed to go there instead of the word “because.”","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Rather than devoting so much of Chapter 2 to European history, there were relevant things happening in the Americas that the editor could have chosen to include. What about the legendary battles between maroon/Carib confederations against both the French and the British on Saint Vincent and Dominica? What about Spanish and Portuguese encounters with Arawaks and Caribs in the Lesser Antilles and the construction of racial characteristics amongst these ethnic groups? These are events that had actual cultural impact in Americas, as those populations directly comprised the American cultural mosaic.\n\nIn Chapter 1, black and brown leaders are consistently left out of the narrative. In the one sentence discussing the inheritors of the gold-for-salt trade, the Songhay, where is the mention of Askia Muhammad Toure, who founded it, or Sunni Ali Ber, who led its hostile takeover?  What of Amerindian heroes like Tupac Yupanqui, Pachacuti, or Montezuma? Do they not merit a mention? And, not unimportantly, why is it that only European leaders get honorifics? The text makes the effort the mention that Richard was named the “the Lionheart,” Charles Martel “the Hammer,” and Henry “the Navigator.” More information on Songhay or the Kongo would have allowed for mention of Askiya the Great or Affonso the Great. Black and brown leaders have cool nicknames, too. This is exactly why we see so many studies of black and brown children in America who don’t feel they have role models. We force feed them navigators and hammers with whom they have trouble identifying. \n\nEurocentrism is about seeing the world from one perspective, and ignoring the possibility that your reader does not share it. Opening up a section with a sentence like “The year 622 brought a new challenge to Christendom” (page 29) immediately puts “Christendom” in the role of protagonist and Islam in the role of antagonist. As if it were Islam’s mission to destroy Christianity. The text does not explore at all Muhammad’s attempts to bring his vision to both Jewish and Christian leaders in Mecca, that he wanted to unify the faiths. The text is largely graphic in its depictions of horrors on both sides of the Crusades, but it continues an ugly narrative in American society that Islam is a force to be conquered by Christians.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"Please address the issues on African and Amerindian history and I will be happy to re-review!","created_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2016-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1043,"first_name":"Gerd","last_name":"Horten","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Concordia University--Portland, Oregon","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"\nThe coverage of this textbook is very comprehensive.  The 32 chapters are very similar to many other textbooks which are commercially available, and they are well suited for two-semester and three-term surveys of US history.  Especially in the opening chapters, the textbook also provides a helpful global perspective on the developments and factors influencing the conquest and the settlement of the Americas as well as the American Indian cultures and societies already in existence.  The wide-angle lens of this narrative does a fine job in terms of contextualizing especially early American history, but the textbook very ably and comprehensively covers later historical eras as well.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"\nThe textbook provides an accurate and rather well-balanced portrayal of US history.  This attempt to objectively reflect American history comes through in a few ways.  For one, the portrayal of post-World War II and especially also post-1960s movements is presented in a fair and even-handed manner.  In addition, the many opportunities to dig deeper in sections such as \"Click and Explore\" or \"Americana\" highlight various angles and perspectives on important historical events and developments.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"\nThe authors of the textbook make a concerted effort to connect historical events and developments from the past with current-day concerns and controversies.  Thus, a section on \"environmental changes\" is seamlessly inserted in early colonial history (Chapter 3) and the controversies surrounding slavery are connected to developments in colonial consumer society (Chapter 4).  The document selections also do a valiant job in terms of connecting past and present in similar ways.  More such synthesis segments might further enhance the overall strength of this textbook.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"\nThe writing is very accessible and clear.  There are few overly long sentences, and the use of language and terminology seems well within the range of most undergraduate students.  Every chapter in addition concludes with a section of key terms which will help to identify and explain some of the most important concepts and the most challenging terminology.  A section of review questions at the end of each chapter allows students to instantly check their understanding of the most important material covered in the respective chapters.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"\nAs in most textbooks, some chapters are clearly stronger and more in-depth than others, which is often dependent on the areas of specialties of the authors.  This textbook is no exception to this general rule.  For example, issues of gender and race are covered more comprehensive in the chapters surrounding the American Revolution (Chapters 5 \u0026amp; 6) than in the chapters leading up to the Civil War.  Also, while many chapters are thematically centered, some topics in modern US history, such as the Vietnam War, is interspersed over several chapters (Chapters 28-30).  While certainly defensible in its approach, this might provide somewhat of a challenge for many lower-level undergraduate students.  But in general, the chapters are dealt with in a very even-handed and consistent manner.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"\nThe division of the chapters and sub-headings is very clear and appropriately handled.  In addition, as mentioned earlier, the number of chapters and sub-divisions will align very well and smoothly with most survey courses.  Chapters 1-16 cover the first half of the survey up through the Civil War and Reconstruction Era.  The second 16 chapters move all the way up to the election and presidency of Barack Obama (up until 2014).  I think the book is also rather effective in concisely covering postwar US history in seven clearly written chapters.  If one were to follow this textbook outline, chances of reaching the 21st century would greatly increase, which is something most instructors (including yours truly) struggle to accomplish.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"\nThe textbook is very clearly and effectively organized, and central topics are clearly identified in the headings as well as the sub-headings of each chapter.  I think that the textbook also clearly identifies specific watersheds, such as the years 1774/75 in terms of the lead-up to the American Revolution (Chapters 5 \u0026amp; 6).  In addition, especially the antebellum chapters are thematically divided in a clear manner. which seems appropriate especially for such topics as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the reform movements of the early 19th century (Chapters 9-13).  ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"\nThe interface works very smoothly and effectively.  The hyperlinks in particular allow for quick detours and explorations, which lend themselves either for in-class discussions, homework assignments or starting points for small research projects.  I think this online version and the ease of clicking and connecting to bonafide websites and historical information might further encourage students to distinguish more clearly between useful and less useful internet sources.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"\nThe textbook is very well written.  I have to admit that I did not read every word of it, but I did not detect grammatical errors in the sections which I read or surveyed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"\nThe textbook makes a very valiant effort to be culturally relevant.  There are no offensive or culturally insensitive segments which I noticed.  It does use the term \"American Indian\" rather than \"Native American\", which might deter some instructors from using it, but the authors also provide a very well-reasoned rationale for the choice.  In addition, similar to most textbooks, women, American Indians and other racial minorities are highlighted in specific chapters, but this coverage is not carried through for all chapters in an even manner (which is admittedly very difficult to accomplish).  I think the textbook deserves relatively high marks in terms of cultural relevance.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"\nThis is a very strong textbook overall and certainly can compete with those that are commercially available.  The ease and frequency of the \"Click \u0026amp; Explore\" and the \"Americana\" sections as well as the documents inserted between sub-headings provide ample opportunities for additional study and exploration.  I also think that the condensed post-World War II chapters provide a helpful road map for instructors who attempt to reach more recent decades of American history in their survey classes--and maybe even venture into the 21st century of US history by the end of the final course. ","created_at":"2017-02-15T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-15T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1076,"first_name":"Kurt","last_name":"Kortenhof","position":"History Instructor","institution_name":"Saint Paul College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The US History text is organized into 32 chapters that adequately present an outline of American history from pre-contact to 2014. The book is also easily adaptable to the two US History survey structure most colleges and universities follow. While no two instructors will agree on the level of detail aspects of US history should receive, this text does to a nice job of presenting a useful narrative supported by ancillaries that include: brief chapter timelines, sidebars (Americana, Defining America, and My Story), images, maps, web links, section-level objectives (that correspond to lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy), bold-faced key terms, section summaries, and objective and essay review questions.\n\nThe appendices include: The Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution, Presidents of the US, a political and topographical map, a population chart, and a list of suggested readings. In all, the appendices offer significantly less than many traditional US History textbooks provide.\n\nThe text also includes a glossary with hyper-links to the terms’ mention in the text. The glossary is, however, significantly less robust than many other textbooks provide.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text reflects a middle-of-the-road contemporary interpretation of US history. I did not see any glaring factual errors in the text (nor would I expect to). I think that people can argue about the balance and emphasis of any text, but I thought overall this book is balanced. Having said that, in places I did question the emphasis of certain aspects of the interpretation. For example, in discussing the home front during World War I, a lot of space is devoted to discussing those who opposed the draft and the ramification of doing so, while little was mentioned of the overwhelming support of the war illustrated by a general compliance to the selective service act (and other factors).","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book is current as of 2014. Like any history text that runs up to contemporary times, the last chapter of the book will need to be continually updated.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I thought the writing in the text is one of the strong points. Although the writing is broken up by ancillaries, headings, and subheadings an engaging narrative still drives the book. The book is easy to follow and has a nice flow to it.\n\nThe text is written at what appears to me to be a higher reading level than the book I am currently using (Faragher, OUT OF MANY – Brief edition). Because I teach in an open-enrollment community college environment, this might present challenges for me and others teaching in a similar environment.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I did not note any changes in writing styles of significant variations in chapter length (although like all textbooks, some chapters are a bit longer than others). I also thought that the ancillaries brought a consistency to the text from chapter to chapter.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I do think that the authors do a nice job providing context where needed to allow students to pick up in 1877 and make sense of the content. Further, many of the chapters or sections can stand on their own if an instructor wanted to assign parts and pieces of the text. \n\nI did notice that this books appears dense in places and there are multiple examples of pages of text not broken up by images or interactives. In this sense, my current text does a nice better job of providing a presentation that is not intimidating for students.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"For the most part the text is logically organized and well suited to work for institutions that split the US survey in 1877. The first 16 chapters run from pre-contact to Reconstruction, while the remaining 16 chapters run from 1877 to 2014. If your course is split in 1865, as it currently is at my institution, the chapter organization presents a problem with 15 chapters in the first half of the survey and 17 in the second half. If we adopt this book, we will likely adjust our survey courses so they splint in 1877.\n\nAt the chapter level, the content is organized into the 32 chapters in a logical fashion for the most part. There are, however, some curiosities. The most puzzling to me is the treatment of Manifest Destiny. While the text does discuss 1840s expansion in chapter 11: “A Nation on the Move: Westward Expansion, 1800-1850,” nowhere in that chapter is the term Manifest Destiny introduced even though it was coined in connection with a debate to annex Texas in 1845 (which is addressed). Later in chapter 17: “Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900,” the term Manifest Destiny is introduced and rightly – although briefly – associated with the acquisition of Texas. The issue is that this mention comes in a chapter that falls in the second half of the course and not associated in the section of the course that covers the 1840s (a period more commonly associated with the concept of Manifest Destiny in US history). Further, students using the index to search for “Manifest Destiny” are taken to Chapter 17, and not chapter 14.\n\nAdditional aspects of the organization that I question include: separating out the Revolutionary War into a separate chapter from the larger Revolution, and dividing the treatment of the Great Depression into a chapter focusing on the Hoover administration and one focusing on Roosevelt’s New Deal.\n\nThe organization within chapters is driven by well-designed sections and subsections and will, in my opinion, serve students well. I did think it is odd, however, that the chapters have introductions that sit before and outside of the chapter sections, but no conclusions.","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"By far the most disappointing aspect of this text is the interface. Students can view the text online, as a PDF, or download an iBook for a minor charge. I reviewed the interface in all three versions of the text and feel that the iBook version offers the best user experience, but one that still falls below basic expectations. Here are a couple of frustrations: \n•\tKey Terms: while the iBook offers pop-up definitions to bold-face key terms, the PDF and online version do not. To find the pull-out definition in these other formats, students must scroll to the end of the chapter. \n•\tImages and Maps: More disappointing are the images, cartoons, and maps. In most cases the images are too small to see important details. In the online and PDF versions of the text, they cannot be expanded. In the iBook version students can click to expand the images by 50% - but it only stretches the image and makes it less legible. While the authors have selected useful political cartoons, the images are reproduced in such a way that make it impossible to students to read the text to fully understand the messages. Two of many examples of this short coming are: figure 11.19 (page 328) and figure 12.18 (page 363). An example of a map that cannot be read at all, see figure 23.16 (page 682).\n•\tLook and Feel: The look and feel of this text is bland and will not compare well to other fee-based print or online textbooks. Further, it may feel dated and clunky to our students who are often times use to slick, interactive interfaces in other aspects of their lives.\n•\tInteractives: Beyond the chapter review questions (of which only ½ have answers), and the option to be launched into content-related web sites, there is no interactivity in this text.\n\nOn the positive side, students are able to highlight section of text in both the PDF and iBook version of the text. Additionally, the iBook version offers its standard functionality that allows readers to create note cards.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical issues.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text does a nice job of reflecting a relatively current and inclusive interpretation of US history. In all places where I expected to see inclusive discussions, I found them.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I think that the cost saving students will realize with this book are significant and clearly the most compelling reason to adopt this text. Doing so, however, brings some draw backs and perhaps challenges for our students.","created_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1424,"first_name":"Tom","last_name":"Nejely","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Klamath Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I am reviewing this text from the viewpoint of a community college survey course, whose students may or may not be at college level writing. This population has certain needs and behaviors that influence the way I'm going to review the text. Student requests for an OER text have become overwhelming just in the last year and a half.  However, they have made it clear that a good text must have certain things:\n1. ease of navigation. If they have to scroll, they won't use it.\n2. It must be \"used.\"  That means assignments, quizzes, or tests must cause them to open the text and refer to certain parts while taking or preparing for the assignment/quiz/test.\n3. Students will generally not use the text on their own motivation to come prepared for class.\n4. It needs to be interesting.  Students would rather spend 3 hours Google searching rather than just 15 minutes reading a boring text.\n\nAbout this text's comprehensiveness: It is a very traditional text modeled on many editions that I have sitting on my shelves.  Its focus is very clearly on Europe and the \"lower 48.\"  Therefore, America's role in the 19th century westernizing of Japan, conquest of the Hawaiian islands, or any mention of the international grab for imperial dominance around the Pacific is/are missing.  If an instructor wishes to expand the horizons of the class, this text will not be sufficient.  On the other hand, that's an opportunity to have students reach further abroad for sources instead of just one textbook.\n\nIs the text comprehensive enough to be useful?  Yes, with some caveats that include a limited number of primary sources, a tight focus on the lower 48 and a lack of a global viewpoint.  That doesn't mean its a poor book, it's just on the instructor to know what supplementation they'll need.\n\nThe \"click and Explore\" function in each section is worth mentioning.  If an instructor sets this up right, these can be very useful class or group projects.  I liked exploring them, but not enough for them to be self-motivating.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I didn't find the same degree of inaccuracy that other reviewers refer to.  I find it - appropriate to the student population I deal with - reasonably accurate, error-free, and unbiased.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"For this comment I read with interest the last sections of the text which are the most modern.  The author(s) present the war on terror matter-of-factly, and do not mention the concerns of privacy and surveillance that have arisen.  Since this is an ever-increasing issue, and the current generation of students is entirely focused on their electronic devises, this lack means that the end of the text will become rapidly insufficient.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Baby boomer historians have fallen into an unfortunate trap: they write in a language that the next generation doesn't speak.  There is an abundance of language that renders many textbooks inaccessible to students, and this text is no different.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Very consistent.  Once students and faculty have become accustomed to what the text has to offer, they are good to go.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text does in fact divide easily and the navigate bar on the left makes things work very well.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Clear enough; I didn't notice it.  The absence of annoyances means it will work adequately for a class.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface works well once the reader understands the need for an initial click to enable the sidebar navigation tool.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't find any editing problems that would interfere with student learning.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"For this comment I looked specifically at the South before the Civil War and the Civil Rights movements of the 60s sections.  These narratives were stock-in-trade so far as I could tell avoiding most insensitivities or offensiveness.  the civil rights section focused almost exclusively on the African-American experience.  Some mention of the Mexican-American movement was made, but the Amerindian experience is completely missing.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is basically a traditional text that will need instructor creativity and thoughtfulness to make it into an effective learning experience for students.  It does not at all pretend to be global in its perspective.  I found the chapter end review questions to be disappointing and any instructor should not rely on these to help students learn.  Its navigation is easy to use, once a reader understand the need for the initial button click that enables the left side bar.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1447,"first_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Woodhouse","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Riverland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is comprehensive.  It covers events from pre-1492 through the last years of President Obama's administration.  It looks at social, economic,  cultural, political, racial, gender and military history, and it often goes beyond those few categories. \n\nIt covers topics in more depth than most other history texts.   For example, the book spends much more time on the background history leading up until the European conquest of the New World than is common in other textbooks.\n\nIt has a good index and glossary as well as a good review section at the end of each chapter.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found no factual inaccuracies in the text.  \nAs for interpretation of events, the authors are very thorough in looking at events from many different perspectives.  For example, though the authors interpret the Mexican-American War as a war of aggression by the United States, they, nevertheless, include a good discussion of why the United States went to war and even include a discussion of the American claims of the Rio Grande River as the border with Mexico.  I have read few other survey texts that include that later information.\nAs with any text, one can quibble with interpretations and with the choices of which information to include and which to exclude.  For example, in discussing the reasons for the Japanese surrender in the Second World War, they discussed the dropping of the atomic bomb but did not mention the impact of the Soviet declaration of war on Japan in the final days before the surrender.\nWith interpretation of events, the book overs very little to criticize and much to praise.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is fresh but is not faddish.   It will have a long shelf-life and can easily be updated should the need arise.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The authors write in a clear style that should be accessible to the average college student.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in its use of terminology.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The authors have a sound division of chapters which will make the book easy to break up into smaller teaching units.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is well organized and has a nice flow.  The authors usually stick to a chronological approach, but they sometimes step away from that organization and look a a single subject over a longer period of time than is covered in any one chapter.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The authors have many hyperlinks built into their book that will take the reader to much more information than is included in the actual text itself.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is well written.  William Strunk Jr. would be pleased with the books elements of style.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is very inclusive.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This text is a gem.  I will use it in all my survey U.S. history classes.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1460,"first_name":"John","last_name":"Haymond","position":"Adjunct Instructor of History","institution_name":"Riverland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I was most interested in the portions of this text that dealt with events from mid-19th century to the First World War, but I still read through sections bracketing that date range.  In its aim to cover the entire sweep of American history from before European contact to the 21st century, this text is ambitious.  So broad a scope, however, pretty much guarantees one of two outcomes -- either the book will be so long and ponderous in its attempt to cover all the worthwhile history that it would be simply too bloated to use; or, it will have to settle for incomplete discussions of major events while completely skipping over relatively minor ones.  In the case of this text, the second outcome is clearly the result.  It touches on the highlights of U.S. history without ever really engaging in the sort of deep contextual discussion that truly engages with the history it is discussing.  That being said, however, this text still serves as an accessible, clearly written introduction to the big picture questions of American history.  It will not serve as a detailed examination of particular eras of that history nearly so well.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"Speaking specifically of this text's treatment of American westward expansion, the period of frontier conflict with Native Americans, and the latter half of the 19th century, I found it to be highly problematic.  In simplest terms, this text's discussion of European American -- Native American conflict is one-dimensional, overly assumptive, prone to bias, and shallow.  A student with no other knowledge of American frontier history would likely come away from this book thinking that the conflicts between Indians and whites were always precipitated by white settlers and \"militias,\" a term the text seems particularly fond of using.  Quote: \"Although the threat of Indian attacks was quite slim and nowhere proportionate to the number of U.S. Army actions directed against them, the occasional attack—often one of retaliation—was enough to fuel the popular fear of the 'savage' Indians. The clashes, when they happened, were indeed brutal, although most of the brutality occurred at the hands of the settlers.\"  Several problems with this sort of writing immediately strike me.  First, it is not accurate.  A straightforward tally of simple numbers -- the incident rate of Indian depredations vs. army actions -- would lead to a markedly different conclusion (the annual returns of the army departments of the western territories 1866-1890 make this very clear, as do reliable secondary sources such as Robert Utley, Edward Coffman, Peter Cozzens, etc.).  Second, it castigates the U.S. Army without ever acknowledging the fact that the army itself was on record as frequently stating that settler fears of Indian threat were exaggerated and overblown.  Third, it makes declarative conclusions on controversial history without ever presenting any source evidence in support of those conclusions.  It is, frankly, a far too one-dimensional depiction of a very complex period of American history.  In rejecting the European-American biases of older histories of U.S. expansion, it errs on the other side of the coin by resorting to inaccurate over-generalizations.  There is a notable lack of balance in this text's handling of this particular history, an assessment which is also supported by the books listed in the \"Further Reading\" section pertaining to this chapter -- the cited texts are mostly of a particular slant.  There are some excellent compendiums of primary source materials which would offer students a chance to gain both historical context and personal insight into the events discussed so summarily in this text, some of which would actually support the textbook's conclusions but provide ample historical evidence in the process.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"As history, the material is written in language that will probably not be outdated anytime soon.  The perspectives are, for the most part, worded in such a way that they will not fall out of scholarly fashion in the next few years.  Organized as the text is, any changes or additions to the material would probably be very easy to implement.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The narrative here is extremely accessible, not needlessly academic in tone, language, or style, and easy to follow.  I would say that this makes it a very good text for first or second year college history students.  At the same time, there were sections where I felt the writing was almost too simplistic.  Not a problem of dumbing-down, by any means, but neither was there much depth or challenge in it.  Ideally, a history text should be accessible enough to allow students to engage with its material, but also written so as to challenge their preconceptions (if they have any), stimulate their analytical thinking, and encourage further exploration.  This text, I feel, fails on the first point, is not sufficiently robust to meet the second point, but does have the potential to achieve the third point.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I found the writing, organization, and presentation of the text to be very consistent throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Very easy to navigate, with sections and sub-sections all clearly delineated and easily found.  Starting with the table of contents, the organization of the text made it very simple to move through the entire book without disorientation.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As is true of most history books, this text is laid out in chronological order, with the events of one chapter leading to those in the next.  While this is a time-proven method that is undeniably user-friendly and good for students who may not yet be ready for more complicated scholarly writing, it does leave me feeling that it is a little too simplistic for detailed examinations of the subject or for analytical discussion.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I did not find any navigation problems at all.  All images were clear.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no grammatical errors of any kind that I noticed.  The writing style itself was perhaps far too passive-voiced, but that's an entirely different matter.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"If there is a fault with this text in this particular area of assessment, it is that it is so determined to be culturally sensitive and inoffensive to the traditionally maligned / marginalized / mistreated groups (Native American peoples, in particular) that it swings too far to the other extreme and has a tendency to make broad, sweeping generalizations about white American society that are themselves far too broad to ever be completely accurate.  Castigating an entire race or ethnicity without citing specifics is always problematic, no matter which race or ethnic group is being painted with the broad brush.  That being said, I think the text does a good job of trying to include elements of the stories of almost all quarters of American society in the eras it discusses.  The problem is that its approach is too one-dimensional and overly broad to allow for real discussion of these different perspectives.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I think this text would be particularly useful for an introductory course in American history that is geared toward first or second year students.  It is not deep enough, nor intellectually robust enough, to serve as a text for more advanced studies of American history.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1486,"first_name":"Leah","last_name":"Hagedorn","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"This promising textbook would benefit from greater comprehensiveness and greater depth. The book is easily searchable.  In considering the text for community college use, at least twenty percent of community college students have disabilities and it would have been wonderful if the authors had incorporated more disability history into the text. Too, the book needs more intellectual history, with fuller coverage of republicanism, for example. More attention to the history of the development of technologies would broaden the appeal of this text to twenty-first century students.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I hope that in subsequent revisions the authors will do more with American isolationism.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text appears easily updateable.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This text is clearly written, although some word choices (for example, \"tripwire\") will be unfamiliar to twenty-first century students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity will be helpful to those who need small reading units.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text is clearly organized.","interface_rating":1,"interface_review":"The interface needs improvement for accessibility; the free versions need variable line spacing and enlargeable fonts (features that the free PDF didn't offer).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is clearly written.","cultural_rating":2,"cultural_review":"The text needs greater coverage of people with disabilities as historical actors and more attention to the experiences of members of immigrant groups.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"This work, particularly if revised, has the potential to replace many U.S. survey texts. It needs more people; the text seems to offer a bird's eye view of U.S. history. It would be wonderful to have more accounts of individuals whose experiences embody historical movements and moments. The linked resources are well-chosen but marginalize digital divide students.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1493,"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Whitlock","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is very comprehensive, covering pre-contact to the 21st Century in 32 chapters. The authors provide thorough details in 1052 pages. Providing some additional primary sources into some of the chapters would be great.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook is accurate and unbiased. It is well-balanced and relatively error-free.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Focusing primarily on the last two chapters, the textbook is written in a way that updates might not be easily implemented. I worry that with the constant changes in technology and terminology, the author(s) might have to re-write the final chapters.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clear and presented at a high-school and college level. The key terms in each chapter help with the terminology that some might find challenging. The problem still exists with new terminology that rarely appears in the text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is very consistent. I believe that students will be able to quickly adapt to the textbook's setup.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is easily divisible and I like the available navigate bar.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is structured well and has a great flow chronologically.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no problems with the interface of the text. The hyperlinks used in the text are a great addition.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I could not find grammatical errors in the text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I believe the text is respectful and inclusive. Again, I worry about the terminology.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is an excellent OER text for the introductory U.S. History classes at the college or university level and for an upper-level high school U.S. History class. A few more primary sources would not hurt the text.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1564,"first_name":"Arlene","last_name":"Reilly-Sandoval","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Colorado State University-Pueblo","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers Pre-Colombian U.S. to the 21st Century. It is comprehensive in that it covers not just the major wars or conflicts, but also the industrialization, struggles of indigenous populations, and the development of a nation.  This book has both a breadth and depth of information.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This text appears accurate and unbiased.  It does describe situations from different viewpoints, including racial, ethnic, and religious populations.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This book definitely has longevity.  It might need more chapters added throughout the years, or some edits based on new information about the past, but it appears to have made a strong effort to describe history from other viewpoints and not just the western European viewpoint.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book is fairly easy to read and written in a way that most students will no problem understanding.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in describing different viewpoints and the historical record.  It strives to be culturally competent while imparting important information about historical events.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book contains 32 chapters, which can be reorganized and allows for a selection of specific chapters as needed.  It appears to be very adaptable into modules.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is primarily presented in chronological order, which makes the most sense for a history book.  The authors do look at several aspects of history, from a social, economic, political, and culture viewpoint, which makes it very interesting.  History is a topic that usually taken by students who are history majors or who must take a history general education course.  This book contains information that would interest students from several different majors because of the breadth of information.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No major navigation problems, even when clicking links for more information within the chapters.  The images and links serve to pique interest rather than distract from the information provided.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is well-written and understandable.  I did not notice glaring grammar or typographical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"One of the strengths of this book is that it attempts to address the viewpoint of different cultures, or at least describe non-European cultures and history.  The links provided in the text direct the student to additional information.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I enjoyed reading this book!  It reminded me of some historical facts I had forgotten and I was pleased to read about different indigenous populations in a historical context.","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1577,"first_name":"Jonathan","last_name":"Rees","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Colorado State University - Pueblo","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"It's comprehensive, but the depth of coverage is uneven.  There is far more detail on the pre-1945 period than the post-1945 period.  In the earlier period, the same years are (rightfully) covered in multiple chapters.  In the post-1945 periods, whole decades only get half a chapter.   With respect to kinds of history, it's very good in giving race and gender sufficient attention.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Generally good.  I have some problems with the chronologies in some cases, like running the Progressive Era up to 1920, ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"It reflects the last twenty or so years of scholarship very well in its inclusiveness.  Personally, I don't feel the need to cover presidential elections in this depth, but I understand the decision.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I think it is written well.  I worry about students trying to read long blocks of uninterrupted text on their computers, though.   ","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"It's not.  I mentioned the post-1945 split.  Another problem is the tendency to start the early chapters in different years, particularly subjects like the West that begin well before 1877.  I know some second half survey classes begin in 1877 and some in 1865, but I've never heard anyone starting in 1870.  In a large department where the starting dates need to be clearly defined, this would be a problem.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I never thought about modularity as a thing before, but yes I do think they've done a good job with that.  I'd be more likely to extract and mix sections of this text than assign the whole text itself because some parts of this text are just lovely.  The 1920s chapter, for instance.  The maps are also really, really well-done.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"Here I have serious problems.  I mentioned dating problems in the early chapters and the speed with which post-1945 decades are dispensed.  I'd add a few chapter divisions.  Breaking up Populists and Progressives is just never done elsewhere.  Limiting the Depression decade to 1932 is also unheard of elsewhere.  I really hate the fact that the 1980s and 1990s are crammed into one chapter too.  And then, most of the material there is political. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Perhaps the print is a bit small in .pdf, but then again I didn't bother to try to fix it.  I might gather more pictures for the later chapters (despite copyright issues) just to break up the text more for students.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice any issues.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"It's mostly very good.  A very nice balance of race, class, gender and more traditional historical issues.  This changes though after the 1960s as the more modern organizational ideas are what get passed over in the latter chapters.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"As you may have noticed by now, I concentrated exclusively on the post-1877 chapters because that's the period I teach.  It should be an absolute no-brainer to break this up into two separate .pdf files because every single university I've ever encountered breaks US history up into two courses broken somewhere in the later half of the nineteenth century.  Even if a student wanted to take both halves, there's no assurances that they'd get the same teacher assigning the same open textbook.  Save the students the trouble of downloading half a huge file they won't need!!! ","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1758,"first_name":"Morten","last_name":"Bach","position":"Associate Lecturer","institution_name":"Ohio University - Zanesville","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text certainly aspires to be comprehensive with thirty-two chapters moving from the pre-Columbian context to Barack Obama’s second term. For the most part, it compares favorably to the commercial text I’ve been using in my U.S. history survey in recent years. For the 20th century – the area with which I am most familiar – the text seems well-balanced and without glaring omissions. The most important exception to that rule is the chapter on World War II. The section on pre-war neutrality ignores much of the debate over intervention. The discussion of the Pacific War mentions the naval component of that conflict, but barely. It mentions kamikaze (attacks) without explaining what they were. It discusses the atomic bomb missions in detail (down to secondary targets), but merely alludes to the massive conventional bombing campaign. Similarly, there is no mention of the air war against Germany at all. Beyond WWII, elements of the Cold War such as propaganda get short shrift as does the issue of Berlin past the blockade in the late 1940s. The latter seems like a detail but becomes a potential source of confusion when the Berlin Wall shows up (obviously symbolic, but unexplained) at the end of the 1980s.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"In the parts of the text that pertained most directly to my area of expertise, I found the text to be generally reliable and accurate on matters of fact. I did find a couple of exceptions: In the section on “The American Dream,” massive retaliation is conflated and confused with Mutual Assured Destruction which, in turn, is wrongly attributed to Eisenhower. In the following chapter, President Kennedy’s health problems are incorrectly attributed to his wartime service. The latter point is trivial, the former easily fixed.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Given its broadly chronological organization and the absence of a particularly strident or controversial perspective, this text should be relatively easy to update. The final chapter is exactly the kind of insta-history that will likely need constant attention.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is quite good on this point. The writing is clear and accessible throughout. The text is free from excessive jargon and usually provides a clear definition of unfamiliar terms. For the most part, titles of chapter sections have sensible and self-explanatory titles.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"In general, the text is consistently organized in thematic chapters within a general chronology. There is a notable (and odd) exception with the 1960s where the “presidential synthesis” seems to sneak in with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. There’s a lot of Hoover in the Depression, too. The reason for those emphases isn’t clear.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text appears relatively easily divided into reading assignments that could be used in isolation. Frequent subheadings and brief sections should facilitate the process.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization is fairly conventional for a survey text of this kind. Nothing seems obviously out of place within the general organization of the text.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I only looked at the e-book, using a desktop PC and a tablet. I had no problems navigating the text or using the various links. Images and other graphics appeared as expected.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Here, too, the text seemed most problem-free. There were no obvious grammatical problems. Typos, too, seem rare. I noticed only a couple: George Percy is misidentified as “Henry” in the section on early Jamestown and West Berlin's Tempelhof Airport is misspelled as “Templehof” in a picture caption of the section dealing with the Berlin Blockade.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find the text insensitive or offensive. Like most other recent texts with which I am familiar, it strives to present a variety of perspectives.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this text. In the right kind of setting, I think it could be a very useful alternative to existing commercial texts. It’s obviously meant for an introductory-level student in search of an overview, not for advanced students focusing on some particular subject or era.\n\nOn that note, though, I would like to add that the principles behind the selection of “further readings” is anything but clear to me. In the section “World War, Cold War and Prosperity,” there is one volume on the Ruhr Crisis of the 1920s, two popular works on Ronald Reagan, a memoir by a Russian ambassador, six books on World War II, one volume tangentially related to prosperity, a memoir of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and a book on Richard Nixon’s campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas. If there’s some sort of selection criterion at work here, I am not sure what it is. \n","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":2151,"first_name":"Kathleen","last_name":"Pannozzi","position":"Assistant Professor of Educational Studies","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This US History text is certainly comprehensive.  In its 32 chapters all phases of the development of the American nation are addressed.  In some cases there are multiple chapters on one era.  The period of 1760-1790 is explored in chapters 5, 6 and 7.  Additionally the ante-bellum period is discussed in chapters 11, 12, 13 and 14.  There are a variety of primary sources embedded in the text, as well as maps and other illustrations.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"By checking throughout the text, I found no glaring inaccuracies.  The discussion of some issues, like the controversy over European's horrific actions in the New World, reflect  good scholarship.  However, the section on the US and the European Holocaust is assigned to \"Further Reading\".  Also, a discussion of the Fred Korematsu case about Japanese Americans being interned during WW 2, does not get sufficient exposure.  Is this inaccuracy?  Perhaps this is more about comprehensiveness, but it needs to be addressed.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"With any history text, there is always the question of updating after a period of a few years.  The nature of this text would be easily updated with an addenda that addressed recent events.  The very nature of an OpenStax source like \"US History\" allows for reworking of the basic text either by an individual teacher, or if needed, by the original authors/editor.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This is an eminently readable text.  After many years (over 40) of reading history texts and teaching from them at both the secondary and college levels, I found this book both accessible and clear.  There are not overly long sentences or awkward descriptions that tend to numb the attention of the reader.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Despite the fact that multiple authors are listed as contributors to this text, there is a consistency throughout the text regarding its framework.  The use of primary sources, which are embedded into the text and the questions at the end of each section are very helpful.  The summary at the start and finish of chapters are also an excellent feature.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"From my perspective this text lends itself to the kind of modularity that I need in my college freshman course.  I am not teaching a survey, so it is essential that the book be easily divisible into not only chapters, but in some cases, sub-headings within chapters. In the introduction, this modularity is made clear!\n\n\"Because our books are openly licensed, you are free to use the entire book or pick and choose the sections that are most relevant to the needs of your course. Feel free to remix the content by assigning your students certain chapters and sections in your syllabus, in the order that you prefer. You can even provide a direct link in your syllabus to the sections in the web view of your book.\nInstructors also have the option of creating a customized version of their OpenStax book. The custom version can be made available to students in low-cost print or digital form through their campus bookstore. Visit your book page on OpenStax.org for more information.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This text is well organized.  Moreover, considering its modularity, it allows any instructor to create their own structure.  If an instructor wants to consider a theme like human rights - philosophy, development, legalization and abuses of those rights in the American story-  they can do this with ease.\nThe inclusion of so many \"extras\", like links to sources, puts students at a distinct advantage.  The richness of this text far surpasses other US History texts I have used in the past.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"My review of this text indicates that there are no significant issues with navigating its various features such as maps, photos, and relevant primary sources.  In fact, the links embedded in the online version make exploring primary sources both easy and convenient.  The location of maps, charts, other images or features are appropriately located to increase access and understanding.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Reading through many sections with an eye to error is a common practice of mine after many (47) years of teaching.  I am surprised by its grammatical accuracy, which is an important quality when reaching students and hoping to assist them in their own communication skills.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Generally speaking, I am pleasantly surprised by the culturally inclusive nature of this text.  For example, there is a good explanation of the US internment of 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans starting in 1942.  However, there is no solid description of the horrendous war against Philippine Independence which the US waged for close to 14 years (1900-1913).  The only reference in the stories of WW 2 to the US refusal to assist Jews fleeing Europe in the 1930s and 1940s is in one source in \"Further Reading\".  For me, that is not sufficient.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Like many other general US History texts for college courses, this text is both sufficient and makes a good effort at representing a wide variety of important and controversial issues  Its features make for an adaptable textbook for a particular focus within a course.  However, I find certain holes concerning what I would call the darker side of US history, like my mention of the scarce coverage of the Philippine-American War and the rather hidden account of the failure of American government to help rescue those fleeing from Hitler.\nDespite these \"holes\", it is a text I would adopt for my freshman level US History course!","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2396,"first_name":"Brian","last_name":"Leech","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Augustana College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Periods: Overall, good work by the authors. The text does fairly well with the pre-European contact period, although I’d still prefer more attention to North American Indians. The text is not unusual in this respect. It also would sure be nice if the authors paid a bit more attention to areas west and south of the growing United States before they join the U.S. proper. We get good tales of why and how they join the union, but not much about what happened there before. Chapter 20 does cover populism fairly well, although it neglects recent scholarship on how important populism was in the mountain West, not just on the prairie/plains. Chapter 21: good coverage on progressivism overall, even if conservation seems a bit underplayed by the authors. I quite liked the split in the period of the Great Depression—starting with Hoover’s administration in chapter 25, followed by FDR in chapter 26. Hoover and his administration get more fleshed out in this way than in typical textbook coverage of the Depression.   \r\nThemes: The key political events gain effective coverage. Although political history clearly serves as the organizing factor of this book, it does, at times, do well with social life—the urban life of chapter 19 being a good example. Race is dealt with properly as an important driver to many key events. Women’s lives also gain a decent place in the text, even if there are a few times when we get “women” sections (e.g., page 177, page 490). I’d rather have women more integrated into the narrative. The topics of work, workers, and socio-economic class show up when you’d expect them to. There are a few really effective moments when the textbook considers environmental history (the “selection of hats for the fashionable gentleman” on page 306 is a nice example), even if I’d personally prefer there to be even more attention to the theme. Unfortunately, by the time we get to chapter 29 (the 1960s), politics starts to dominate coverage more and more so that by chapter 31 (the 80s and 90s), it’s essentially all politics. I'd like more attention to other areas of American life--social, cultural, even environmental--in these later periods.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"As a historian, I reject the idea that anything, including a textbook, can be “unbiased” (don’t we all hold biases?), but, yes, this textbook does a nice job of trying to look at the topics accurately and it is essentially error-free. A good example is the violence in the wild west section of chapter 17, which provides a nicely balanced view coming out of recent scholarship. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Yes, the textbook does a good job at tackling many topics with the use of the latest scholarship. I’d actually prefer if it was more up front about what kind of scholarship it’s using when, but that’s more of a pet peeve I have with all textbooks. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is well-written. Many sections are actually quite effective, even gripping, for a textbook. There are other times when it heads more into a bit drier textbook style, but it’s still always easy to read, quite accessible to the average reader. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The overall format of each book chapter is strong and includes well-written summaries of the key messages for each chapter at the end.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes, the textbook is easy to break up into sections so that they can be assigned at different points in the term. I’ve never thought it a good idea to have a book that doesn’t refer back to or build upon earlier materials in the book (wouldn’t that give the narrative more drive?), so I'm actually not sure \"modularity\" is a good aspect to a book. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, this textbook follows the format of many previous textbooks--it's clear why each choice is made. There are a few periodizations that I found unusual—like westward expansion from 1800-1860 in chapter 11, then westward expansion, 1840-1900 in chapter 17. Given the overlap between the two periods, I’m not exactly sure why the authors decided on those breaks (certainly the issue of free soil versus slavery expansion is a good reason, although there’s much more in chapter 11 than those topics). I do very much appreciate the fact that the American West doesn’t just get confined to a single chapter, which happens in most other textbooks. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Nice “click and explore” elements, like the link to “virtual Jamestown” or the erie canal map, for instance. I’d like to encourage future editions to do even more work at providing links to documents, maps, and other elements that would enliven the text. Why not make the online accessibility of an OER textbook a way to truly standout from other textbooks? ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Great work!","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook does well with race throughout. Gender is also dealt with fairly well. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The short selections from primary sources are a nice touch. I’d actually like more of them as a way to break up the big chunks of narrative text. ","created_at":"2018-11-18T23:49:34.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-11-18T23:49:34.000-06:00"},{"id":2436,"first_name":"Beth","last_name":"Fowler","position":"Senior Lecturer","institution_name":"Wayne State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Overall, this is one of the most comprehensive and engaging textbooks I have ever read! The vast majority of events, issues, and themes that I introduce in class and want my students to think about were covered, or at least introduced. The way the book integrates histories of underrepresented groups, for instance--especially those of Native Americans, African Americans, and women--are, with few exceptions, intertwined with the rest of the historical record rather than presented as separate \"niche\" subjects. One major exception is that the experiences of enslaved peoples during the Middle Passage, in Northern areas, and even in the South prior to the Civil War, are largely overlooked. Slavery is consistently mentioned as a political issue, but students are not really introduced to people's lived experiences until Chapter 12, which focus entirely on plantations in the Deep South leading up to the Civil War. \r\nThe book also does a great job of presenting the United States within a global framework. This begins right from the start, as the American colonies are examined within the context of European power struggles, and the creation of racialized chattel slavery is presented as the result of political and religious struggles among European nations, and with the Middle East and Africa.  This excellent global context continues with Southern struggles during the Civil War linked to the English decision to purchase cotton from India rather than engage with a rebellious nation, and in the chapter on World War Two, which does a much better job than most texts of explaining the road to war in Germany and Italy. \r\nTwo places where the historical record seems oddly confined to the United States are the various sections on labor movements and on immigration in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Although the book does a good job of examining the many branches of labor politics in the United States (including the Communist Party's support of civil rights), I was surprised that it did not contextualize these struggles by discussing similar movements in Germany, Italy, and England. Indeed, clearer references to Karl Marx's writings as a whole would be helpful, especially given the lack of knowledge so many students have about Communism and other forms of Leftist politics. Similarly, the sections on immigration do a great job of explaining what life was like for people once they came to the United States, and how their cultural traditions impacted the United States in early 20th-century America. But students so often assume that people made this journey for \"a better life\" or strictly for economic purposes that it would help to make clear the war and discriminatory policies in Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire that informed people's decisions.\r\nI really appreciated the last two chapters, which look at recent history, especially since it is often so difficult to teach. I often find that historical patterns are not yet obvious, but these chapters do a great job of identifying some of the connections back to major themes, particularly how September 11 set into motion many current challenges, and the entire section on \"New Century, Old Disputes.\" Section 31.2, which includes a look at the War on Drugs and the Road to Mass Incarceration, is also an exemplary way to get students to think about current problems, but could be expanded by including a look at Stop-and-Frisk programs and the rise in privatized prisons.\r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall, the book's historical accuracy is very high--I had few complaints with the content, even in areas, like the civil rights movement, that my own research focuses on. The connections that the book makes between several themes are particularly well done. An explanation of how corruption and neglect in Gilded Age-politics led to demands for reform during the Progressive Era, for instance, really helps students understand how change occurs, while the G.I. Bill is presented not only as a catalyst for a growing middle class in post-World War Two America, but as a means of systematically reinforcing racial segregation by working with racially-discriminatory banks, insurance offices, and school admissions departments. Although the HOLC and FHA should also be mentioned to let students know how the Federal government ensured racially-segregated housing patterns, these connections, along with a look at how Japanese Americans re-entered society after being forced into internment camps during the war, really help students see the limits of democracy during this period. \r\nThere are a few particular areas that do need clarification or revision, however. Woodrow Wilson receives a fairly traditional treatment as a \"liberal\" president whose \"enlightenment\" led him to support the suffrage movement and global democracy, while his entrenched racism and sexism is overlooked. A few characterizations of Henry Ford are also inaccurate, although I may be particularly sensitive to this, being from Detroit, and often teaching Urban Studies classes. Not all workers received five dollars a day--the process for approval was actually strenuous and intrusive--and black and white workers were almost never paid equal wages. Finally, Ford only implemented fair working hours because the AFL had fought for this for years, and he did not want workers to unionize. \r\nFinally, 28.4, which looks at 1950s culture, was excellent--this is my particular area of research specialization, so I was thrilled to see an examination of teenage culture and consumerism, as well as explanations of how rock and roll music broached the color line during the civil rights movement. As much as I appreciate the subject's inclusion, however, the section puts too much emphasis on white rockabilly performers and Alan Freed, when black R\u0026B artists and independent radio stations were just as crucial in creating and popularizing this music. \r\nFinally, the student and anti-war movements are covered quite thoroughly--I have never seen a textbook acknowledge ERAP and JOIN before!--and I particularly loved how the text parallels the connection between abolitionism and the suffrage movement with how the women's movement was shaped heavily by the civil rights movement. The one thing missing from this section is an examination of COINTELPRO--students should be aware of the fact that the federal government was responding to this movement in harmful ways, and what many activists were up against when they fought for these causes. \r\n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book's focus on consumer and popular culture is very engaging, and in keeping with social and cultural historical trends. The chapter on advertising, for instance, explains how \"access to products became more important than access to the means of production,\" which draws students in while simultaneously explaining a massive shift in how people related to the economy. One of my favourite sections in the entire book (as well as the accompanying primary source website link) is about Yuppie culture in the 1980s. It engages students who are currently intrigued by the fashion and culture of this time period, but is not so self-aware that it becomes dated. The summary indicating how Reaganomics hurt many vulnerable people while allowing yuppies to prosper puts this cool and fun examination into broader and more crucial historical perspective.\r\nThe only caveat here is that a few of the links connect to articles that, while timely now, could become dated in the future. But since this is an open text, instructors could link to new articles if they so choose.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"One of the book's best features is that many sections begin by reiterating prior information to provide context for what is to come. In section 28.5, for instance, the Double \"V\" campaign and the G.I\u003e Bill's reinforcement of redlining in urban areas are both re-stated as framing mechanisms for civil rights struggles in the 1950s. Students do not necessarily remember the information they read about in prior weeks, or are able to see how one thing leads to or causes another. I love how this structure not only reminds students of what they have previously read, but shows how history does not occur in a vacuum, and that flow exists from week to week, and year to year. This is how I try to structure my classes, asking students for context at the start and end of each session, so it is ideal that the book is set up this way. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"As previously stated, many sections begin by reiterating what has been learned earlier. Most chapters are broken down into political, social, and cultural issues, with particular examinations of distinct identity groups. Most presidents are given a brief biography and discussion of their importance within particular historical periods. And the country's global significance, while not evident in each chapter, is prominent enough that it may be deemed consistent throughout the text. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I actually used this review as an opportunity to break down reading assignments for next semester's class, and was pleased to discover that this was fairly easy to do. With the exception of Vietnam (which is discussed throughout three chapters rather than in one), separate chapters line up quite well with particular classes, and where they do not, they are broken down by sections fairly easily. Within sections, the text is nicely broken up by images with captions and/or analytical questions, brief primary documents with follow-up questions, and links to outside materials. It was fairly easy to get through each section since paragraphs tended to focus on narrow subjects, and were almost always followed by alternative sources and questions to immediately reflect on the text.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, the book is very clear. Chapters are mostly divided in a way that mirrors my class syllabus, and the text maintains a clear historical thread of cause and effect throughout. There are a places, however, where the subject matter crops up in an odd place. An examination of life among enslaved people is confined mostly to the chapter preceding the outbreak of the Civil War, for instance. Even though slavery is discussed as a political issue throughout almost all of the preceding chapters, waiting until this point in the book to include a look at people's lives may mislead students into thinking that slavery only existed on Southern plantations, or that people did not begin resisting until the eve of the Civil War.\r\nThe section on the Great Migration is also in a weird spot. The text introduces this topic in Chapter 19, which spans from 1870 to 1900, when migration patterns really did not begin to shift until World War One. It makes sense to identify push factors for migration at this point in time, but it would have made more sense to move the actual section to the chapter on World War One. Redlining is also mentioned in this section, which is again odd since this was not introduced until the 1930s.\r\nI actually liked how the text divided sections on the Vietnam War among three different chapters--doing so may help students understand this war's long history, as well as its many shifts under three different administrations. This is not how I teach my class, though--I usually devote a class or two to Vietnam alone. This is not unmanageable, since students will have been prepared for discussion by the time we get to the war, but I am not sure how much of it they will  remember by this point.\r\nFinally, section 31.2, which focuses on the growth of the New Right, should come earlier, and be expanded to include a deeper look at the culture wars, especially how abortion became a focal point. The brief mention included here does not quite do enough to explain Reagan's political ascendancy. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Another of the book's best attributes are the many online links to primary sources, museum and government websites, artwork, and articles. I was planning on assigning a primary source reader to complement this book, but I think I will instead try to make use of these links. One of the major problems I have is getting students to complete assigned readings so that we can engage in discussion. Even if students do complete the readings, they often forget what they read about, or did not engage deeply enough to really analyze them. Having students examine the Federal Slave Narrative database, new immigrant oral histories from the Library of Congress, or exhibits at the National Cowboy Museum, however, may engage their interests, be completed more rapidly online, and also be useful for in-class activities. \r\nThe only issue with these links is that, after clicking on them, you cannot navigate back to where you were in the text. I started opening links in a separate tab instead, so this is not much of a problem, but I could see students getting frustrated if they do not think to do so.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No glaring errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This book does an excellent job of intertwining the stories of underrepresented groups throughout U.S. history. The first chapter is a great example--it goes into much greater detail about the lives and traditions of distinct American tribes than I have seen in any other textbook. The book also presents events that have been obscured because of their effect on people of colour, like the police shooting at Jackson State College, alongside similar events, like the shooting at Kent State, to underscore how the race of those involved affects how we remember them. Overall, cultural competency is not merely an attribute of this book--it seems to have been a defining feature right from its inception.\r\nThe one group that does not receive this treatment throughout most of the book is people who identify as LGBTQ. Sexual and/or gender identity is not even mentioned until the section on McCarthyism, and even then only for a brief moment.  Subsequent sections on the Stonewall uprising, the Gay Rights Movement, AIDS and ACT UP, and the Defense of Marriage Act are far more detailed, but they seem to come out of nowhere for students if the actions and contributions of LGBTQ people are not mentioned in earlier chapters. \r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, this was a comprehensive and entertaining book--I actually enjoyed reading most sections, and even learned new things about a subject I have been teaching for years. The outside links, images, and primary source excerpts make this an ideal book for teaching from all perspectives. Most importantly, the book presents the histories of women, African Americans, Native Americans, and other underrepresented groups as inextricable to the nation's story as a whole, and examines culture and everyday life almost as closely as larger political and economic shift. I am very excited to assign this book to my students!","created_at":"2018-12-01T22:41:15.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-01T22:41:15.000-06:00"},{"id":2457,"first_name":"Gwen","last_name":"Tarbox","position":"Professor, Department of English","institution_name":"Western Michigan University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"US History is certainly comprehensive: the task of tracing the development of the United States from pre-colonial times to the second term of President Barack Obama is a daunting one. I think that the text might work better in a history course that ended in 1914, since the sections that covered the colonial, Civil War, and Progressive eras were lengthier and more developed. However, with some supplements, the text could certainly be used in a survey course in American History or American Studies.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"A text can be factually accurate, but it can avoid topics, minimize topics, and underdevelop topics, and this was something that I found to be a problem with US History. For instance, in the scant section that covers differing philosophies of land ownership, the authors simplify or ignore the differing philosophies of land stewardship held by indigenous peoples, while definitely eliding over the imperialistic and nascent capitalistic impulses of the Europeans whose ideas of land ownership derived from much more than just, as the authors put it, the colonizers' fealty to land ownership ideas contained in \"the Christian Bible.\" Obviously, the intended audience for this text may not possess the knowledge set to engage with highly advanced analysis, but therein lies the issue: for uninformed readers, this introduction needs to encourage greater critical thinking about the motivations of historical figures and movements.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is set out in such a way that it can be easily updated with 21st-century developments, and the chapters and sections are set out so that they could be enhanced without disturbing the overarching structure of the text. The content itself is relevant; what would be helpful, though, would be the inclusion of terminology that is being used in the work of progressive social, cultural, and political movements.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text, for the most part, is lively and engaging; the inclusion of pictures and of links to museum collections is a wonderful aspect of this text. Often, I will ask students to do that sort of enhanced reading and research, so having the resources available as links is very helpful. As I mentioned above, though, I would have liked to have seen the authors engage with issues such as \"whiteness studies\" and other critical race theory terms.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Although there is some mild variation among sections, for the most part US History remains consistent in its chapter structure and selection of content. For instance, Chapters 18-20 provide ample background for readers to understand the impulses that led to what was termed \"the Progressive era,\" and I also appreciated inclusion of a glossary in each chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"One of the greatest strengths of US History is its listing of objectives and goals at the beginning of each section. This is helpful for syllabus, assignment, and test construction, and it also encourages students to understand, up front, what they are to be looking for in the content. I also liked how each chapter was sufficient in terms of length, while also providing resources for further research and reading. I could see excerpting chapters on the movement from east to west in order to create a course on that subject matter; it would also be possible to focus solely upon wartime in the US via the use of selected chapters. This aspect of the text is also very helpful.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Given that US History is a survey text, the choice of chronological organization makes sense; as I mentioned above, it would be possible to develop a thematically-based syllabus, with the use of excerpted chapters.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Each chapter is easy to access, has clearly marked sub-sections, and includes well-designed and situated maps, charts, graphs, and images. The inclusion of museum links, and other informational links, was a highlight of this text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text was conveyed in lively, consistent, and lucid prose. I did find that the passive voice was used a great deal, especially in sections that deal with \"sensitive\" subject matter. In those instances, it would have been helpful for the authors to take ownership of their own analysis.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The authors do attempt to show the viewpoints of a number of factions, societies, or cultural groups, though I sometimes felt that the terminology was a bit outdated and that the detail in terms of explanations could have been stronger. Motivation is a significant aspect of historical writing, and sometimes the motivations of peoples rested upon generalizations that needed refinement. As an example, Chapter 4 on English internal politics and colonial aims was extremely useful in providing context for the development of many of the colonies; a similar level of background would have been helpful in Chapter 23 so that students would understand the complex causes of WWI. Moreover, critical race theory and other 21st-century interpretative lenses are less evident than I would have liked. I would probably feel the need to supplement this text with a series of contemporary essays.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"If I were editing a second edition of this text, I would suggest including more excerpts from contemporary historians. Problematizing the study of history itself would also be a good addition to an enhanced introduction for students, as would updating the terminology. I could see using this text in an American Studies course, with the inclusion of supplemental essays and excerpts from primary texts.","created_at":"2018-12-11T12:05:17.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-11T12:05:17.000-06:00"},{"id":2463,"first_name":"Dan","last_name":"Allosso","position":"Assistant Professor, History","institution_name":"Minnesota State (Bemidji State University)","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Like most contemporary US History textbooks, this text begins before 1492, setting the scene for Iberian and later French, Dutch, and English colonization of the Americas. As an environmental historian, I think magnitude of the native depopulation caused by the Columbian Exchange is not given quite enough attention. This early under-representation of environmental influences upon history continues throughout the text, as does a more general lack of attention to the stories of regular people. Most of the text, like most survey textbooks, focuses on political history with an occasional foray into cultural or intellectual history (such as brief looks at the Second Great Awakening or Alexis de Tocqueville’s critique of American democracy. The general outline and construction of the text makes sense (it’s mostly chronological with some overlap between chapters), and sections generally contain Review Questions that test factual retention and Critical Thinking Questions at the ends of chapters that encourage students to analyze and synthesize. \r\n\r\nThe text is comprehensive in the sense that it is a skeleton of major events in (mostly) political and (partly) cultural history. This is sufficient as a foundation for additional layering by the instructor and additional (especially primary) readings – and for some instructors may be preferable to a “one stop shop” textbook that tries to stuff everything into a single volume and inevitably makes interpretive choices that drive the resulting course. The text is comprehensive in its coverage of most major events ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text accurately portrays the history it covers. Other reviewers have criticized omission of particular elements of US History (Japanese internment, US response to the Holocaust, etc.), much as I have criticized what I considered inadequate coverage of environment. I think these issues are more about comprehensiveness than accuracy; the events and people covered seem to be portrayed accurately.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Since I think the strength of this text is its “skeletal” coverage of major events, I don’t envision the need for regular updates or fears of becoming irrelevant. Interpretations change more rapidly than consensus on the major events of US History. Also, the ability to continuously update and enhance an electronic text should allow the authors (or remixers) to contribute to a growing “body” of history built on this “skeleton”. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This text seems quite readable while maintaining a sense of narrative authority. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The modular design of the text is very helpful and probably mitigates the slight variation in style and focus from section to section. I don’t think a student reading the text in a linear fashion from start to finish will encounter any jarring instances of shifting style or emphasis. The text appears to have a single narrative voice.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"see above","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is logically organized and easy to navigate in electronic format (which is all I’ll be using). The addition of hyperlinks to outside sources is helpful, appropriate, and timely throughout the text. This is an advantage of any electronic text, but it is well implemented here and unusually valuable since the links are open-source rather than existing behind a corporate paywall. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"see above","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Fewer errors or rough patches than most other textbooks I've reviewed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text seems to try to respect cultures and avoid offense, as well as making an attempt to critique the dominant culture when appropriate. An increased focus on the voices of underrepresented populations would enhance multicultural perspective, but this seems beyond the scope of the text as I plan to use it.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"My criticisms regarding coverage should not be taken as disqualifying the text as a foundation for a survey course. If US History surveys are envisioned as addressing the dual goals of acquainting students with the broad outlines of our history (what happened, when?) and encouraging them to think critically about the past and relate the past to the present (why did these things happen? why do we care now?), then I think this text will be a valuable foundation and skeleton on which I can build a structure that includes more diverse voices, views from below, and critical perspectives. I’ll update this review in a few months, after I’ve had a chance to use the text in a class and have seen students interact with it.","created_at":"2018-12-14T09:18:16.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-12-14T09:18:16.000-06:00"},{"id":2511,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Taylor ","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook hits all the major points necessary for a US survey class, with particular emphasis on political history. The key terms demonstrate a commitment to all the \"Greatest Hits\" no survey would miss (carpetbaggers, the Sons of Liberty, the Roosevelt Corollary) alongside some relevant and inclusive new content I never learned about in college (charter schools, executive privilege, commodification). Particularly in the nineteenth-century chapters, illustrations like mugshots, blueprints, and book covers do a wonderful job of showing students the spectrum of primary sources available to historians. As a professor used to seeing the same 50-100 pictures in a textbook, I plan to use this textbook as a multimedia resource for its unusual photographic finds. The appendix mostly contains America's \"founding documents\" and adds very little you can't find already online. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found the textbook accurate within my own field (colonial history). The authors clearly put effort into acknowledging the continental presence of Native people and their continuing power into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The section on the rise of Chesapeake slavery is comprehensive, and I found the chapter on the Revolutionary War highly engaging. I did hope for more non-English history after the \"Colonial Powers\" chapter, and found that political and elite intellectual history (think the Interregnum and Enlightenment, but without how they affected average folks) dominated social and cultural history. Additionally, the small case study sections meant to highlight historical individuals (\"Americana\" and \"Defining American\") referenced often white, male leaders that students are already familiar with, like James Madison and Walt Whitman. Although there were great ones later on (Women Democrats in the 1930s), I'd like to echo a previous reviewer who hoped to see average individuals highlighted throughout. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This book will continue to be useful, particularly if the authors are able to update their final chapters. New information about organizing history, like the Molly McGuires, Cesar Chavez, and the Working Man's Party reflects its growing importance in the field.  The textbook goes up to the twenty-first century, and could use an update when it comes to the short section on America and the World- there's a lot to say there! I'd also be interested in seeing more on the continuing feminist or Civil Rights movements that will resonate with students. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The prose is very consistent and simple throughout. Even though there will be new terminology for readers, the narrative of key events, like the Battle of Wounded Knee, will make larger concepts memorable for students. The \"Americana\" and \"Defining American\" sections also use individuals to illustrate the more abstract ideas discussed, like Malcolm X and the concept of the \"New Negro.\"  ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Although the textbook was written by several different authors, I found the framework consistent throughout. The simple terminology used might take time to break down something complex, but it adds substantially to the clarity of the piece. The timelines, which bring together abstract or disparate concepts (Battle of Fallen Timbers and Treaty of Ghent on the same timeline), will help students find where each piece fits chronologically as they learn about them separately. I also found it useful that each chapter ends with a summary paragraph explaining how the changes just discussed will affect the events covered in the next chapter. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is organized into units with multiple sections about a page apiece, and concludes with sample multiple choice practice, critical thinking questions, and useful key terms. It seems to flow best to break down the chapters by units, which run anywhere from 3-12 pages, than by the page-long sections. Some of the chapters are considerably shorter than others, but I doubt students mind. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization is clear. I will add that, because the time periods covered in each chapter overlap substantially, you may find it difficult to find a discrete event. (For example, the nineteenth-century representation of Native peoples is in the Age of Jackson chapter and not the Westward Expansion chapter.) Depending on how you structure or periodize your class lectures or assignments, you may want to familiarize yourself with the unit headings and assign components of multiple chapters to your students. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I am reviewing the hardcover book- and it is very large! It is good quality and seems like it can take a beating. The images might seem a little small compared to the online interface, but there's nothing here to confuse or distract a reader. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"N/A","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The textbook is overall inclusive. Some teachers might find unusual the fact that African-Americans and Native people sometimes have their own separate sections in each chapter. Some of the language, like \"Hispanic\" or \"Indian\" might need more specificity. The only specific problem I have is with the \"Americanization of Indians\" section which says that forced assimilation of Indians \"left them bereft of their culture and history.\" Many folks would disagree!","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-01-10T20:29:50.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-01-10T20:29:50.000-06:00"},{"id":2564,"first_name":"Daniel ","last_name":"Morales","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers most of the areas of US history, perhaps too much as some points and not enough in others but overall is comprehensive in covering political history. It is limited though in a lot of social history and history of the Southwest US. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate in the vast majority of what it is trying to do. The book, however, does a poor job of covering the \"edges\" of US history, especially other parts of the world. As other reviewers mentioned- the history of Africa is not well told, especially compared to European history. A similar problem is present in the history of indigenous people before Europeans and the history of the Spanish empire, both of which are poorly covered and in some cases completely wrong statements are made. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Like all history textbooks relevance is a moving target. As a general textbook I feels like it is trying to be all things to all people but that mostly results in a book that does not have the focus of others. It is also missing as much cultural history as I would like. By far the biggest problem of the book is its cursory treatment of Latino and Asian history. These are major fields which the author does not cover at all. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Yes, it is very clearly written in simple prose and free of jargon. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Yes the book is consistent. The book is longer on the 18th and 19th century than the 20th, so that is a concern. The 20th century portion should be expanded. It offers a lot of modules and short tests and other supports for easy reading. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Yes it is very modular and works well in a classroom where there are daily reading assignments. There are many sign posts and subheadings. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"yes the book is presented in a logical clear fashion. It is history so things generally follow a chronological order. ","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"The interface works but it is not aesthetically pleasing. Other textbooks like american ywap offer a better online layout with more documents, more pictures and material. While \"Give me Liberty\" are better productions on the page. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains few grammatical errors that I could see. ","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"No. The book shoots for the middle ground in US history and hits it well. It also does a fair job of covering African American history. It does a poor job of covering indigenous history, Latino/Borderlands History, and Asian American history. These fields have grown tremendously in the past 30 years and it is disappointing that few of the lessons are trickling down into textbooks. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"The book is relatively comprehensive in its coverage of US history but it also feels dated in what is covers. This is especially the case in covering Latinos and Asians. ","created_at":"2019-02-13T15:24:12.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-02-13T15:24:12.000-06:00"},{"id":2728,"first_name":"Stuart","last_name":"Tully","position":"Assistant Professor ","institution_name":"Nicholls State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is comprehensive, perhaps to a fault. It covers a wide spread of concepts and historical elements but never goes into too much depth. This sort of surface-level examination of material is suitable for a survey-level course, but unless the students have a good deal of background knowledge, the text might confuse them over its coverage of certain topics. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is very accurate and in my examination of its contents, I have found minimal errors. The book also does not have too much of a bias, and tries to show multiple sides to historical issues. ","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The book is somewhat relevant but is hamstrung by its lack of depth. For instance, in section 28.4 on Popular Culture and Mass Media during the 1950s, it gives a brief overview of Rock and Roll, Hollywood, and Television. It does not go enough into the racial dynamics of Rock and Roll but does give some passing comments to it. There has been good recent research on the topic, but it is not seen in the text. This is a general overview of US history, but not really keeping up with current scholarship. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is free of jargon and is easily accessible for readers. Although I often wished the book contained more information, I found no fault in the manner by which the information available was presented. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book has a standard chronological framework intermixed with some thematic elements. It is adequate. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is divided up into smaller sections that aren't too overwhelming. Granted, this often comes at the cost of depth, but I understand why the authors made the decision. Although I might not have organized the information in such a manner, I understand why they did, and they are consistent with the practice. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The topics are presented in a logical fashion, but the transitions and particularly the ends of the chapter are often choppy. Many times there is little to no rationale given as to why a particular section stops where it does. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface is fine, although I do wish literary primary sources had been incorporated in a less jarring manner. The pictures and navigation are nicely done. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammar is fine, and I did not see any major errors. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book is as culturally inclusive as could be expected in a textbook. However, because of the lack of depth, it often felt that races, ethnicities, and backgrounds were merely given lip service instead of a true examination of their dynamics. For instance, the section of Gay Rights in 30.1 is woefully inadequate, mainly talking about Stonewall. The experiences of LGBT of color are not mentioned, despite a wealth of new research on the subject. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This is an adequate text and one I might assign for my in-person lecture courses so that I might be able to supplement the depth the textbook is lacking. I do not know if I would be as comfortable assigning it for my online classes since I cannot as easily provide context for the students. ","created_at":"2019-04-04T09:20:02.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-04T09:20:02.000-05:00"},{"id":2745,"first_name":"Ben","last_name":"Alexander","position":"Adjunct Associate Professor","institution_name":"New York City College of Technology","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"While it's impossible to cover everything, this book does an admirable job of going into detail about important topics.  The opening chapters provide a breathtaking panorama of the early origins of human life in the Americas and the global scene on the eve of transatlantic exploration; it proceeds to explain colonization with very meaningful emphasis on how it fit in with the larger context of global trade and comparative labor systems, free and unfree.  In the chapter on the road to the Civil War, the sense of a compelling story with personalities and passions comes through clearly, and in the chapter on the Great Depression, its harsh ravages and the struggle to figure out what to do are expressed with suitable poignancy.  The book is, in fact, so detailed that instructors of the two-semester sequence may need to do some selective trimming in what they assign, especially in colleges where students have full-time jobs and families as well as 15 credit hours of coursework.\r\nAnd in the context of the impossibility of being detailed enough about everything, and of all instructors having certain pet topics that they wish their textbook said more about, I would have liked to see more explanation of how the Salem witch trials fit in with the Puritan experience, on the family and community lives of the enslaved population in the pre-Civil War years, and a few other points here and there. \r\nIn the discussion of both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment, they might want to connect them with the impending revolution by pointing up their spirit (though affecting sharply divergent constituencies) of questioning traditional authority.  Where the authors mention that there was talk in the early 1830s in the Virginia legislature of making manumission of slaves easier but that the idea was shot down, they might want to point out that the sentiment for regarding slavery as more trouble and danger than it was worth came largely from the state's western counties where land was less conducive to plantation agriculture, and that these counties would secede from the state and form West Virginia during the Civil War. Also, discussion of Henry George's single-tax theory is oversimplified to the point of being slightly misleading.   They write that, according to George, there should be a land tax \"in order to disincentivize private land ownership.\"  Actually, George's intention was to disincentivize ownership of more land than one needed to make a productive living, ownership of land to charge rent on or to speculate on the western frontier.  George believed that making land speculating in the West unprofitable would open up so much land for workers to migrate to that it would reduce the size of the urban workforce, thus giving those remaining in the cities greater bargaining power.  Mentioning \"Progress and Poverty\" without some sense of the sweeping utopian vision, one that fits in with the general popularity of magic-bullet economic theories in those years, is a missed opportunity.  I had the same reaction to the fleeting, teasing reference to Henry Ford's ill-fated attempt to open a factory in the Amazon jungle and impose Puritan morality on the workers.  Speaking of Henry Ford, I also wonder whether any discussion of his life and work can be complete without some mention of what a prolific author of Jewish conspiracy theories he was.  The description of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the New Deal correctly says that enrollees were paid $30 a month, but omits the fact that most of that money went home to their families rather than into their own pockets.  In the discussion of the 1968 election, the significance of the George Wallace campaign and the conservative backlash could be given more value; merely calling him \"segregationist George Wallace\" leaves much out.\r\nBut every textbook leaves a few things for instructors to impress their students by giving more detail about, so I still rate the book highly for thoroughness.  Throughout the book, treatment of both the social and political dimensions of American life is meaningful and inclusive.  \r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Every textbook has a few booboos here and there, and the ones I found in this one were mostly of a trivial pursuit variety rather than what would affect students' comprehension of concepts.  In the section about the Stamp Act crisis of 1765, the book is imprecise about the specifics of when and how the Boston mob ransacked Lieut. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson's mansion, and also seems to treat the Sons of Liberty and the Boston mob as interchangeable terms for the same set of people.  Also, it incorrectly states that Coxey's Army set out from Cincinnati.   Actually, the marchers began their trek from Jacob Coxey's own town of Massillon.  Cincinnati, being about 250 miles off in the other direction from where Coxey's Army was heading, played no part in the march. In the chapter on the New Deal, it gives the age range for enrollees in the Civilian Conservation Corps as 14-24.  While some 14-year-olds did get into the CCC, they only did so by lying about their age; the intended minimum was never lower than 17.  The National Youth Administration (another New Deal program) is depicted as having been terminated in 1939; it lasted until 1943. The book is also imprecise about what President Johnson and the Democratic National Committee offered to the Mississippi Freedom delegation at the 1964 party convention.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"History textbooks need to be up-to-date in two ways: bringing the narrative up to the time of publication and keeping up with the latest scholarship on topics all through the chronology.  This book does an admirable job on both counts.  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The language is clear and readable.  Paragraph length and placement of pictures and charts are quite suitable for making the work easy for undergraduates to follow.  Concepts, for the most part, are explained meaningfully.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Consistency is strong.  The book presents American history with a coherent throughline and shows connections between topics clearly.  Many sections open with strong transition sentences that link what's coming with what has just been read.  ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is divided into neatly labeled sections, and the table of contents allows for easy clicking into those desired sections.  Instructors who want to adapt chapters to their own desired sequence will have an easy time doing so.  Both the table of contents and the index have user-friendly links that maximize efficiency of topic browsing as well as of continuous reading.\r\n","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Most of the organization is quite optimal, and as noted in the modularity rating, the organization is also adaptable to instructor preferences.  By grouping the Missouri Crisis together with the Mexican War and the founding of the Liberty Party in the chapter on pre-1860 westward expansion, the authors effectively set the stage for the important role of the western frontier in the escalating North-South tensions that drove the country closer and closer to civil war.  At the same time, it's interesting that the chapter on westward expansion after the Civil War spans 1840 to 1890 and includes Manifest Destiny and the Oregon Trail.  Thematically, that makes sense, as those two topics are relevant to the romance of the frontier as a forerunner to the Turner thesis (which suitably gets mentioned at the start of the chapter on 1890s imperialism), but instructors of survey courses that use 1865 or 1877 as the semester break may find it inconvenient (but again, there is the modularity feature for that).  \r\nThe chapter on the years 1870 to 1900 refers to the Great Migration northward of African Americans as occurring \"between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Great Depression,\" possibly giving the impression that a substantial proportion of that movement took place during the Gilded Age, when actually pre-1910 black migration to the North was small compared to what occurred during World War I. the years to which the term is usually applied.  (The authors' reasoning seems to be a desire to juxtapose it with the section on European immigration which immediately follows.)  In the chapter on World War I, the Great Migration is mentioned again, but in a manner that is slightly ambiguous when it comes to both numbers and timeframe.  Historians more recently have emphasized the continuity of the black migration in the World War I years, not so much the decades before as with the decades after.\r\nThe chapter on the 1960s very effectively shows the interconnection of issues involving Johnson's Great Society program, the civil rights and black power movements, and the tragedy of Vietnam.  The confluence of the rise of the women's movement with the rise of multiple other rights struggles, the hippie counterculture, the failure in Vietnam, and the general chaos of 1968 and 1969 is also effectively shown.  ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No problems here.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammar is clean, as far as I can see, but it's slightly annoying that they refer to the 1800s rather than the nineteenth century, contrary to the habit we presumably want to instill in our young history scholars.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The lives and viewpoints of the different players, male and female, white and nonwhite, are meaningfully presented. Inclusiveness is strong with room in places to be even stronger. For instance, the section on African American cultural life under slavery has a fair amount of informative detail but could offer even more. The same is true of the family and community lives of Gilded Age immigrants in America's cities: good information with room for even more. Also, while that latter section mentions Chinatown alongside Little Italy, the subhead overlooks the Chinese by calling that section \"The Changing Nature of European Immigration.\"\r\n","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The book is worth considering as an option when teaching in any school where saving students money is an important priority.  The book has its imprecisions and idiosyncracies here and there but is still solidly researched, constructed, and written.  ","created_at":"2019-04-08T12:02:09.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T12:02:09.000-05:00"},{"id":2946,"first_name":"Michael","last_name":"Garcia","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University of Denver","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text addresses significant historical points, but without great depth.  Though limited in content, the organizational framework/index of the text serves as a sufficient \"guide\" for a general survey course; however, it will need to be supplemented with outside materials.  Content limitations do allow an instructor the flexibility to tailor each chapter's content.  The links to ancillary materials are helpful for examining documents pertinent to chapter learning outcomes, but these are limited.  Chapter glossaries provide an opportunity to discuss terms and phrases necessary to the historical context pertinent to the chapter topics.  As for the learning objectives, they are directed to the content of the online text; at times the brevity of chapter content alone does not allow sufficient information for developing critical thinking responses.  Finally, the review and critical thinking questions serve as a reasonable guide for considering chapter content.  Additional questions will need to be developed respectively for those points deemed more important for understanding chapter topics.      ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The absence of historical details limits a broader understanding of the historical events discussed; thus, the accuracy of the material is limited in this context.  There exists in spots some level of bias:  for example, the terminology used in Chapter 22.2 about nineteenth century views toward Filipinos reads:  \"Neither the Spanish nor the Americans considered giving the islands their independence, since, with the pervasive racism and cultural stereotyping of the day, they believed the Filipino people were not capable of governing themselves.\"  These modern inferences suggest that concepts such as \"racism\" and \"cultural stereotyping\" were understood the same then as they are today.  In Chapter 17.1 an 1845 quote from John O' Sullivan speaks about the meaning of the phrase Manifest Destiny.  Later, the discussion question for the quote reads:  \"Even then, consider how the phrase “anyone” was restricted by race, gender, and nationality.\"  Here the word \"anyone\" was not even used in O 'Sullivan's quote but implies, implicitly, that it was used--leading the question's context. The summary in Chapter 16.4 suggests a goal for the Reconstruction that is suggestive as opposed to authentic:  \"Reconstruction had failed to achieve its primary objective of creating an interracial democracy that provided equal rights to all citizens.\"  Was this the purpose of the Reconstruction specifically?   Additionally, the same Chapter 32.4 \"implies\" that Mitt Romney's loss to Barack Obama's in 2012 was based substantially on Romney's remark about the 47 percent of Americans dependent on government assistance without verifiable documentation:  \"Romney’s remarks about the 47 percent hurt his position among both poor Americans and those who sympathized with them.\" ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Chapter 32.4's discussion of the American stock market's health as of 2013 is outdated where data since 2013 indicates an even better performance of the market since 2013.  Six years of history since 2013 has substantively impacted the American political dynamics that should be addressed for its contemporary value. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, the composition of the text is easy to read and does not integrate complicated syntax or terminology.  In places the brevity of the discussion can lead to questions, but this is not due to the language used itself.  For example, in Chapter 10.3, the meaning of \"nullification\" is not substantively explained as it reads: \"The theory of nullification, or the voiding of unwelcome federal laws, provided wealthy slaveholders, who were a minority in the United States, with an argument for resisting the national government if it acted contrary to their interests.\"  The term nullification requires a broader understanding as used here and even a further constitutional application/implication regarding the concept of \"state's rights.\"   ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter contains a standard format which establishes a logical/consistent approach for following the information, which for the most part is objective. The amount of discussion is roughly the same per chapter.   ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The \"modularity\" of the text is reasonable using four to five subsections that for some chapters can be reordered without jeopardizing the content chronology.        ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics for the course follow a logical and chronological order.   ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No particular problems were noted as far as navigating the online links for access to the appropriate information.  Some of the chapter images could be displayed more clearly: for example, time-line images, such as the one in Chapter 12.1 and the painting in 12.4, are not clear or difficult to view making them less advantageous as visual aids.    ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No particular grammatical errors were noticed.  The language is readable and should not present a problem for college level students.    ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text makes an effort to address culturally related issues, focusing mostly on African Americans and women to the exclusion or coverage of other minority and racial groups.  For example, Chapter 23.3 devotes its discussion to the implications of African Americans and women during WWI; Chapter 26.3 focuses considerable attention on the plight and conditions of African Americans during the Depression, but not on other minority groups.  Chapter 27.2 is the first chapter to be more inclusive of other cultures by addressing WWII home-front aspects of Hispanics and Asians (with marginal mention of Native Americans).  In its attempt to be culturally attentive, 27.2 does so at the expense of neglecting the broader implications of the American home-front during the Second World War.  ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-05-24T02:32:31.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-24T02:32:31.000-05:00"},{"id":3084,"first_name":"Jeannie","last_name":"Harding","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"One of the strengths of this text is its comprehensiveness. It covers all of US History, beginning with the status of Africa, the Americas, and Europe pre-Columbus. The text hits all of the major topics in American history that one can find in a typical survey text, ending around 2013 with the administration of Barack Obama. \r\n\r\nThat being said, the text is far more broad than it is deep. One example of this is the aforementioned first chapter on the pre-Columbian world. Europe gets an extensive treatment here, with a robust description of life as far back as the end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. Some of this seems unnecessary, especially since Africa and the Americas do not get the same treatment. The American section is far too vague, mentioning no names of important leaders like Pachacuti and Montezuma. Africa is discussed mostly in terms of its history of slavery prior to the Triangle Trade Route’s development, and other elements of African history are largely ignored. \r\n\r\nThis is one of the major criticisms I have about the text. The depth of topics is varied; some topics are treated with great detail and nuance while other areas are glossed over too quickly. \r\n","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"I detected a good bit of bias in the latter sections of the text that deal with the politics of the last few decades. President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society receives a glowing commendation with his various programs described in great detail; a sentence or two at the end of the section briefly mentions that conservatives were critical of his programs, but the reader is left with the sense that this was an unmitigated success. The chapter on the Reagan years is also very detailed in terms of laws and programs, but much of Reagan’s work is discredited, and he is painted as disingenuous compared to LBJ. \r\n\r\nHaving examined many different texts for US History courses over the years, the bias I see here is nothing new or exceptional, but it is worth noting.\r\n","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"One of the greatest benefits of using an internet text like this is the supposed ability for revision and addition as needed, in a timely fashion. The text ends at 2013, and it seems the time has come for an update.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This is one of the most readable texts I have ever encountered for an American history course, but I also feel that it is perhaps too simplistic for some of my students. The language, vocabulary, and sentence structure seem more fitting for high school students than college students. For certain student populations, this would be a benefit, but instructors should be aware of this, especially if their goal is to get students to write and speak in more formal, academic terms. The glossaries at the end of the chapters reveal the simplicity of language.\r\n","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The overall framework of the text is consistent, with review questions, glossaries, and learning objectives attached to each chapter. I found that the depth of coverage on topics is very inconsistent throughout the text, however, and this was a major drawback.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity of the text was one of its strongest points, especially when compared to a similar online text for US History I have looked at in the past. I liked that the Table of Contents could be turned on to show continually in the margin so that the reader can move easily between sections. I did not have to scroll back up to the top of the page to get to another chapter of the text. I also found the search bar to be very helpful, pulling up a short excerpt from the text with each instance of the search term. All of these made this particular text very easy to navigate. The chapter titles were also generally well-labeled so that I could locate a specific section quickly.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organizational structure makes sense. It is largely chronological, though some topics are grouped together instead of in a strictly chronological sense. For example, a president’s foreign policy might all be discussed in one section while domestic issues are grouped separately. This allows for continuity of ideas within topics.\r\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I did not notice any issues with this. There are quite a few embedded links to outside resources, and the ones I looked at were all intact. I hope the editors maintain good links. I did notice a couple of links that took me to a general website instead of the specific article mentioned in the text; it would have been helpful to have the links go to the actual page mentioned.\r\n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no obvious grammatical errors that I noticed.\r\n","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text did an excellent job including a variety of voices, both within the text itself and through the use of sources from historically-marginalized groups. For example, there were links to slave narratives and a site about the Carlisle Indian School. I did find that the coverage of the women’s rights movements was too thin.\r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"If your main criteria for a US History text are cost and readability, this is a text worth examining. It is most comparable to \"brief edition\" texts I have seen, and I often find those type of texts to be too brief to benefit my students very much. I do not think this is a text that would work for every U.S. History course, but for some student populations, it would provide a nice alternative to expensive textbooks.","created_at":"2019-07-08T13:16:35.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-07-08T13:16:35.000-05:00"},{"id":3211,"first_name":"Kevin","last_name":"Rucker","position":"Senior lecturer","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University of Denver","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I found that the text does broadly covers significant historical events and people in a broad overview.  While there is not a lot of depth in the chapters, it makes a great overview do use if the instructor adds supplemental readings.  The review and critical thinking questions are a great supplement, as well as the glossary.  I teach multiple sessions of Multicultural America here at MSU-Denver and have been looking for a an inexpensive, if not free, supplement to my texts I require students to read, Ronald Takaki's \"A Different Mirror\" and Gary Nash's \"Forbidden Love:  The Hidden History of Mixed-Race America.\"  The course covers from pre-Columbian American history through the present and have found myself having to lecture \"filler\" lectures to connect the different topics of the books.   For example, U.S. History's first chapter's sections about Pre-Columbia America and pre-1500 Europe and Africa I will make required reading because it is important, but my students have had to rely on my lectures for this information.  Multicultural America is required for all majors at MSU-Denver and over 90% of my students are not history majors.  I can utilize \"U.S. History\" as supplemental assigned readings to reinforce my lectures on different important themes, such as the U.S. Constitution, the Civil War, American Imperialism, World War I, etc.  I plan to incorporate portions of this text in my Spring 2020 classes.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not find any inaccuracies, but again, there could be more substance is some sections.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text was written in 2013, so there is a gap of some of current issues facing America.  But as for the rest of the text it is wll done.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is easily readable and does not use unnecessary complex words or jargon.  Also, I was pleased to see the historic maps, illustrations and photographs included within each section.  This helps keep the attention of the reader rather that having long stagnant readings.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Yes, the composition of the chapters are in a standard format that is consistent throughout the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I like how the chapters are broken into subsections without sacrificing the content's chronology.  This will enable me to assign subsections of chapters for my students to read to supplement my lectures and other readings without compelling them to read the entire chapter.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Well organized and a chronological sequence as a good genral history text should be.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I had no problem with interface issues with navigating the text or distractions from images presented.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not encounter any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is a great example of how today's \"revisionist\" history should be written.  It is inclusive of a variety of peoples and their cultural and ethnic background.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Again, as I said at the beginning of this review, I will be using this text to supplement my lectures and other assigned readings in my Multicultural America courses in the Spring 2020.  My students should find this text a welcome addition to the course.","created_at":"2019-10-24T11:25:59.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-24T11:25:59.000-05:00"},{"id":3224,"first_name":"J","last_name":"Bates","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Minnesota State University System","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook does an exceptional job of providing a comprehensive though still nuanced portrait of US history. I was particularly impressed with the colonial era and the authors’ devotion to setting up the complex interplay between African, European and American societies. Within the colonial and national period, the author follows through in this promising beginning, emphasizing the changing history of gender and race and their larger connection to the “larger” political movements of the day. It also does a great job of introducing elements of environmental history. The authors’ written text places a larger focus on political history than it does cultural and social history. However, the primary sources integrated into the text would allow an instructor to consider cultural shifts with students in class. \r\n\r\nThere are some mention of Asian -Americans, Latinos and immigrants from the Middle East, but they are not woven deeply into the text the way African Americans and, at times, Native Americans are. I think moving forward this would be an ideal place for expansion. For example, the author might move away from only touching Native American “removals” at the famous times in history – Trail of Tears, Custer, Dawes Act and integrate a consideration of Native Americans as one of the core groups living in the United States through its history.  They might also give more attention to the experiences of African Americans in the South post reconstruction and before the Civil Rights Movements of the 1950s. A complex history of a sizeable portion of the US population is summed over through the use of the phrase “Jim Crow.” But students would understand later development, as well as contemporary debates, better if the authors made it a point to integrate the racialized terror and structural and institutional racism  that pervaded the United States history through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"For the most part, the text has no explicit bias and is relatively error free.  \r\n\r\nWhen the authors are outside the bounds of their expertise there tends to be more errors. For example, their coverage of pre-Columbian societies in Meso America includes outdated information regarding to Florentine Codex and the belief that Montezuma believed Cortes to be a god. The description of Central Mexico’s nation-states, urban spaces that often held populations of more than 60,000 people as “tribes” also gives a distorted view of the region’s past. Likewise, scholars view the Inca’s quipu as a system of writing. In other places, the lack of accuracy is more the stories that have been left out. These are relatively minor in an otherwise excellent history.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"In those areas where the text provides, extensive coverage, it is up to date. Breaking up the standard narratives of history would make it far more applicable to the new ways that U.S. History is being taught. Necessary updates – as long as they stay within the general narrative structure– will be easy to incorporate.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, the writing is clear and engaging. Moreover, by providing framing questions at the beginning of each chapter as well as a brief summary at the end of each chapter, the authors highlight the important take away for students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"When writing this review I had to look again and see if this was written by more than one author! The text is very consistent and keeps the same narrative focus and tone throughout.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Text is divided into reasonable chapters with subheadings. It is not overly referential. Chapters and sections could be rearranged, skipped and emphasized at will.  \r\n\r\nI also loved that the authors’ divided between key terms, short information based questions and larger critical thinking questions.  I think this does an excellent job of emphasizing the many different ways historians think about the past, and different areas of students learning.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Within each chapter, I found the structure and flow excellent. The maps, images and primary sources and very well integrated into the text. In fact, this is perhaps the best integration of images and maps that I have seen!","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found no problems with the interface. Images are clear. Text is clear.  Many of the primary sources are integrated into the text limiting how much students would need to have multiple browsers open at the same time.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Free from grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Within each chapter, the text is not culturally insensitive. Yet, there is considerable weight given to the traditional players in US history. The stories of Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans is often put into the sidelines. I would like to see this integrated into the text.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-10-28T09:13:50.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-28T09:13:50.000-05:00"},{"id":3267,"first_name":"Ian","last_name":"Beamish","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"ULL","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The books covers the political narrative relatively thoroughly, but skews its attention to England and Europe over other areas of the Atlantic World in early chapters. The book is weakest in terms of coverage pre-1650 and post-1968.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Mostly free of major errors, though I would question some of the points of emphasis. There is generally a heavy focus on European viewpoints over indigenous viewpoints, with entire chapters dedicated largely to English/colonial understandings of economy, politics, and religion, while indigenous viewpoints are often in sub-sections framed by European/settler actions, like 3.4 \"Impact of Colonization.\"","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book generally isn't focused in bringing the most current historical arguments into the text, which can at times make it feel a bit flat and free of argument. This does have the advantage that the book is unlikely to become dated in the short term.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is clearly written and the reading level is appropriate for high school and early college students. Professors will not have much work to do setting up the book or explaining difficult concepts. The disadvantage of having avoided jargon and technical terminology is that more complex concepts also seem to have been avoided.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The structure of chapters is consistent and the tone is fairly uniform throughout the text. The sections on the mid- to late-20th century seems a little different from the bulk of the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":" think these chapters could be used almost entirely modularly, almost to a fault. Unlike some standard texts (Foner, Give me Liberty or Cohen/Johnson/Roark, The American Promise) the book also does not have clear through lines that can be referred back to, either in terms of narrative or argument. This helps greatly with modularity, but limits what the text offers students in terms of connecting different aspects of US history.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"There is a clear chronological approach to the text that students will find easy to follow and accessible. As mentioned above, there is an absence of connections between chapters/modules which somewhat limits the value of the chronological approach.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is not particularly visually appealing, but is intuitive and easy to navigate. There are a number of excellent images that I haven't seen in other texts. These images could be presented in a larger format, rather than the default presentation being shrunk to a fraction of the width of the page.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice any significant issues.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"As at least one other review has noted, stating that Americanization \"left them bereft of their culture and history\" is not accurate and a potentially damaging statement. Asian American history is not dealt with in any sustained manner.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-11-10T15:56:44.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-11-10T15:56:44.000-06:00"},{"id":3394,"first_name":"Evan","last_name":"Casey","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Marian University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers US History brilliantly. The depth of research and care in including pertinent information is well done.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"While there could have been more information on minority contributions to US History, this text was accurate and well-balanced when it came to telling different sides of the stories of History.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because it was well written and comprised, this text will be used for a long time in this reviewer's classes.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Students will find this text easy to use because of the highlighted words of importance and the end of chapter questions.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"When the book refers to certain topics, such as the presidency of Andrew Johnson and the turmoil that brought, the text was very down to earth as well as technical when explaining certain situations. This will help students be able to increase their historical acumen and not make it so difficult for them to learn.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The modularity of the book is rather linear. However, if one is able to TOPICALLY and not chronologically teach history, then this would boost the rating significantly.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Very logical presentation and thoughtful arrangement of the text.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Most everything in the text was very easy to read and understanding was aided by the comprehensive definitions given throughout the text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors reported.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"While the text was not personally offensive or insensitive, many aspects of the true telling of history are. The text gracefully handles this and allows the reader to dive into the \"why\" of things rather than dwell on the acts of bigotry and hatred themselves.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This textbook could be a welcome main reader in any classroom. Students will be able to relate to the information and synthesize what they learned by utilizing the comprehensive helps contained at the end of each chapter, as well as studying the important vocab words in each section. Well-written and this text will be utilized by this professor for years to come.","created_at":"2019-12-18T09:08:55.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-18T09:08:55.000-06:00"},{"id":3425,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Carlock","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Bowling Green State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text breaks American history into typical chronological and thematic chapters. There are also consistent themes emphasized throughout the chapters, such as women's history, Black history, and Mexican-American history. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is constantly updated to resolve any inaccuracies. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book's content extends (as of the end of 2019) to the end of the Obama administration. Throughout the semester, the book was continuously updated with corrections. There are also a number of online resources included that expand upon the information written in the text. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book utilizes some jargon, but provides a glossary of important terms and their definitions at the end of each chapter. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Each chapter has consistent information, graphics, sub-sections, and resources. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter has specific sub-sections divided up into multiple subheadings as well, making for easily consumable readings about specific topics. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Each chapter is divided into multiple sub-sections, each with a separate topic, theme, or time period depending on how the chapter as a whole is organized. Each chapter is easy to navigate with sub-chapters divided further into sub-headings. ","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book is simple to navigate, with in-text links being clearly marked and a navigation menu included in the left-hand side with clear titles for each chapter and sub-chapter. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Any grammatical errors are fixed consistently with updates. ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book specifically includes sections on women's history, Black history, and Mexican-American history. At times, these sections are small or lacking deeper analysis though. ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book is a useful survey course text that provides a succinct yet sweeping historical analysis of American history in a well-organized and accessible format, and includes plenty of online resources that expand upon the text itself. ","created_at":"2019-12-22T13:36:11.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-22T13:36:11.000-06:00"},{"id":3794,"first_name":"Chris","last_name":"McGraw","position":"History Instructor","institution_name":"Central Louisiana Technical Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is very comprehensive, and its 32 chapters give a broad overview of American history from Pre-Columbian times to the end of Barack Obama's presidency. The chapters are organized both chronologically and thematically. The chapters do not delve into too much detail, and instead, consist of an overview. The review and critical thinking questions, at the end of every chapter, are a great way to assess students and check for understanding. While the book is mostly a political history, it also encompasses social and economic history.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is very accurate. I found no significant errors in my reading. While no history text can be completely unbiased, this text presents a balanced view. It consistently tries to tell both sides of the story. We hear the perspectives of both settlers and natives on the frontier, Patriots and Loyalists during the Revolution, and secessionists and abolitionists during the Civil War. The balance also extends to more recent and relevant political issues.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is generally up to date and represents the most recent scholarship. The nature of the text itself allows it be be easily updated with new information and developments.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written very clearly. The language used is accessible to the vast majority of undergraduate students. It is well written and generally enjoyable to read. Some portions are rather dry, especially those dealing with political wranglings and legislation. However, some passages are very engaging and read almost like a novel. Although the narrative is broken up my many headings, it flows well.  It does not have the complicated and politicized jargon of other history textbooks.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I also liked how the book consistently references and reiterates events and developments that had taken place in previous chapters. The chapters always provide a broad overview of themes, while not being afraid to delve into lesser known historical events and figures.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The chapters are organized by political, social, and cultural history. They are broken down into many subsections. Instructors that want to rearrange the material are easily able to do so without sacrificing clarity.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The chapters are very well organized. However, they are not organized in strictly chronological order. Chapters often overlap in terms of time period.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"There are no issues with navigating the interface.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is inclusive and represents many different groups. Inclusion of women's history, black history, native history, and Asian history is consistent throughout the text. The text reflects the diversity that is characteristic of American history and society.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This is an excellent, free textbook. The language is easily accessible and engaging. I highly recommend this text for introductory US History courses.","created_at":"2020-05-02T00:00:49.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-02T00:00:49.000-05:00"},{"id":3820,"first_name":"David","last_name":"Trowbridge","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Marshall University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"On its face, the text appears to mirror the topics one sees in a typical commercial textbook. However, when you dig a little deeper the book lacks the narrative and interpretive quality of recent commercial textbooks such as the popular text by Eric Foner. This might be a result of a modular approach with multiple authors. For students who pick up the book sporadically and read only a few sections, this might not be a problem. For students who enjoy reading, however, this book will surely disappoint. The most concerning aspect of the book is the casual and often sloppy nature of the text. There are so many times when the text makes an assertion that is not supported by recent scholarship that it is clear that professors are not reviewing this text in detail. I have provided an example of this from Chapter 17 at the end of this review.","accuracy_rating":2,"accuracy_review":"The book offers lots of facts and generally gets things right, but there are times when the book will leave any serious student of history scratching their head.  Word choice and precision seem to be one of the Achilles heels, but students will still get an overview of the period, and hopefully, that will serve as background for understanding lectures and other parts of a course. Here is an example where word choice might lead students to an oversimplified dichotomy: \"Many consider the Enlightenment a major turning point in Western civilization, an age of light replacing an age of darkness.\" The book also refers to nonwhite people as heathens several times without unpacking that term in historical context. This could be dangerous. Here is an example: \"Slaves were cared for, supporters argued, and were better off exposed to the teachings of Christianity as slaves than living as free heathens in uncivilized Africa. \" and again: \"While much of the basis for westward expansion was economic, there was also a more philosophical reason, which was bound up in the American belief that the country—and the “heathens” who populated it—was destined to come under the civilizing rule of Euro-American settlers and their superior technology, \" Referring to Native Americans and enslaved people of African descent as heathens so casually in the text seems problematic to say the least. I understand what the authors' intent is, and with some revision, these sections could be vastly improved.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I think the book does reasonably well here by blending political and social history. I can easily quibble with some choices, but that is true of all textbooks.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This is one of the strengths of the book - most times it is written in a way that should allow most students to move quickly through the text.","consistency_rating":2,"consistency_review":"The book seems consistent when it comes to presenting history from a white, male, European perspective. When it comes to women's history, the book is consistent in offering only a brief and limited perspective. Take women's suffrage as one example. If a student missed a few special sections that cover women's history, they would not see many positive contributions of women. If a student read this book cover to cover, they would gain the impression that women's suffrage was only a moment in history instead of the culmination of generations of thoughts and actions.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book is arranged similarly to other textbooks, so it should be easy to take what one needs should modularity be a concern. One possible area of concern for those seeking to adapt the text is the quality of the auxiliary materials such as the reading quizzes. These sorts of resources appear to be an afterthought for this open text just as they are often an afterthought for other publishers. Here is an example of a textbook question that needs to be reconsidered:\r\n7. Which of the following groups was not impacted by the invention of barbed wire?\r\nranchers\r\ncowboys\r\nfarmers\r\nillegal prostitutes","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I think the organization of the book is fine-mostly chronological with some thematic aspects similar to other U.S. history textbooks.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Again, this is fine. It is easy to move around in the book and it is digitally searchable. This is not a comment about the text, but please notice that most of the categories reviewers are given are not about the content of the book. So while this book might rank high in terms of stars, many other faculty have also pointed out issues about this book's content.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The book seems to be written for a general audience and is straightforward, easy to read, and no obvious misspellings. Fans of the Oxford comma might be disappointed.","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"Coverage of race and gender is the fatal flaw of the text as it stands in 2020. Here is an example in Chapter 17 where the authors make the false and extremely racist assertion that most women in the West were prostitutes until the wives of wealthy white men arrived. \r\n\"The few women who went to these wild outposts were typically prostitutes, and even their numbers were limited. In 1860, in the Comstock Lode region of Nevada, for example, there were reportedly only thirty women total in a town of twenty-five hundred men. Some of the “painted ladies” who began as prostitutes eventually owned brothels and emerged as businesswomen in their own right; however, life for these young women remained a challenging one as western settlement progressed. A handful of women, numbering no more than six hundred, braved both the elements and male-dominated culture to become teachers in several of the more established cities in the West. Even fewer arrived to support husbands or operate stores in these mining towns.\r\n\r\nAs wealthy men brought their families west, the lawless landscape began to change slowly. Abilene, Kansas, is one example of a lawless town, replete with prostitutes, gambling, and other vices, transformed when middle-class women arrived in the 1880s with their cattle baron husbands. These women began to organize churches, schools, civic clubs, and other community programs to promote family values. They fought to remove opportunities for prostitution and all the other vices that they felt threatened the values that they held dear. Protestant missionaries eventually joined the women in their efforts, and, while they were not widely successful, they did bring greater attention to the problems.\"","overall_rating":6,"overall_review":"There should be more review categories related to a book's content for books in the humanities.","created_at":"2020-05-19T14:06:11.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-19T14:06:11.000-05:00"},{"id":4051,"first_name":"Judith","last_name":"Osborn","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Umpqua Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"In comparison with commercial textbooks, the range and coverage are good. The authors clearly worked diligently to include the major points of the history necessary for an introductory text. The Index needs to be more comprehensive, it is too abbreviated. There is no glossary and this is a problem. The text is light on definitions, for instance, imperialism is never defined, hegemony is never mentioned. The idea of the US as a nation that has never practiced imperialism is very strongly embedded in our national discourse and changing that mind set can only happen with a concentrated barrage of basic definitions and facts in our texts.  Not to speak for anyone else, my students need basic definitions.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This is an essential demand of any academic text and certainly met by these authors. I did not find any errors.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"It may just be the moment in which I am writing this, late June 2020. The call for more inclusive historical matter is loud. In the list of authors, I do not see a single African American historian, no Native Studies, no Women's History, no Gender Studies historian. I have to agree with the critique written by an earlier reviewer who said that this text shows a decided slant that the history of white men is the history of the US. Clearly, the authors made an effort to include voices and people outside the majority white and male historical record, yet this is also clearly an aspect of the text that will need to be further amended. We need to hear the voices that say, for example, race is at the center of US history, that say native people are the beginning and center of US history, that call for the centrality of women's history, of those of non-compliant sexual identity.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is lucid, sensible, well written, well organized. It will help students erect a framework of US history in their own minds. \r\nThere is still work to be done to more adequately address the lack of robust use of definitions.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Usefully organized, consistent in style. Students seem to learn best when, over the course of a term, they can rely on a steady model of instruction so they can use their energies to absorb the information. The text does a good job of maintaining uniformity of structure over the chapters. Considering that there were several authors, the consistency is laudable.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This is an interesting criteria. The book does meet this criteria, the subject headings are certainly not followed by large blocks of text. There is hardly a page without some type of pictorial insert, hardly a subject matter that extends for more than a page or two. Henry James would not be impressed. This is a pedagogical point of view with which I do not agree but which is so widespread and imposing that it is not really worth an argument.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The historical chronology flows in an orderly manner. Historically, more than one or two things are happening at the same time so maintaining a clear narrative is essential. The organization of the material, even in complex situations such as when the US has both international as well as internal struggles is nicely done.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This is an aspect in which the book excels. Once the book is opened, it attracts readers as well as casual browsers. I have seen several generations glance at it, then turn a few pages and then sit down to read more. \r\nFar from confusing or distracting readers, the layout of the pages invites readers to delve into it.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I am very thankful for the well constructed, grammatically correct writing of this text.\r\nThis is a necessity that cannot be over emphasized for my students. Modeling excellent writing is a tremendous help.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This is problematic. \r\nThe authors did include instances of historical moments when non-white, non-male actors were the agents of history. However, the point of view is clearly white and male. This point of view has been very gradually becoming less and less acceptable over the last few decades and there is now a very concerted push to change it. How this will play out over the next couple of years will, at least, be interesting.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I am very excited to begin using this book. By its very existence, it offers a new modality of teaching that is less hierarchical and more inclusive.\r\nToo many students have been constrained from succeeding in class by the cost of the texts. I appreciate the work done by the authors. Thank you so much.","created_at":"2020-06-23T14:30:19.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-23T14:30:19.000-05:00"},{"id":4239,"first_name":"Susan","last_name":"Kwosek","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"South Carolina State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is extremely comprehensive and includes a glossary for the words selected to be defined and included in it. The problem is that the glossary at the end of each chapter is labeled \"Key Terms,\" but it includes a mixture of what I would consider to be need to know terms (actual key terms) and nice to be able to look up if you don;t know them words (such as one would find in a glossary at the end of the book). The book would be greatly improved by moving the comprehensive glossary to the end of the book and limiting chapter key terms (which could them be looked up in the glossary if the definition is not clear in the text).","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall the book is very accurate and error free. It could benefit from a few changes. For example, the book uses the term Atlantic World but does not define it according to the definition as it is put forth by Atlanticists. This book will most like be used in a survey course and students will go on to take additional history courses, one of which might be the Atlantic World. As much as possible the book should define terms like this in the way they are defined by historians in that field.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up to date and presented in ways that will remain relevant for a fairly long time.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The book tends to be wordy in that much of the writing is in passive voice. The book would benefit from an overhaul to revise it using active voice. Additionally, there are always a number of words in each chapter that are not course specific, but are used under the assumption that the student will know what they mean. I am constantly needing to provide my own online glossary for my US History courses because many of my student do not have knowledge of many non-vocabulary words that are casually used in the text. Because they are not subject-specific words, they can be easily swapped out for simpler terms. Doing this will not \"dumb down\" the content of the book, but will make it more accessible to first-generation, first-semester, low-income, and ESL students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I have had no problems with the book's inner consistency.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book has easily identifiable modules and sub-modules that are easy to follow. They break up the long chapters, but do not interfere with the flow of the topics.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is clearly organized by topic and chronologically within each topic. Chapters may overlap chronologically, but that does not interfere with the student's ability to make connections between one chapter topic and the next. It also provides a good way for the instruction to review by helping students bridge the topic and chronology over 2-3 chapters.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is excellent whether one is reading the book chapter by chapter or using a search feature to find specific information, especially if that information is not in the index.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"It is grammatically correct, but largely written in passive voice. We instruct students to use active voice in their own writing and it would be better if the book modeled this writing style.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I find the book to be written with cultural sensitivity. Images and text are inclusive of a wide audience of varied race and ethnicity.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I use this book in both of my US History survey courses, so my main message is: this book works very well. It was an easy swap form a print textbook to this no-cost OER. 77% of my students were not buying the print textbook. Beginning in Fall 2020 they will all have equal access to the material.","created_at":"2020-07-09T12:06:43.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-07-09T12:06:43.000-05:00"},{"id":4589,"first_name":"Greg","last_name":"Hansard","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"John Tyler Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is very comprehensive, and it covers all of the appropriate subjects for United States History I and II.  The table of contents clearly illustrates the major themes and topics in United States History.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"I have found two errors in the textbook.  I have submitted both of the corrections to OpenStax, and they have corrected the errors.  (One was a date error and the other error was a geographic error.)  Their support team was very receptive to my findings.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I believe the content (text) is up-to-date, and they add new content to ensure that the textbook stays relevant.  I believe that some of the images are out-of-date.  I understand that they are trying to use open source material, but I believe that there could be better image options to illustrate the content.   They also need to update some of the hyperlinks used in the \"Click and Explore\" sections.  These links sometimes take the reader to an out-of-date website or a broken URL.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook is very easy to read.  The text is very clear and appropriate.  Any jargon/technical information is explained.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The entire textbook is consistent.  The reader knows what to expect for each chapter.  The framework is clear and does not alter throughout the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I believe that this is one of the strong suits of the textbook.  The smaller sections are easy to digest.  There is little disruption to the reader and the entire book has a nice flow to it.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Some chapters cover duplicate information.  This can be frustrating when assessing students on a term or subject when they haven't read both of the chapters where the information is covered.  I think it would be better for the students if there was a clearer break/cutoff from one chapter to another.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"My only issue with the interface is the \"Click and Explore Section\".  I feel that these hyperlinks need to be better vetted.  There should be more quality control measures for checking these outside links.  I tell my students not to click on the links.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no signs of grammatical errors throughout the textbook.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.  The text sets the tone of cultural sensitivity/awareness in the first chapter and continues to follow this awareness throughout the entire book.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-01-20T10:06:10.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-20T10:06:10.000-06:00"},{"id":4748,"first_name":"Laura","last_name":"Palmer","position":"Adjunct Lecturer","institution_name":"New York City College of Technology","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is a fairly comprehensive textbook that outlines the history of the United States, beginning with an overview of the forces that led to colonialist expeditions from European nation-states, outlining some general aspects of pre-colonial North America, then moving into the process and initial impact of settler-colonialism in North America in detail. The text then discusses the formation of the Unites States as a nation independent from colonial powers, and moves through the major political, cultural, and social developments that the nation experiences over the following 220 years. Each chapter includes key vocabulary terms and a timeline. The chronologically arranged chapters each have an introduction and subsections, and each term in the index is hyperlinked to the section where it is discussed. This textbook does a fine job of covering a broad period of time with a complex history, in my opinion.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"While overall, this text is fairly accurate, there are a few moments where language or interpretations from historical sources were incorporated into the texts without a critical framework. For example, section 1.3 notes that enslaved indigenous peoples of the Americas were not a \"dependable source of labor\" for Spanish colonists because \"they tended to sicken or die from disease or the overwork and cruel treatment they were subjected to\" and that Black laborers sent to the invaded indigenous lands \"proved hardier.\" While that may technically not be a historically inaccurate fact, the language used to describe the difference in immunity between those enslaved from indigenous nations in what is now called North America, and that of those enslaved from African nations seems biased and rooted in racial narratives of Blacks. This could be easily resolved within the text by quoting a primary source or using more neutral terms. While issues like these were not widespread throughout the text, their presence was concerning to me, as an instructor.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I found this text to be fairly relevant. In particular, throughout most of the text I found the direct discussion of racism and racialized issues mostly up-to-date for teaching a course at the moment, as there are many American history texts that tend to obscure and minimize these issues as driving forces in political, cultural and social life. The text currently contains history up through the Obama presidency, I hope that it will be updated with material from 2016-2020, now that this chapter of American political life has ended. The chronological structure of the text will make recent history easy to incorporate, but I would encourage the authors to keep abreast of newly published research for the earlier time periods and revise their chapters when possible.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Overall, this text uses clear and easy-to understand prose. In my opinion, it is appropriate for students at the high school level, or for an introductory or survey course at an undergraduate institution. Vocabulary terms that would be unfamiliar to a modern reader are defined in text and are also highlighted at the end of each chapter.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is fairly consistent overall, although I found some chapters to be stronger than others, in terms of their historical objectivity, as noted in the \"accuracy\" section above. The framework and structure of the text was very consistent, and terms were relatively consistent throughout the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter's subsections were very readable, and the text overall is fairly modular. Although I think that the structure of this text lends itself best to courses that are taught chronologically. An instructor hoping to approach US history from a thematic perspective, with units on, for example, women's rights or labor rights, would not easily be able to isolate that material. This is common, though, for history texts, of course, but thematic sections might be something to consider for a future version of the text, or for an additional open-source US history book.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This text was very well organized, with each chapter covering a chronological period, and subsections with clear headings highlighting specific events or movements and their impact.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I read this book on a web browser and found the interface to be fine. In particular, I appreciated the inclusion of \"click and explore\" sections where students can link out and review primary sources a benefit for the online format/interface of this textbook. I think that there could be some additional critical thinking prompts around the historiography of some primary source links, but allowing the students to analyze some of these materials on their own certainly strengthens the learning experience of the subject matter.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I only noticed a few grammatical errors, and they did not detract from the reading experience in my opinion.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Overall, I got the sense that the authors of this text worked hard to compose a fairly culturally-sensitive history of the United States, and for the most part handled much of the material related to race and ethnicity accurately, for example, noting that racial hatred motivated some of the atrocities in the Vietnam War. Personally, I think that the text could have gone even further to construct an inclusive history, especially in regards to the discussion of native nations of what became known as North America. Certain terms used in this text, for example noting that, in what the text terms \"native peoples of the eastern woodland\" native peoples \"did not construct the large and complex societies\" like those of the peoples who inhabited lands west of the Mississippi River. While the social structures and cultural practices of nations like the Iroquois and Lenape were certainly very different from the Anasazi, terms like \"complexity\" have connotations of prestige and hierarchy, which can be seen as discounting the highly developed elements present in many eastern native nations, from precise agricultural methods and to fine art forms.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The links out to primary source material are excellent, and useful instruction tools. I also found that including many of the key documents in U.S. History, like the Constitution, in the appendix were helpful, so students can refer to these throughout the course. Some of the review questions I found to be overly simplistic, and I would also note that critical thinking prompts around historical revision, for example \"Did the US make the right decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan\" could cause some extreme tensions in classroom discussions, and may create challenges around cultural sensitivity for instructors. While its important to have students consider the impact of history, it's also critical to remember that students are likely to have personal or familial ties to these historical events, and debating what \"should have\" happened in the past does not alter the historical reality. Instructors should consider how a student with Japanese heritage might feel during such a discussion, and be sure that there is a clear learning objective before assigning the critical thinking prompt.","created_at":"2021-04-07T20:31:48.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-04-07T20:31:48.000-05:00"},{"id":33556,"first_name":"Charles","last_name":"Irwin","position":"History Professor","institution_name":"Des Moines Area Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text works well for a survey-level course as it covers the major themes in U.S. history.  The information is organized logically and easy for the students to follow the material.  Since the text is basic in its interpretation of U.S. History it is important to incorporate more detail in your lecture and use of primary materials.  The use of glossary terms is helpful for students at the end of each chapter.  The auxiliary materials (PowerPoint slides, test banks, and instructor resources) provided are very basic and need to be further developed by the instructor using the textbook.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is accurate and does a good job of balancing different points of view in an organized format.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text reflects the basic themes in U. S. History and provides a general foundation for the course.  The general nature of the book means it will continue to be relevant in the future.  I used my lecture and primary materials to incorporate current material into the class.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"My students found the text to be engaging and were able to grasp the main points.  The text uses little jargon so works well with survey classes.  The learning objectives at the beginning of each section were helpful for students to focus on the main points.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in how the information is presented.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into smaller segments with subheadings that are easily comprehended by students.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text tries to balance between chronological and thematic perspectives.  This causes the material to overlap at times but not to the point it interferes with the organization of the text.  I compensated for this by using the text as a framework and rearranging the order of the material to fit my teaching style.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No interface problems have been detected.  The textbook makes good use of the links to connect students to primary sources.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical errors were noted.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The authors presented the material from different perspectives and generally succeeded in being culturally sensitive.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I liked the ease of making this book available to my students, just provide the link, and students have access to the book on day one of class.   No dealing with bookstores, different editions, and no excuses for not having a textbook for the course.   OER is an incentive for students to take your classes and generally for your institution by reducing your student’s costs of their education.","created_at":"2021-12-20T09:21:54.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-12-20T09:21:54.000-06:00"},{"id":34633,"first_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Little","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Emory and Henry College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"\"U.S. History\" is a comprehensive textbook that does a good job of telling the whole story of American history.  The authors effectively weave U.S. social and cultural history into the framework of political, military, and diplomatic events, recreating the American story in such a way that will benefit all students enrolled in college-level survey courses.  An examination of the Index reveals that it is both thorough and easy-to-use, with all key terms being included.  The Appendix provides a comprehensive bibliography, as well as important documents, a list of U.S. presidents, maps, and demographic data.   There is also an answer key for the end-of-chapter questions, making this by far and away the best, most comprehensive openly licensed U.S. history textbook currently available.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book's content is free of mistakes and errors.  Throughout there is real attention to historical accuracy and understanding so that the authors are able to offer complex yet clear explanations for particular events while not forcing them into a pre-cast mold.  The authors seem altogether unbiased; they allow events to unfold in manner that does justice to the people and events that have shaped the American past.  Importantly, all OpenStax textbooks are rigorously vetted.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"\"U.S. History\" is up-to-date and will definitely have a long-lasting shelf life.  While originally published in December 2014, the book is periodically updated by the content contributors.  The last update occurred in December 2022 as of this writing.  The text is well organized and well written so that updates can be easily handled.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This is a book that reads exceptionally well and one that a wide variety of students will find stimulating.  There is no dull writing in \"U.S. History.\"  Nor is the book filled with technical terminology or meaningless jargon.  The style is appropriate for an introductory-level college survey course, and the chapters, paragraphs, and sentences are nicely handled.  Students will love “U.S. History.”","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This book is rock solid in its internal consistency, and this is true not only in terms of its terminology but also in terms of its framework.   \"U.S. History\" is definitely a professional-grade, internally consistent textbook.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is designed for modularity and flexibility.  As long as instructors attribute OpenStax and its content contributors, \"U.S. History,\" which is openly licensed, can freely be remixed and built upon.  Instructors can use the entire book or pick certain sections that are relevant to specific parts of their courses.  Students can be assigned certain chapters or sections.   As noted in the Preface, \"Instructors also have the option of creating a customized version of their OpenStax book. The custom version can be made available to students in low-cost print or digital form through their campus bookstore.\"","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"\"U.S. History\" is a well-organized textbook.  The material is presented in a clear and logical manner.  My experience as a teacher of American history has shown me that students do best when the authors of their college textbook take pains at organization, which is clearly what the content contributors of \"U.S. History\" have done.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I noticed no significant interface issues when reading \"U.S. History.\"","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammatical errors that distract the reader's attention from the content of the writing.  The content contributors adhere to all of the grammatical conventions of written English.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This book is inclusive and culturally sensitive.  Periodic updates since 2014 have enabled the content contributors to continue to highlight examples of the diversity of the American experience.    \"U.S. History\" truly is a human story inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2023-07-17T14:45:38.000-05:00","updated_at":"2023-07-17T14:45:38.000-05:00"},{"id":35148,"first_name":"Scotty","last_name":"Wade","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The OpenStax U.S. history textbook covers the major topics in United States History and provides an effective index with hyperlinks back to the chapter. The book includes major developments in political, social, economic, and intellectual history. The authors also include periodic developments in intellectual history, including the Enlightenment and includes notable authors and thinkers throughout the chapters. \nThe appendices provide demographic information as well as important documents pertaining to United States History. The coverage is appropriate for a survey-level course in that it is a manageable reading load for students that can be expanded on by the instructor. I would like to see a supplemental primary source reader but there are plenty of resources to find primary sources.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I cannot find anything historically inaccurate. Some reviewers would argue that the exclusion of certain events, and people is inaccurate but as in the case with survey textbooks, authors have to make decisions regarding what to include. For instance, Chapter7, section 4 “The Constitutional Convention and Federal Constitution” includes the 3/5 Compromise, but not the Fugitive Slave Clause and the Slave Trade Clause. I feel it is necessary to include these additions to address more fully how slavery was dealt with at the Constitutional Convention.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The version I am reviewing chronologically ends in 2014, rendering the book obsolete in 2024.There have been dramatic changes in the United States that would need to be included in an updated edition. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic quickly come to mind. However, the modality of the textbook will allow for quick updates and students will not have to buy expensive new editions.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing is concise without being overly complex. The key terms at the end of the chapters are useful to define some of the major events and concepts. The chapters are short enough to cover many of them in one or two class periods.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The structure of the chapters is consistent throughout. The layout and formatting of the chapters is standardized. Once a student reads the first chapter, they will know what to expect. The content of the chapters varies as far as comprehensiveness. Some chapters contain more coverage than others, but with multiple authors, that is to be expected.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters are broken up into sections which make it easier to assign reading assignments that are manageable. This works particularly well in online courses that utilize a modular format. Instructors can easily hyper-link sections of the chapters allowing instructors to remix the content for their own needs. It is possible to create a more thematic methodology if desired.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book’s organization is sound, and it is structured in a chronological fashion. After using the book, I have found that the chapters can be disjointed in places and there seems to be some overlap, particularly in the early chapters.  For instance, Chapters 2 and 3 both cover early Virginia history.  This time period could be covered in one longer section. I am not sure there needs to be two excerpts regarding Jamestown. These are George Percy and the First Months at Jamestown in 2.3 Challenges to Spain’s Supremacy and George Percy on “The Starving Time” 3.3 English Settlements in America. I would prefer one chapter covering the origins of the British colonies in North America.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface works well. I particularly like the search function.  The citation tool is useful for students using the text to draft essays and need to include the source. The “click and explore” function offers interesting tools such as online exhibits and links to outside websites to use in class or online. I haven’t used all of the links, but the ones I clicked on worked fine. Students can access the book on devices, making the reading easily accessible.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"So far, I have not encountered any grammar errors in the text. However, it seems as though some editing would sharpen the focus. Sometimes the writing is a little verbose.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book includes several events that are culturally relevant particularly in the current climate regarding race relations. The history of the origins of new world slavery is covered briefly but summarized well. in Chapter 16 the origin of Juneteenth is covered by the authors, an event rarely mentioned in a survey textbook in my experience. The voices of diverse people are included in the vignettes such as “My Story.” Overall, there are many events that are included that have been obscured or even prohibited recently in the arena of public schools.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The OpenStax has worked great for me in my United States History survey courses. The students are always happy to see that the required reading is low cost and easily accessible.","created_at":"2024-06-28T15:13:34.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-06-28T15:13:34.000-05:00"},{"id":35613,"first_name":"Anthony","last_name":"Guidone","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Radford University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Comprehensiveness is hard to evaluate for a textbook. This certainly hits all the expected points, and it is delicate to balance comprehensiveness with length. There are some absences, most specifically the centrality of merchant commerce to the economy of North America before and immediately after the American Revolution. This trade was the lifeblood of North America, and connected the continent politically, economically, and culturally to Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia. Additionally, the chapter on 1790-1815 does not convey how impactful the French Revolution was on American politics.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content in this textbook is accurate with no glaring holes. I believe the textbook’s weakness is in lack of material included, rather than inaccuracy of text. There are some assertions which I disagree with, such as the Hartford Convention getting the blame for the demise of the Federalist party, but I did not see anything that made me doubt the book’s accuracy.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Overall, this textbook evenhandedly touches on modern themes of globalization, race, and cultural history. However, it will be a challenge to make this specific material relevant to students as the book does not include enough primary sources. There are some “my story” excerpts of primary sources in each chapter, but a more helpful arrangement would be a separate primary source reader. The textbook does occasionally include hyperlinks to primary sources, which are a good start for finding images for PowerPoint slides or documents for discussions and assignments. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The material is organized in ways that are somewhat confusing. For example, the transatlantic slave trade is introduced in the “Africa before 1492” chapter and includes a map which references total assessments of people trafficked in the slave trade into the 1870s. The chapter breaks make sense and include helpful introductions in each one. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook has consistent structure and organization in each chapter. I did not find any inconsistencies or contradictions in content. Each chapter tends to cover similar themes including politics and government, culture and society, and the differing roles of men and women.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The clear divisions between topics and sections within each section are very helpful, they could easily be segmented and assigned for specific days or weeks of class, even particular sections of chapters. This is far easier for instructors than keeping track of which pages students are to read.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I appreciated the summary paragraphs at the end of the chapters for each major section. The chapter breaks made sense for the topics covered, such as splitting the American Revolution into one chapter and the constitution into another. This allows the chapter on governance to helpfully start amidst the American Revolution rather than starting in 1783 as many do.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The online interface is easy to use but allows for too little text on the screen. I much preferred downloading the content as a PDF and reading it that way. The timeline images were often blurry. Also, the constantly displayed advertisement for “OpenStax Kinetic” on the bottom of the screen was distracting. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice grammatical errors. Some of the vocabulary may be unfamiliar to undergrads, with words like “lampoon.”","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"This textbook lacks material on Indigenous history, particularly North American Indigenous people and their perspective on events. For example, there is little discussion of how Native Americans responded to the English other than warfare. Native American enslavement also is not comprehensively described. The text does not discuss colonists selling Native American captives into slavery following the Pequot war in the 1630s (although it does mention it following King Phillip’s War) and barely touches on the trade in enslaved Native Americans from Virginia to the Carolinas and West Indies. It also does not mention Native American in the story of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia.\r\n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The teacher resources that accompany this textbook are excellent. Powerpoint slides and course shells to import into Canvas, Blackboard, and D2L.","created_at":"2025-08-30T21:47:25.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-08-30T21:47:25.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/u-s-history","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:42:49.000-06:00"},{"id":309,"title":"Placing the History of College Writing: Stories from the Incomplete Archive","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2015,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"In Placing the History of College Writing, Nathan Shepley argues that pre-1950s composition history, if analyzed with the right conceptual tools, can pluralize and clarify our understanding of the relationship between the writing of college students and the writing's physical, social, and discursive surroundings. Even if the immediate outcome of student writing is to generate academic credit, Shepley shows, the writing does more complex rhetorical work. It gives students chances to uphold or adjust institutional codes for student behavior, allows students and their literacy sponsors to respond to sociopolitical issues in a city or state, enables faculty and administrators to create strategic representations of institutional or program identities, and connects people across disciplines, occupations, and geographic locations. Shepley argues that even if many of today's composition scholars and instructors work at institutions that lack extensive historical records of the kind usually preferred by composition historians, those scholars and teachers can mine their institutional collections for signs of the various contexts with which student writing dealt.","contributors":[{"id":3243,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Nathan","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Shepley","location":"University of Houston","background_text":"Nathan Shepley is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Houston, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Rhetoric and Composition. In addition to composition history, his specialization areas include composition pedagogy and ecological and neosophistic theories of writing. His articles have appeared in Composition Studies, Enculturation, Composition Forum, and Open Words: Access and English Studies."}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":33,"name":"Literature, Rhetoric, and Poetry","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"PE1408","visible_textbooks_count":124,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/literature-rhetoric-and-poetry"}],"publishers":[{"id":492,"url":"https://wac.colostate.edu/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:40.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-07-24T16:53:21.000-05:00","name":"WAC Clearinghouse"}],"formats":[{"id":828,"type":"PDF","url":"https://wac.colostate.edu/books/perspectives/shepley/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":829,"type":"eBook","url":"https://wac.colostate.edu/books/perspectives/shepley/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":1,"reviews":[{"id":2039,"first_name":"Anna","last_name":"Plemons","position":"Clinical Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Washington State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text uses neosophistic rhetorical theory to suggest that the concepts of nomos, kairos, epideixis, and dynation are fruitful frames through which to situate an analysis of student writing.  This claim, that a historical analysis of student composition at two specific institutions before 1950 is generative for understanding student writing today, unfolds in a sequence of historical analyses using archival material from Ohio University and the University of Houston.  The text is comprehensive it its analysis and defense of its major claims. \n\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Without local knowledge of the institutions or archives discussed, I have no reason to question the accuracy of this text.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"This text is relevant to Composition historians and since it primarily utilizes archival research, questions of obsolescence are not as critical as they would be for texts attempting to engage or discuss contemporary issues.  The style and density of the prose is appropriate for advanced graduate students or other scholars in the field.\n","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"This text requires a familiarity with rhetorical theory and discourse.  The writing is dense at times as the author works to carefully construct a highly academic argument.\n","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"In regards to consistency in the use of terminology and framework, this text has a fairly clear through-line.  \n","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"I do not think this text was designed to be used modularly.  It is a historical monograph which is designed to be read linearly as one extended argument.\n","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book has a clear structure and the topics follow in a logical fashion.  \n","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface of this text is straightforward.  There are not very many images/charts and all of the display features work seamlessly.  \n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text contains very few grammatical errors.\n","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Regarding cultural relevance, the text is not culturally insensitive or offensive, but neither is it particularly culturally expansive.  The archival research provides the basis for some local cultural analysis, but inclusivity does not seem to be an explicit aim of this text.\n","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"One of the potential strengths of this text is the model it provides for doing rhetorical research in Composition Studies.  It also provides a thorough literature review and could, in that way, be of use to other scholars interested in similar lines of inquiry.\n","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/placing-the-history-of-college-writing-stories-from-the-incomplete-archive","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:11:19.000-06:00"},{"id":368,"title":"History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877","edition_statement":"1","volume":null,"copyright_year":2013,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"This textbook examines U.S. History from before European Contact through Reconstruction, while focusing on the people and their history.Prior to its publication, History in the Making underwent a rigorous double blind peer review, a process that involved over thirty scholars who reviewed the materially carefully, objectively, and candidly in order to ensure not only its scholarly integrity but also its high standard of quality.This book provides a strong emphasis on critical thinking about US History by providing several key features in each chapter. Learning Objectives at the beginning of each chapter help students to understand what they will learn in each chapter. Before You Move On sections at the end of each main section are designed to encourage students to reflect on important concepts and test their knowledge as they read. In addition, each chapter includes Critical Thinking Exercises that ask the student to deeply explore chapter content, Key Terms, and a Chronology of events.","contributors":[{"id":4083,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Catherine","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Locks","location":"Fort Valley State University","background_text":"Catherine Locks is an instructor and also an instructional technologist/designer from Richmond, Virginia. She received her BS in history from Longwood University(1986) and her MA in history(2000) and MEd in instructional technology from Georgia College \u0026 State University(2002). She teaches online courses for the University System of Georgia’s eCore program, and face-to-face courses for Fort Valley State University. Her areas of interest include pre-history, ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome, medieval English history, and colonial American history, particularly of the mid-Atlantic region."},{"id":4084,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Sarah","middle_name":"K.","last_name":"Mergel","location":"Dalton State College","background_text":"Sarah K. Mergel, PhD. received her BA in history and sociology from Boston College (1997) and her MA and PhD in history from The George Washington University (2002/2007). She works as an Assistant Professor of History at Dalton State College in Northwest Georgia teaching both face-to-face and online classes. She specializes in American political, intellectual, and diplomatic history since the end of the Civil War. Much of her work in History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877 focuses on political and economic developments in the Colonial Era, the Federalist Era, the Jacksonian Era, and the Civil War Era."},{"id":4085,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Pamela","middle_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Roseman","location":"Georgia Perimeter College","background_text":"Pamela Thomas Roseman, PhD. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Pamela T. Roseman received her BA from Florida State University, did her MA work at Florida State and Georgia State Universities, and received her PhD from Georgia State University in 1980. Her fields of concentration include American Intellectual history, Renaissance and Reformation Europe, Tudor-Stuart England, and U.S. and Latin American colonial history. Her Master’s Thesis explores Puritan motivation in the settlement of New England; her dissertation is entitled Millennial Expectation Among Southern Evangelicals in the Mid-19th century."},{"id":4086,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Tamara","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Spike","location":"University of North Georgia","background_text":"Tamara Spike, PhD. Tamara Spike is a historian of colonial Latin America and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy at the University of North Georgia. Dr. Spike earned her MA and PhD in History from Florida State University, and holds a dual BA in Anthropology and Classical Archaeology. She has worked as a professional archaeologist on historic and prehistoric digs throughout Florida. From 1999-2010, she was a staff member of the Guadalajara Census Project, a group which works to analyze censuses from the city spanning the years 1790-1930, and to digitize these censuses for use by scholars, genealogists, and the public. She is the English language editor of both Volume I and II of the published databases of the Guadalajara Census Project. Dr. Spike’s publications include “Making History Count: The Guadalajara Census Project (1791-1930)” in the Hispanic American Historical Review, “Si todo el mundo fuera Inglaterra: la teoría de Peter Laslett sobre la composición de las unidades domésticas vs. la realidad tapatía, 1821-1822,” in Estudios Sociales Nueva Época, “St Augustine’s Stomach: Indian Tribute Labor and Corn in Florida, 1565-1763” in Florida’s Labor and Working-Class Past: Three Centuries of Work in the Sunshine State, and “Death and Death Ritual among the Timucua of Spanish Florida,” in From La Florida to La California. Her research focuses on the ethnogenesis and cultural reconstruction of the Timucua Indians of Spanish Florida."}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":276,"url":"http://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/books/1/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:38.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-01-02T22:24:54.000-06:00","name":"The University Press of North Georgia"}],"formats":[{"id":455,"type":"PDF","url":"https://ung.edu/university-press/_uploads/files/us-history/US-History-I-Full-Text%20.pdf?t=1657213684154","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":22,"reviews":[{"id":888,"first_name":"Allan","last_name":"Millett","position":"Professor","institution_name":"University of New Orleans","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"It is too comprehensive.  The pre-17th century history is too detailed and of marginal relevance, e.g. Asian and African history.  More is not better, even if an electronic textbook makes itcheaper.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I found the work generally accurate. The authors include much military history of which they have a light grasp.  Some examples:  Governor Berkeley hanged twenty-three leaders of Bacon's Rebellion, a shocking act of repression; Braddock's defeat is the Battle of the Monongahela, not \"Wilderness\"; Lexington/Concord should draw on David Hackett Fisher's PAUL REVERE'S RIDE, and Trenton on  WASHINGTON'S CROSSING; There is no mention of King's Mountain, the role of the militia in the war, and Greene's southern campaign, 1781-1783; The northern campaigns of 1813-1814 need more attention; The Civil War battles need to be explained as part of campaigns.  See Millett, Maslowski, and Feis, FOR THE COMMON DEFENSE: THE MILITARY HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 3rd edition (2012).","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"Unknown.  Is it politically correct?  No, thank goodness.  Its relevance and longevity are limited by the fact that its length will probably mean that few will read it.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The book is one-third too long and includes too many historiographical asides.  It would benefit from more maps and graphs on non-political events like population, types of economic production, transportation, and frontier movement.  ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The second half of the book is more focused and analytical.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book meets this requirement.  Each chapter is divided into stand-alone sections.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"In addition to being too long and dense for classroom use, the book includes all sorts of educational devices that are jejeune for college students and interrupt the narrative.  ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"No special problems, except too few visuals","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I would rate the mss. high as a composition with the exception of length.  It has too much \"nice to know\" information.  It is dense with information and light on interpretation.  The sentence structure is Germanic.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I think the mss. handles gender, religion, and ethnic issues well.  The authors have the courage to focus on political history with contemporary implications.  I think the biggest challenge is to make the first two chapters more readable and focused on Meso-American cultures.  What happened to Nordic expeditions?  The European background needs more compact explanation.  Economic issues need more attention, e.g. Importance of North American wood and forest products to the Royal Navy and British merchant marine.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"The rivalry of England and France in the early 13th century involved far more than Normandy.  It involved much of France.\n\nThe discussion of the Reformation should add Calvin and Knox and their influence in the Great Britain-to-be.\n\nThe geographic portrayal of the African slave trade ignores the Arabs and Muslim East Africans as slavers.  African slaves replaced dead Native Americans.  Keep the chronology straight.\n\nSince pre-Spanish horses in North America had no important impact, \"reintroduction\" of horses is a misrepresentation.  The conquistadors' mounts had dramatic impact on nomadic tribes and often determined tribal warfare with horses as prizes.  Mounted warriors could use recurved, compound bows with great lethality.  Also, torture and mutilation had spiritual impact, the passage of moral power from the victim to the victor.\n\nEuropeans did not bring these \"ways of war\" to North America.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":986,"first_name":"Joseph","last_name":"Stoll","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Reynolds Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Excellent Comprehensive coverage of U.S history from Pre-Colombian era to 1877. A nice touch in the first chapter consists of coverage of indigenous  \"origin stories\" vs. scientific theories and plugging the Age of Exploration into World History with coverage of  Ming Dynasty explorations and short history of Africa. A neede change from the Eurocentric view of U.S. history.Good strong coverage of material through seventeen chapters consisting of almost 900 pages","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Books accuracy seems correct, I didn't see any errors and the historical narrative seems to reflect unbiased \"points of view\" of events","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Content appears up- to- date and the textbook should be relevant for the foreseeable future as a survey course text. The chapters are arranged in the standard U.S. history survey class and any needed changes should be straight forward. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in a clear and concise manner that flows as a good narrative history and reads well for a textbook. Not overdone with jargon or technical terminology.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Text is consistent and the presentation of material flows in a rational manner suitable  for survey course level","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I feel this is one of the strengths of this textbook. The history flows in well accepted framework of presenting U.S. history for the student, the chronology is not skewed and the chapter and sub-unit readings are very readable and flow well.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Good strong organizational flow of topics. Logical coverage of events and themes in U.S. history, clear and consistent. I particular agree with the presentation of Civil War military history whereas 6 battles were chosen as examples a manageable  way to cover a massive topic. Again a good narrative flow of events and themes. Each chapter has an into of key concepts. short multiple choice quiz and critical thinking  exercise","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"straightforward presentation nothing that really distracts or confuses the reader","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I didn't notice any grammatical errors and feel that the text reads well","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text  does a good job of being inclusive and I appreciate that there is a separate chapter on the global context of exploration.There could be more first person accounts from a larger varieties  of ethnic backgrounds ( such as slave narratives). However the text works as  intro- survey course material","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would recommend this book for a survey course  as a solid middle of the road coverage of U.S. history and very readable narrative . It could  possibly use more primary documents and in-depth maps ","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1397,"first_name":"Kevin","last_name":"Brady","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook offers readers a very comprehensive examination of American History from before European contact through the Reconstruction Era.  Additionally, the textbook covers all areas and ideas relating to U.S. History appropriately, and each chapter within the textbook provides readers with a bibliography, end notes, key terms, and a chronology list of important dates and events.  Unfortunately, the textbook does not include an index or glossary, which would allow students to students to search for various topics within the textbook.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The textbook's content is accurate, and it is presented in an unbiased manner.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The textbook's content is up-to-date for any instructor who is wanting to teach the first half of American History (pre-1492 to 1877).  However, if any updates or additional historical information is needed within the textbook, the text is written and organized in a way that updates can be easily added to the textbook.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clear and concise throughout the textbook, and the authors offers readers detailed explanations and context regarding any jargon or technical terminology used in the textbook.  For example, the authors do a remarkable job of placing the United States in a global context.  Therefore, students are aware of how international affairs and events impacted the early history of the United States.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I believe that the text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.  For example, each chapter offers readers a bibliography, end notes, key terms, and a chronology list of important dates and events.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"For an instructor who is teaching the first part of U.S. History (pre-1492 to 1877) the text can be easily divided into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course.  I believe that the textbook's modularity is a tremendous benefit for students because they can easily be overwhelmed with too much information.  Additionally, each of the chapters includes a \"key concepts\" section, which reinforces the chapter's main ideas and subjects.  And, the textbook also feature \"test yourself\" sections, which serve as a wonderful assessment tool for students to gage their understanding of the material.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The textbook is well organized, and the information is presented in a clear and logical fashion throughout the book.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"While a majority of the text is free of significant interface issues, some of the images and maps appeared slightly distorted while I was reading the PDF version of the text.  However, I believe that these slightly distorted imagines would not distract nor confuse a reader.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text does not contain any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I was very impressed with the book's cultural relevance.  For example, the first two chapters of the textbook examine the backgrounds and cultures of early Native American civilizations prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus and Europeans in the New World.  Additionally, the authors offers readers a global perspective of history by exploring the role of Asia, Europe, and Africa in the early modern era.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877 is a solid textbook, and any instructor who is teaching American History would find this book to be an amazing resource for their students.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1455,"first_name":"Alton","last_name":"Carroll","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Northern Virginia Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is overly exhaustive in some baffling areas and entirely leaves out many vital subjects. At over 800 pages it is at least twice as long as it needs to be. Almost no student will read it all and very few instructors will use most of it. There certainly is no need for details on every single colonial government. The military history could also be reduced to almost nothing and the book would be stronger for it. The  book spend several pages on the useless Battle of New Orleans fought after the war ended, notable only for its propaganda use to make Jackson a hero.\n\nYet the book leaves out huge areas. Pre Columbian history is greatly undercovered, though this is sadly not unusual in its Eurocentric POV. What is inexcusable is ignoring hundreds of Native tribal histories that describe migration by boat and hundreds more describing Natives in America long before the Ice Age \u0026amp; Bering Strait Theory.\n\nThe book also leaves out proven migrations by Australian Aboriginals and Polynesians, documented by indigenous accounts, DNA, and archaeology. It does describe East Asian history pre-Columbus, but leaves out two of three possible though unproven Chinese explorations of the Americas.\n \nIts worst omissions are refusing to discuss genocides. Columbus's atrocities killing from three to eight million Taino and Arawak Indians, are completely ignored. There is no excuse for censoring and frankly whitewashing mass murders. The authors describe violence between Natives or against colonists in explicit detail. \n\nBut there is a clear double standard based on race in this book. Violence by Europeans and colonists are omitted. After Columbus, the worst omission is California Indian genocide, hundreds of thousand of deaths, mass rapes, and mass enslavement carried out by Anglo American gold miner militias, subsidized by the state of California.\n\nAnother huge omission in the book is discussing Confederate atrocities as well as white southern atrocities both before and after the war. Slave punishments are omitted, slave revolts barely mentioned, and maroon communities absent. Confederate state terrorism is unmentioned. CSA political prisoners and mass executions of dissidents, censorship, and mass resistance to CSA tyranny are all absent. Massive white supremacist terrorism in Reconstruction gets minimized as \"social violence\" that was inevitable when Blacks dared to seek equality.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"Very mixed with regards to accuracy. There are some admirable parts of the book that debunk popular myths, the sections on the Articles of Confederation, Constitution, women's history, and religious history.\n\nBut there are some huge errors, starting with assuming only western archaeology knows anything pre Columbian. Hundreds of Native tribal histories are dismissed in outright bigoted fashion as just myths. The Bering Strait Theory is presented as ironclad fact instead of the highly disputed theory it's always been, one coming from Christian Creationism and today rejected by half of scholars. Hundreds of Native history accounts of migration by boat are never mentioned. Instead, boat migration is falsely presented as part of the BST.\n\nSome errors are just sloppy. The text claims we can't know how many Blacks fought for the British during the War for Independence. False, we know pretty well, since they were placed in all Black units like the Royal Ethiopians. We know they outnumbered Blacks fighting for the colonists by at least three to one.\n\nSome errors are inexcusable, especially leaving out two entire genocides, Columbus's on Hispaniola and California Indian genocide. How can one plausibly ignore 3,000,000-8,000,000 and 150,000-300,000 deaths, respectively? \n\n Slave punishments are omitted, slave revolts barely mentioned, and maroon communities absent. Confederate state terrorism is unmentioned. CSA political prisoners and mass executions of dissidents, censorship, and mass resistance to CSA tyranny are all absent. Massive white supremacist terrorism in Reconstruction gets minimized as \"social violence\" that was inevitable when Blacks dared to seek equality.","relevance_rating":1,"relevance_review":"The text is very out of date on a number of striking matters. \n\n1. It assumed the Bering Strait Theory is unassailable instead of increasingly challenged by Native accounts and communities, linguistics, DNA, and archaeological sites. \n2. It failed to mention proven migrations of Australian Aboriginals and Polynesians.\n3. The many pages on military history are already out of date by 30 years, anywhere outside of a military academy.\n4. Multiple choice quizzes have no place in a history course. They are already fading away in both universities and even many high schools in favor of essays.\n5. The Civil War and Reconstruction sections still argues the Myth of Southern Unity, making it inaccurate and already 30 years out of date.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The first third of the book is not well written. The latter two thirds are far better.","consistency_rating":1,"consistency_review":"The framework is consistent but in the worst ways, consistently Eurocentric, Anglocentric, with the latter two thirds practicing primarily the history of elites, overly focused on presidents' terms.","modularity_rating":1,"modularity_review":"Large parts of the book will almost never be read or used, at least half. Archaeology, Europe Asia and Africa prior to invasion of the Americas, details of each of the 13 colonies' founding, military history, and economic financing during the Civil War, will all likely be ignored.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The structure is clear, nearly all chronological in an old fashioned way, grouped primarily around European intrusion into America, and then presidents' terms.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No problems.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Clear and consistent grammar.","cultural_rating":1,"cultural_review":"The Pre Columbian sections are openly contemptuous of hundreds of Native history accounts. Text uses very outdated cultural groupings. Text also ignores two genocides, Columbus's and California Indian genocide. Authors also use a racial double standard with atrocities, since they describe only violence by Natives, far more rarely by Europeans and colonists.\n\nThe text also downplays violence under slavery, violence by Confederates, and violence by white southerners both before and after the Civil War. Essentially the text is concerned only with not offending white southerners, and is likely to offend or be dismissed as irrelevant or dishonest by most others.","overall_rating":5,"overall_review":"Only the sections on Articles of Confederation, Constitution and its convention and passage, and women and religious history can be recommended. The remainder of the book seems to have been written before the civil rights era.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1488,"first_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Slonick","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Tide Water Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers the history of the United States from the arrival of the people of the First Nations, though European settlement, the Revolution, the Early Republic, the Sectional Crisis, the Civil Wat, and Reconstruction. It covers key political, social, and economic developments effectively.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text makes effective use of current historiography and is comprehensive and accurate.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text is up to date and should remain relevant for quite some time.  Its thoughtful organization should make it easy for the authors to update it as necessary.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is written in clear and understandable prose, as is appropriate to the subject matter. It steers clear from jargon, and clearly explains all technical terms and concepts.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is well ordered and consistent from chapter to chapter.  Each chapter is well organized and clearly outlined.  Support materials such as study questions and critical though exercises are provided for each chapter and are consistent throughout the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is well organized and each chapter follows the same format with makes it easy for students to navigate through the text and find materials as needed.  The instructor could easily assign specific sections to suit their course needs.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"the text is well organized chronologically and thematically, as is suitable and desirable in a history text.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is easy to navigate and well formatted.  Illustrations are clear and legible.  Features are well designed and do not distract from the flow of the main text.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not find any grammatical errors in this text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text handles a wide range of potentially controversial topics such as slavery and the treatment of native peoples very well. the text is inclusive and thoughtful/","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book is well suited for survey courses covering the United States from its founding through the Civil War and Reconstruction. It is comprehensive and effective.  It lays out clear learning outcomes and provides materials and exercises necessary to achieve its desired outcomes.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1491,"first_name":"Corwin","last_name":"Hayes","position":"History Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College - Portsmouth Campus","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book presents a well written narrative of the first period of American History.  I haven't seen many texts for survey US History include such an in-depth description of the civilizations in Africa beyond the West Africa during the period of European contact as discussed in chapter 2 of this text.  I would have liked to see more discussion on how the first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619.  I think this subject is largely neglected, considering there is documentation available to support more discussion (Chapter 4.)","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I think the book does a good job in providing an accurate description of American History based on the current research.  I did think it odd, however, not to have mentioned that fact that Chief Justice Taney himself was a slave owner  in the Chapter Fifteen discussion of the Dred Scott decision","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The authors have arranged the book in such a way that as any new research findings become available, adjustments can be made without great difficulty.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in such a way that students at all levels can access the history being presented.  The Terms and usage is appropriate for time period and the context of the subject.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The writing quality is consistent throughout the text.  The text provides equal treatment to the diversity of topics covered.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I am quite comfortable with the way the text divides sections and subsections.  My experience is that students tend to read in smaller units of information rather that attempting to digest large sections at one time.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This text follows a clear and logical organization based on the chronology of United States history and other parts of the world at varying times during and prior to America's rise.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I have not seen any significant problems with the interface of the text.  The text, charts, maps and tables appear very clearly throughout the PDF file.  This makes the text easy to read on Tablets and other mobile devices in addition to a desktop pc.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not come across any grammatical errors in my review of the text.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I think the text generally presents an inclusive narrative.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I was generally impressed with all aspects of the text, with a few small exceptions as noted in previous responses.  I would use this book in one of my US History survey courses.","created_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-08-15T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1565,"first_name":"Gautham","last_name":"Rao","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"American University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook is ambitious.  Perhaps too ambitious.  At about 850 pages, it manages to pack an enormous amount of detail into almost every chapter.  But the biggest concern I have is that this amount of information is simply overwhelming for the typical undergraduate.  To provide one example,  the battles of the Civil War receive 20 pages of coverage whereas postbellum Reconstruction gets only 20.  This imbalances lead students to believe that the military history of battles is of greater importance than the legal and constitutional history of Reconstruction.  That seems to be a major interpretive problem.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"There are occasional oversights, but it is generally accurate.  One example of my quibbles: I found myself puzzled by the discussion of the creation of the US Constitution.  \"The 1787 Constitution had both national and federal features.  In terms of nationalism, Congress was given broad powers...\" (p. 408).  This one-two punch is deeply misleading.  The entire Constitution was and is federal.  Nation is not a legal category.  And \"nationalism\" does not refer to Congress' constitutional \"powers\" but instead to pro-national thought among citizens and perhaps officers of government.  One might also observe that even as scholars have recognized the immense pro-slavery tilt of the Constitution of 1787-8, this book offers precious little coverage of that area.  The same is true of the treatment of the Federalist era--thus indulging the same mistake that David Brion Davis called out Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick for ignoring slavery in their Age of Federalism.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The general chronological arrangement is fine, but I worry about the text's ability to stay current with a rapidly changing historiographic paradigm that is currently wrestling with major questions of periodization, structural change, and normative significance.  The title itself is quite telling in this regard.   \"A History of the People of the United States of America\" is just inaccurate.  The majority of the book is about British imperial subjects.  \"United States History before Columbus,\" the title of Chapter 1, plays into this same trap.  This is not just semantics.  Historians have tried to problematize historical narratives told solely through the lens of national governments but this book employs a deeply teleological model: the idea that past was prologue to the American national story.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is fairly clearly written although the second half of the book is much more so than the first.  I did find some of the pull out boxes and visuals to be a bit odd.  For instance: the slightly bizarre presentation (pp. 334-5) of snippets of the Declaration of Independence has only fragments of the real document and paragraphs of \"annotation.\"  Why bother with a primary source if the authors want to overlay such a strong interpretive voice?  Should not students read the document and figure out what it says?  \n","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"It is generally consistent but again, the imbalance in terms of the relative length of chapter somewhat undermines this.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I have already commented on the somewhat odd imbalance in coverage.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The organization/structure/flow is ok, putting aside my oft-repeated complaint about the coverage imbalance for some topics.  Here the length of the text comes back into play though.  It is just too long to have a \"flow\" in any significant way.  No student will be able to sit down and power through several chapters in a short period of time.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"In general it is ok, but I have already noted the problem of the pull out boxes and charts.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The grammar is at a fairly high level.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The authors put a lot of effort into this but slip into some old habits of hero worship, as in the handling of Columbus and the so-called 'Founders' of the US.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I want to commend the authors for putting so much effort into this.  Unfortunately I just do not think I can assign it in my survey just yet.  It is too long in some areas, too short in others.  Hopefully subsequent versions of this book correct some of these issues. I remain hopeful!","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1663,"first_name":"Michael","last_name":"Brooks","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"Bowling Green State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text is quite thorough, and it takes into account a variety of perspectives on American history. The book is an effective text for use in survey-level courses at the university level, and it can serve as a useful primer for someone seeking an introductory overview of the subject.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Generally I find the text to be historically accurate, and it is relatively free from unnecessary bias. It contains a variety of types of history (political, social, economic, military, cultural, intellectual) and it discusses some elementary historiographical issues, such as the discussion of interpretations of the colonial history of the Puritans. There are a few places where I might question the text's analysis of particular events, but this is true of every history textbook.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text covers the colonial period through 1877, so there is little reason to think it will be out of date. In places where the text asks students to engage in comparative analysis to the present, the language is sufficiently free from potentially anachronistic references, such as this passage from page 573: \"How do the Democrats and Whigs in the second party system compare to the Democrats and Republicans today?\"","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Students should find the prose to be accessible, and while it covers sophisticated and intellectually advanced content, the text is written in a way that survey-level undergraduates should be able to comprehend.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text has a consistent voice, despite having multiple authors. Students should pick up on the terminology quickly, and it is consistent across the text. As much as possible jargon is eschewed in favor of plain language.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters follow patterns that are fairly standard for themes and time periods typically used in survey U.S. history courses. The division of chapters lends itself well to typical semester lengths in colleges and universities.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book follows a chronological approach in its structure, which is easier for students to follow. However, individual chapters are presented thematically, allowing for the text to be used in conjunction with a course that follows specific themes.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book has internal hyperlinks to carry readers back and forth throughout the text. External links are provided to Internet sources and content. Images and graphics are clear and relevant.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not encounter grammatical issues, punctuation problems, or any other errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook is inclusive in its approach, and ethnic and racial minorities are adequately represented in the text. Contributions of women can be found in each chapter, and while this text might benefit from greater representation here and there of specific groups, it is clear that the authors intentionally designed a text that tells a richer and more diverse history of the American experience than traditional textbooks.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Excellent open source resource for the first half of the U.S. history survey at the undergraduate level!","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1846,"first_name":"Timothy","last_name":"Jenks","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"East Carolina University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The work is very comprehensive. A great deal of space is allocated to the coverage of extra-American developments (i.e. Asia, Europe \u0026amp; Africa in Chapter 2; of the English Civil War in Chapter 4, etc). This coverage is relevant, helpful, and could only be objected to on the basis of assigned student reading load. Of course, not every section of every chapter needs to be assigned, and an instructor has much more of this kind of freedom, I would argue, in a course in which the text is free. (When students pay for a text, they expect to use a great deal of it).","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Virtually error-free; the only quibble I had was one of nuance, rather than fact. In this the text was much more successful than one I am currently using in a World Civ course, which contained a number of howlers.\n\nI am very impressed with the historiographical accuracy of the text. It covers, appropriately, some controversial debates, ones that are necessary to raise even at the introductory level. It does so with great clarity, and in a manner that shows a strong awareness of recent work.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text ought to have a good shelf life. It is written with a strong awareness of recent important debates. Because of its digital nature, it would be obviously easy to update, but even more than that, a straightforward and clear chapter structure would assist in future additions.\n\nOf course the most obvious way in which the text avoids obsolescence is by the simple fact that obsolescence has not been built in!! Too often (particularly in the supporting apparatus of primary source documents, 'further thought' questions, etc.) publishers deliberately load their products with a current modishness in order to facilitate the need for a second edition. That is not the case here.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clear and readable, but not in any way superficial or vague. A strength of the narrative is the attention to explanation, detail, and example.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"No problems here.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Effective use of sections has been made. Given the overall comprehensiveness and length of some of the chapters (e.g. those on the colonial period), it occurred to me while reading that reading of the sections could be productively divided among a class, and then used to stimulate discussion of the differences between the Southern, Mid-Atlantic, and New England colonies.\n\nA real strength of the work is the fact that instructors can selectively assign whatever parts they wish, without concern for the cost to students.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The logical progression of chapters and content is fine. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The text's interface is fine.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"None that I observed: the style overall is consistent and clear.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Issues in this area are handled well.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would recommend this book to my colleagues, and I would consider assigning chapters and sections in colonial era courses that I teach. Given its price (free!) and its quality (high), I can't see any reason not to recommend it for extensive use in US surveys.","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":2030,"first_name":"Peter","last_name":"Acsay","position":"Associate Teaching Professor","institution_name":"University of Missouri-St. Louis","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text comprehensively covers political and economic topics, and includes religious, social and cultural topics and needed.  The text is more comprehensive than the \"compact\" versions of the texts I currently use. The index is detailed and allows the students quick access to the relevant portions of the text.  Each chapter has a \"Key Terms\" section.         ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book's content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.  On contentious issues the authors cite specific books and historians to support the book's arguments.  The text is (chapter) end noted and a bibliography follows each chapter.  ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"As this is the first half of the US Survey, the book should not need revision or a new edition for some time.  I cannot foresee any fundamental change in material any time soon.  The chapter bibliographies do include websites, so these will need to be checked and updated from time to time.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is accessible for the first generation college, immigrant, and foreign student population that is making up an increasing percentage of the student body.  Key Terms are defined in each chapter and other terms (globalization) are defined in text.  Some curious word choices.  I love the \"annotations\" of certain articles of the Constitution.  Why not also annotate the Bill of Rights?        ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"It is clear that an instructional designer was involved with the book's design.  Each chapter follows the same design, Learning Outcomes are stated at the beginning of each chapter, that could be easily adopted to online learning modules.  Students will quickly learn the rhythm of the chapters ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Chapter subsections are clearly marked.  Subsections stand alone, some chronological, some thematic.  Orders of some subsections could be switched with no loss of comprehension or learning.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I very much like the combination of thematic and chronological presentation.  At some points the thematic coverage sets up the chronology, at others the chronology sets up the theme.  The text maintains an analytical approach and seldom bogs down into straight narrative.  A number of topics are grouped together in a very effective way (Enlightenment-Great Awakening).  ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Text displays well and loads and paginates quickly.  I did have some trouble clicking on chapter headings in the Table of Contents and not accessing the selected chapter, but the title page (a default?).  I do not know if this is a browser issue or text software issue.     ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors in the text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is culturally relevant and quite evenhanded.  This can be seen in the coverage of the conquests of the Aztec and Inca empires, intercultural relations, \"transculturation,\" and especially in the \"Perspectives\" section that shows how the North and South differed on the slavery question before the Civil War.  I normally have to teach \"outside\" the textbook to make the points that were made efficiently and effectively in text.     ","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I think the way in which the authors cover battles in the various chapters is very valuable, and can serve as a model.  the necessary and significant information is given, but in a \"clumped\" form that does not interrupt the flow of the chapter or turn into too much narrative.  Students want battles, as many are familiar with them, but often that coverage takes valuable space from other, more needed, material and topics.  I feel this text gives the the essentials of US History to 1877, and allows me room and free rein to compliment and add as I see fit.  Personally I am glad that a lot of social history (marriage, family, etc.) was left out.  there  is nothing wrong with that material, but it tends to interrupt the flow and takes valuable space from topics more in need of development.  For a World or West Civ course the marriage-family coverage makes some sense, but too little happens in our centuries to really demand inclusion.  I think the book will work in both online and face-to-face courses.          ","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2044,"first_name":"Sarah","last_name":"Trembanis","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Delaware","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"I understand that this question is meant to deal with the comprehensiveness of the content, however, I would like to highlight the absence of primary source selections.  I think including short primary texts would improve the effectiveness of this book.  In addition, additional maps would be beneficial for the textbook.  For example, the book outlines the various “hundreds” and settlements in Virginia but does not provide a map.  The spatial/geographical information is important if students are to understand contemporary and future events in colonial Virginia. \n\nAgain, in Chapter 7, the addition of a map with the known settlements and the proclamation line would be very helpful. \n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not find substantial inaccuracies.  In some places, the authors choose to quote or highlight the work of historians but not in others.  I found this a bit troubling in the section on Pocahontas and the “adoption” of John Smith.  Considering that the authors say that the event was “probably not” spontaneous, this section would have benefited from reference to scholarship on this point. I’m thinking particularly that a brief mention of Richter’s work might be helpful. I know it is a textbook for an introductory course, but this is an area in which historical analysis and scholarly work is particularly relevant. Similarly, a reference to the archaeological discoveries in Jamestown would help to illuminate the discussion of the Starving Time (also in Chapter 4). \n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"My biggest concern regarding longevity is the continued accuracy of the first section on the peopling of America.  As I have to revise my introductory lecture each semester to reflect new information that has been published since the previous year, I am doubtful that this section will have a long life in terms of its accuracy.  It would also be nice to have some links or connections to recent works/archaeological finds. \n","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The material is presented clearly and is well-pitched for the introductory survey. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"I found Chapter Four to be somewhat inconsistent.  The portion on New England is much more visually compelling and complete (it has maps!) and also integrates more primary sources than the portion on Virginia and Maryland.  \n\nThe timeline at the end of Chapter 4 does not include Bacon’s Rebellion- this is a major oversight (Sandys’s Reforms are also left out) but Bacon is included in Chapter 6- perhaps this is an organizational issue.  The timeline in Chapter Four extends to Salem but then Chapter 6 goes back in time.  This choice to extend chronologically and then retreat may be a bit confusing to student readers. \n","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Quite good! the subheads were well titled, marked, and designed.  It is well-suited for assigned readings for the student. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Excellent.  I like the timeline and the short summary at the end of each chapter. The one exception is the treatment of the 17th century mentioned above. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I would greatly prefer if it was easier to access - if it functioned as webpages, clickable from the main table of contents,  rather than as one enormous pdf.  I do like the clickable contents at the beginning of each chapter.  I did have trouble with the true/false test yourself sections in each chapter.  The “click here for answers” did not function for me using the Firefox internet browser. \n\nSome images could certainly be improved.  I’m thinking of maps like \n“Figure 2.3 Zheng He’s Seventh Expedition.” Better labels (national borders, perhaps?) and some color rather than grayscale might help. \n","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"None noted.  The writing is accessible and well-composed. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I’m delighted that the textbook starts by establishing context in the Americas, Europe, and Africa but am disturbed by the assertion of a European discovery narrative. The word “discovery” is, of course, inaccurate unless the authors are assuming the primacy of the European experience.  In other words, the language contradicts the structure.   In addition, in Chapters 4-6, the experiences and perspective of Native Americans gets lost in favor of the British perspective. \n\nIn addition, it would be useful in Chapter 8 to mention what happened to those enslaved people who fought for the British in exchange for emancipation. \n\nI always cringe a bit at the side-barring of marginalized groups as in when they place a discussion of women’s rights and suffrage in the sidebar in Chapter 9.  Similarly, the portions of Chapter 13 devoted to abolitionism and women’s rights could/should be expanded.   \n","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2126,"first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Lindaman","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Winona State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The Text is comprehensive in coverage of key ideas and concepts related to US History to 1877.  The index and glossary are solid.  The key terms list at the end of each chapter was particularly helpful and impressive.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did not find an accuracy issues with the text.  It is not overly biased in any way and appears to be based on solid scholarship.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"On the whole, as noted above, the accuracy was solid.  At the same time, however, it was hard to detect any new patterns or trends in the historical scholarship.  Although such inclusions can often date books, they also lend a sense of creativity that this text may lack or fall a bit short.  There should not be any problems with updating given the organization and large number of chapters.  In any future additions, I might suggest the author’s keep up to date on another open source repository of history, the Gilder Lehrman cite as I find many of the top historians continually contributing their ideas to mini-narratives on sub-themes that are part of US History, thus keeping the cite fresh and innovative","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text was definitely lucid and accessible for students.  Jargon and technical terminology was kept at a minimum and the key terms list was extensive.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text was definitely lucid and accessible for students.  Jargon and technical terminology was kept at a minimum and the key terms list was extensive.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"If anything, this text was almost broken into too many modules.  I found the chapter division appropriate in that it had the right number of chapters with the correct length.  Within the chapters, however, there were many sub points to the effect I thought I was reading a European academic book that is often broken down to point 5.4.2. This can be a bit boring in the overall flow as the authors are trying for clarity and presentation of as much material as possible while the student are always thirsting for a good narrative.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall organization other than my point made in the previous question.  I really liked the sections “Before You Move On.”  They can easily be used by students to foreshadow what they need to gain from the readings, or as a self- There were no problems with the check for understanding assessment.\n\n","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The interface and navigation was fine.  I do realize copyright restrictions might be a hindrance, however, I would like to see the authors use more images and maps.\n\n","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The grammar appeared solid throughout the text.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I believe a good deal of thought was put into the book’s cultural relevance.  There was a nice balance and strong geographical scope.  Chapter two set up the concept of “Three World’s Meet” quite well and I was impressed with the geographical balance once the main part of the focus came to North America.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Overall a comprehensive textbook and a sound go to source for students to add contextualization to their US History survey.  Instructors using the text, however, will have to use other sources to underscore skills related to either historiography, or use of primary sources.\n\nOne other addition I would really like the authors to pay attention to is the introduction of the chapters.  Even though the text is tilted toward information at the expense of narrative, the introduction of each chapter is a good place to use an image, biography, or other type of primary source with a narrative write-up as a hook to the chapter.  This is one of my favorite things about history textbooks and I often like to compare author selections.  I strongly feel the open source format, with the ability to swap out images or introductions in future additions is one way open source could work much more nimbly than traditional textbooks.  For these reasons, I would encourage the authors to consider the hooks to the chapters as a gateway.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2262,"first_name":"Richard","last_name":"Saunders","position":"Professor (dean)","institution_name":"Southern Utah Univ.","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"No history textbook can possibly address the entire range of experience within a national history. This one does an admirable job of including non-European perspectives in its early chapters.  One is half-way through the book's 852-page content by the time ratification of the Constitution is discussed.  The text then settles quite firmly into a traditional political history of the nation with a smattering of other topics, like economics, Native removal, and international factors.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Based on my familiarity with the subjects (minor, not major field) the authors have done well presenting an accurate collection of historical accounts.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The past is a matter of record and experience, but history is a matter of interpretation and value; history is always written for those reading in the present.  Because the authors make a point of working conflicting views and interpretations in historical literature into the text, the work is likely to remain relevant without changes for a generation.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is produced at an appropriate level for entry-level undergraduates, and is sufficiently straightforward that reading comprehension should not be difficult.  The text is supplemented by small illustrative photographs and maps, most reproduced under a CC BY or CC BY SA license and the rest from federal sources.  These present a bit of a patchwork in terms of style and presentation, since the publisher did not draft maps specifically for this volume.  Read straight through, the text can seem a bit choppy, with paragraphs set down as declaratory statements; could use a careful edit to smooth out the style.  Each chapter concludes with a section listing “key terms,” but the list contents remains undefined and readers will have to search the chapter to locate the terms in use.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"The volume is structurally consistent, with each chapter having the same elements in the same order, and in approximately the same numerical count or length, and at a consistent content level.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"This volume is structured to serve as a text for the first half of a two-course US history survey series (to 1877).  The seventeen chapters each have 4-8 parts, an introduction and three or more thematic sections, which subdivide the text into consumable chunks for students within a three-, four-, or five-credit course.  Each section provides a “key concepts” summary and a brief list of multiple-choice questions (and answers, later in the section) specifically inviting students to test their comprehension.\n\nChronologies provide an outline for historical sequence.  Each chapter ends with a bibliography and notes to works cited or discussed in the text (mostly secondary literature).","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"Like most history texts, this one is organized chronologically, with the chapters matching well with common divisions imposed by shifts in national politics.  A genuine effort is made to address circumstances across the geographic subregions that would become the US.  Notably, Africa and Asia are included in the chapter on exploration, providing a better background in world systems and transculturation than strictly Eurocentric histories.  \n\nThe authors selectively cite the work of writers proposing different interpretations within the literature, demonstrating to students how professional literature is a formal discussion between practitioners.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"I cannot assess the interactive versions of the text.  My students used the text in print and in page-image (PDF), at their choice.  Links within the file make it possible for a student to move from the study questions list to the answers list within the chapter.  I found very helpful the authors' practice of citing not only secondary literature and primary documents, but also providing HTML links to publicly accessible sources, where the item was available digitally.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"I found few minor quirks in prose style or grammar, most of which can be attributed to author voice and none of which compromise the text.  Minor errors are expected in a work of this size and complexity.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"There are no overt cultural errors or references that would be commonly perceived as insensitive or biased, nor does there seem to be bias or insensitivities in inadvertently made references, description, or interpretations. The only critique for bias may be one of failing to include cultural perspectives that readers feel is important.  Choices an author makes in framing a story is not bias; no text can tell a national story from every perspective.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I used this book in conjunction with the OpenStax \"US History\" textbook, to provide a balance of discussion for students.  It also allowed me to ask students to discuss why one group of authors chose to include or omit material from their version of the national narrative.  Made for some interesting discussions.","created_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2434,"first_name":"Elisa","last_name":"Miller","position":"Associate Professor ","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"The comprehensiveness is a mixed bag. There is an admirable effort early in the book to create a global context for colonization in the Americas which is a welcome addition. However, for the book as a whole, the authors examine American history primarily through a political and military lens with limited social and cultural history. This seems an outdated approach that overlooks several decades of dramatic shift in the historiography. Students or professors who wanted analysis that integrated ordinary people, racial and ethnic minorities, women, etc. would be largely disappointed. The book is also heavy on details and anecdotes and light on analysis. For example, in the section on the abolition movement, there is no effort to explain WHY the movement emerged in this period. It's troubling to have a history textbook fail on issues of historical context. Moreover, the textbook gives limited coverage to topics that are key to the time period. For example, almost every major textbook on this time period has chapters devoted exclusively to the Market Revolution and Antebellum Slavery. This book has several pages on each. There is more coverage on the struggles of Martin Van Buren's presidency than on the Market Revolution which dramatically affected all aspects of American society in the nineteenth century. ","accuracy_rating":2,"accuracy_review":"The books seems accurate in its \"facts\" but not an accurate depiction of how modern scholars interpret and analyze American history. ","relevance_rating":2,"relevance_review":"I think this book already reads as very dated and old-fashioned with its dominance of political and military leaders and issues. ","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The actual writing is accessible for a student population. However, sections often are detail heavy with limited analysis for students to understand the significance of those details. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Book seems to be generally consistent in its format. ","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The authors have included many places in the book as a whole and within chapters where instructors could break them apart into smaller sections. However, this modularity also can give the chapters a disjointed feel with too many hard breaks that interrupts the flow of the chapter and can make it difficult for students to understand the big picture of the chapter. ","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The chapter organization has major variations. Some chapters are 15 pages long; others are 90. The \"before you go\" sections summarize material several times throughout chapters. The constant summaries interrupt the flow of the chapters, and seem redundant and simplistic. It's also easy to imagine students only reading those summaries and ignoring the more extensive material in the chapter. The authors confusingly chose to cover runaway slaves and federal policies about them during the Civil War in the Reconstruction chapter instead of the Civil War one. Without strong coverage on slavery in the nineteenth century, it's hard to understand its significance in Western expansion, sectional conflict in the 1850s, the Civil War, etc. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Mostly the interface was fine. Occasionally there are images with blurry text that make it difficult to read and there are some images that would benefit from being a large size to allow students to analyze in great detail. More maps would be helpful throughout the text. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There did not seem to be an inordinate amount of typos or errors. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The language isn't offensive but the interpretation of American history in this book is clearly one where elite white men made important contributions in the country and groups such as African Americans and women are only afterthoughts or tacked on. When they do appear, it's often as examples of an individual, more of an anecdote than analysis of these groups and their experiences and significance in American history. ","overall_rating":6,"overall_review":"In the beginning of the book with the Native American and European contact material, I had high hopes for this book. But ultimately was hugely disappointed by it. It replicates an older style of history the profession as a whole has moved away from for many years with its focus on political and military leaders. That is problematic on many fronts: it overlooks important historiographic trends, continues the marginalization of many groups in historical representation and significance, and comes off at times as details and anecdotes without analysis or significance. For example, in the Civil War chapter, the chapter starts out with military activity and the authors attribute the end of the war to military reasons. Only then, after the war is \"over\" in the chapter, do the authors turn to home front issues of the war. Civil War scholars have increasingly focused on the significance of home front and civilian issues on the war as a whole. That doesn't come across in the chapter. There is a decently long section on the bread riots in the Confederacy, which could be an important place to examine the role of ordinary people and women during the war as well as how the civilian suffering hurt the Confederacy's ability to win the war. Instead it comes off as just interesting details instead of significant to the war effort. ","created_at":"2018-11-30T22:18:09.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-11-30T22:18:09.000-06:00"},{"id":3019,"first_name":"Linda","last_name":"Janke","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Anoka-Ramsey Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"I think the stronger sections of this book are the early chapters which focus on global colonization and Native American societies, although it still fits within the traditional framework of European “discovery.”  Chapter Four provides a thorough discussion of the topics I cover frequently in my U.S. History survey and therefore would pair well with class discussions about Roanoke, Anne Hutchinson, and the Salem Witch Trials.  The sections covering the New Republic and Antebellum era, however, are less comprehensive.  In my courses I tend to focus more on the lives of average people (including social movements, labor movements, women, people of color) and this text does not provide extensive coverage of those topics.  In particular, I would like to see more emphasis placed on the lives of enslaved people and how, through the “terrible transformation,” the labor of enslaved people became a prominent feature in the politics and economics of early America.  Obviously historians can (and should) disagree about what constitutes a comprehensive discussion of U.S. History but if your course focuses less on political and military history and more on social history, or histories of race and gender, this book would not be “comprehensive” for your course.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Yes, the facts presented in this book are accurate. It contains end notes and primary documents that instructors and students could utilize to verify the facts.  My main concern, as noted above in the Comprehensiveness section, is that by choosing to emphasize some facts over others that it could be considered less than fully “accurate” overall and therefore provide a biased view of American history.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Since this text discusses a set of historical facts it would not necessarily become obsolete, and any necessary updates could be easily implemented.  I think the interesting question of historiographical relevance, however, could be more clearly integrated into the book if they authors included  “recent scholarship” or “recent debates in the field” sidebars.  Of course doing so would require more regular updates but it would also prevent it from feeling dated.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text is clearly written and is accessible for entry-level college students who would presumably be reading this as part of an introductory U.S. History survey course.  Terms are defined in each chapter and some documents are annotated to increase clarity for students who might struggle with reading sources from the colonial era.  I do think clarity could be increased by including more visuals such as graphs, maps, and tables.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook is quite internally consistent.  Each chapter features a similar design and students will easily be able to find their way through each component.  Instructors can benefit from the consistent framework by directing students to certain aspects such as the “Before you Move On” section halfway through each chapter, and the “Key Terms” section at the end of each chapter.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This text is organized into clearly labeled modules that instructors could easily assign as sub-divisions if they desired.  Instructors could also utilize modules such as the quizzes or chronologies to help students review.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This text is clearly organized in a chronological manner, as one would expect from a history survey text.  The second half of the book focuses more on political events so instructors wishing to focus on social movements might need to pick and choose which sections to assign.  With that said, however, the organization follows a standard U.S. history text and would pair well with primary document readers.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text does not have any interface issues.  Navigation is simple and the images/charts display correctly and will not distract the reader.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text does not contain grammatical or typographical errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"This book has a good start as it devotes several chapters to Native Americans and their later interactions with European settlers and explorers, so instructors wishing to focus on those topics would have material to assign.  However, I have some concerns that this book would not fit into a pedagogy that is culturally relevant.  Students of color, especially those interested in the history of enslaved people in the United States, would not find their history centered in this book.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-06-26T10:50:44.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-06-26T10:50:44.000-05:00"},{"id":3398,"first_name":" Elizabeth","last_name":" George","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Taylor University ","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is comprehensive, though some chapters go much further in depth than others. For example, in ch. 4 there is quite a bit of discussion about the specific ships that explorers and colonists sailed on, but in ch. 8 the discussion of the American Revolution is not similarly detailed. For an introductory textbook, I thought the latter approach to comprehensiveness was more effective. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I did find a few typos but the content was error-free and unbiased, in terms of how we conventionally tell the story. There is some effort in some chapters to discuss matters of historiography, though it does not appear in every chapter (and I wish it did). ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"As an introductory, survey textbook, the text sticks to the conventional story, while giving a nod at times to relevant debates among historians. The text also discusses events that relate to popular culture or popular understanding of history, without making references to movies, etc. that become irrelevant. For example, ch. 4 has an in depth explanation of Pocahontas' \"rescue\" of John Smith, without referring to movies that have cemented those legends in the popular imagination. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text was clear and readable and defined relevant terms. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is somewhat uneven in how it approaches the overall story. Some issues are discussed very thoroughly, to the point that the reader is convinced that the topic will be a major theme going forward, but then the theme disappears in later chapters. For example, the discussion of Native Americans is very specific and thorough in ch. 1, but by the time we get to Pontiac's rebellion in ch. 7, that complexity has fallen away. ","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided with headings and subheadings. I especially appreciated the formatting of the discussion of battles in chs. 8 and 16. The \"before you move on\" sections provide a good check for understanding, and it is nice that you can click to easily jump to the answer key.  The book has 17 chapters, which is a lot for a traditional semester (or a shorter summer class), and some of the chapters are quite long (ch. 4 is over 80 pages). ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization is traditional for the survey course. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"On my computer, the text was not uniform. In the first half in particular, some lines of text were darker (almost bold) and some lines were normal. The images were pretty low quality. There are a few instances where a word or phrase is linked to an outside website to display a picture. It would be better if these opened in a new window. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I did not find anything offensive. I did not see an effort to discuss men and women equally. Some famous women get a nod. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"As I was reading, I was thinking a lot about whether I could make the switch to this textbook from the one I currently use (Foner, Give Me Liberty). My current textbook is cheap and it has a lot of the bells and whistles that students are accustomed to. On the other hand, using a free textbook would allow me to assign other books for students to purchase. However, would my students read this book? I was concerned that in the early chapters especially, the text is too long and in depth for students to keep scrolling. For the later chapters, the book works well as a reference, since the narrative seems quite conventional. There might not be enough maps, pictures, sidebars, spotlights, etc to keep students interested in reading the text all the way through, but I think sections could be assigned strategically. ","created_at":"2019-12-19T07:50:56.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-12-19T07:50:56.000-06:00"},{"id":4510,"first_name":"Ian","last_name":"Hartman","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Alaska Anchorage","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"History in the Making is among the most comprehensive survey texts that I've encountered. This is perhaps both its virtue and its vice. For a survey, I tend to think this book is more detailed than is necessary.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The books presents a range of topics accurately. It does include theories that most scholars dispute; I suspect it does this to ensure that a variety of viewpoints are represented. But again, for a survey text this strikes me as arguably unnecessary. In its quest for comprehensiveness, I do believe that the text loses any ability to present a cohesive narrative and is instead a reserve of material.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I don't see any content that I would propose is out of date. There are, however, views expressed (Salutrean Hypothesis, for example) that are not widely held by the scholarly community. This reflects an attempt by the authors to present an array of theories.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"The book presents the material in a generally straightforward jabber, but the prose and volume of the material is at times turgid.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"I appreciate how each chapter generally has a uniform number of sections and are typically equal in length. The text includes useful learning objectives and break out text boxes that reinforce the material. The text is generally more global in its analysis in the earlier chapters than the latter ones.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The text is generally well written and broken into sections. The length of the text is, however, holding it back. It could also use a more coherent thematic approach that ties the material into a clearer narrative.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The textbook adheres to a standard chronological organization for a U.S. history survey textbook. It presents a logical starting point (the populating of North America) and a conclusion, the 1877 election and the demise of Reconstruction. The material presented in between is standard and in line with what one would expect to find in a survey.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The textbook contains lengthy stretches of text that could be broken up with the inclusion of more images, maps, or other visual material. The visual material that is included is not always of the highest quality or resolution. I'd suggest that this aspect of the book be improved upon.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The book is well edited with minimal errors. The writing is sometimes clunky and could use additional editing.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book makes an effort to use current, acceptable language.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This text is impressively documented and composed but not without problems that would likely prevent me from adopting it in my course. For one, the book is far too long and attempts to cover too much material for a typical semester-long survey. It could be significantly edited by at least a third. The first chapters include too much global context. The latter chapters don't include enough. While it's admirable that the authors have presented American history in such a globalized context at the onset, much of the narrative gets muddied and suffers from the lack of a coherent theme or narrative. That the global contours of the text are reduced by the latter half leaves it rather uneven. In addition, the book spends unnecessary time explaining various ideas and theories that are beyond mainstream historical consensus. One example, among others, is found on page 56 where the authors write: \"Although a few historians have suggested that Zheng He’s fleet voyaged as far as Australia and the Americas, compelling documentary evidence for this is lacking.\" There are other examples where the authors seem to include various plausible theories but provide caveats. I understand that the authors are presenting a range of scholarship, but for a survey course I don't find the overabundance of material and content presented in such a way as to be pedagogically effective for most students. I'd encourage the authors to take a 'less is more' approach and edit the volume rather significantly, allowing the strongest prevailing scholarship to more fully buttress the respective chapters. I'd also encourage the authors to tether the narrative to a few key themes or arguments that they sustain throughout the text in a coherent and consistent manner. Still, there is much material here and much of it is presented clearly. I appreciated the text boxes, sections, and quizzes that allow the student to gauge her/his comprehension of the content.","created_at":"2021-01-04T00:29:14.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-10T15:57:49.000-06:00"},{"id":4560,"first_name":"Daniel","last_name":"Elash","position":"Adjunct Instructor","institution_name":"Rogue Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Adequate attention paid to pre-colonial period augurs well for this book as a basic text for the 21st century, not the 19th.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The text is careful with truth-claims (e.g. lots of \"it seems that,\" etc.), and offers evidence as perspective rather than as determinative. Perhaps inevitably in a survey text, it's a little light on details.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"On-topic, with an appropriately multivalent approach.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"It can be difficult to be both clear and summary in history. This text seems to do a fairly good job of balancing that.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Very coherent.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"17 chapters is just awkward, regardless of length of school term.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Seems to avoid organizing material by war or \"Great Man,\" perhaps the most common problem with survey texts like these.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Easy to navigate in PDF browser.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammatically clean and generally easy to read.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"As noted elsewhere, precolumbian material is given appropriate prominence. African-American contributions in the Civil War still struggle with granting agency, as opposed to treating populations as objects manipulated by other social forces.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"As an educator, I welcome the lack of graphic materials. I'm pretty sure that many of my students wouldn't agree with it, though. They're already intimidated by reading material generally, and long stretches of unbroken text has the potential to inflame that.\r\nThat said, I would consider this textbook for adoption, though the Foner text I currently use is benchmark stuff. This text, appropriately, leans heavily on Foner's work where it's relevant, which is a good thing. Basically, my considerations would come down to a cost-benefit analysis. I wouldn't be concerned that the text is substandard, though it is perhaps a bit terse-- a common tension, as noted elsewhere. \r\nIt's generally nice work!","created_at":"2021-01-11T17:25:05.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-11T17:25:05.000-06:00"},{"id":4650,"first_name":"Jennifer","last_name":"Bertolet","position":"Professorial Lecturer of History","institution_name":"The George Washington University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers Pre-Columbian America through Reconstruction and it is certainly comprehensive in terms of the subjects it addresses and the depth and detail that it includes, overall.  At 850 pages, it bucks the trend among textbook publishers to reduce the length and depth of a textbook with each new edition.  Perhaps there can be too much of a good thing, though.  I question whether students will read such a large textbook over the duration of the semester.  Even the most committed students who approach the readings with gusto early in the semester might forego them as the semester intensifies.  At the same time, searching for particular terms and subtopics proves challenging.  If there is a comprehensive index, I could not find it.  Each chapter contains a list of key terms, but the list does not include page numbers and students would need to know in which chapter a term might appear.  That said, the larger topics that I would expect to see in a U.S. survey textbook are here and the chapters are arranged logically.  Looking at the text on a chapter level, however, it becomes clear that the book lacks balance.  Some topics are presented in much more depth than others and while that is true in most texts, the variations stand out in this one due to its overall length.  Moreover, there seems to be a heavy emphasis on political and military history to the detriment of social and cultural history.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The text is accurate and devoid of bias.  The endnotes and bibliography included in each chapter support the content, particularly on controversial issues, and should prove useful to students.  The presence of endnotes is a nice touch compared to most textbooks, which don’t include them.","relevance_rating":2,"relevance_review":"Published in 2015, there are areas in which this textbook is outdated.  Although the text focuses on American history up to the Reconstruction Era, it should be updated to reflect recent social and cultural movements within America that have changed the way history is viewed and presented.  Moreover, the traditional emphasis on political and military history, something from which many textbook authors/publishers have shifted away, contributes to some neglect—or limited conceptual development— in the areas of race, class, and gender.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing is solid.  Terminology is defined or explained to readers.  There are some clunky sentences and passages that would benefit from editing.  In some areas, the detail may lead students to lose sight of the bigger picture.  Overall, though, the authors present the information in a clear and understandable way.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in terms of its framework.  Each chapter concludes with critical thinking exercises, key terms, a chronology of events, an extensive bibliography, and endnotes.  The bibliography incorporates primary and secondary sources.  The chapters also include “Test Yourself” sections that offer a handful of multiple-choice questions.  Answers are provided at the end of each chapter, but without explanation.  That said, the length of the chapters varies dramatically.  For example, chapter one has 28 pages, chapter three has 43 pages, and chapter sixteen has 79 pages.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Chapter titles and numbered headings and subheadings within each chapter make it easy to assign readings in sections smaller than a whole chapter.  Shifting the order of readings to fit a particular course should not prove problematic for students or faculty.  Assigning by page number would be problematic, though.  A download of the entire text created an end product in which the page numbers varied based on the application used to read the file.  Using iBooks, for example, resulted in a textbook with 1,322 pages.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The chapter topics are organized similarly to other textbooks.  Some of the subtopics within the chapters are organized differently from traditional texts, though.  Thinking about my own course, I was concerned that the organization of some topics may lead students to miss the context of historical events.  For example, chapter six, entitled “Growing Pains in the Colony,” contains a subsection on “Colonial Conflicts and Wars” that covers Metacomet’s War, Bacon’s Rebellion, King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War, and King George’s War.  In real life, these conflicts were separated not only by their causes, but also by 70+ years.  I would much rather see these conflicts presented within a larger topical context, for example discussing Metacomet’s War with the settlement and development of New England and Bacon’s Rebellion with the growth of Virginia and the Chesapeake Region.  I think that lumping these events together as wars/conflicts will make it difficult for students to understand their context.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"I did not experience any significant interface issues.  The text was consistent in font type, color, and size and it was relatively easy to navigate, whether viewing a single chapter or viewing a download of the entire textbook.  I did have trouble clicking the link that was supposed to lead to the answers for the “Test Yourself” exercises, though.  Note that the textbook is only available in one format: a PDF download.  It is not available in online or hardcopy formats.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I encountered few grammatical errors and nothing that interfered with a readers’ understanding of the material.  The textbook is clearly written.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Broadly speaking, the textbook is inclusive of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.  There are sections devoted to the Anasazi, the Aztecs, the Algonquians, and other Native people, for example.  That said, discussions of these groups often seem to be from a European perspective rather than a Native perspective.  The text discusses various religious sects from Huguenots to Anglicans to Puritans to Quakers, and more.  The role of women is discussed in various sections, as is the slave trade, slavery, and enslaved Africans and African Americans.  I found the text to be heavy on political and military history though, in terms of both the content and the context that it provides.  As a social historian, I would prefer to use a text with a stronger emphasis on race, class, and gender.  So while the text is not necessarily insensitive or offensive, its handling of social and cultural history could be and should be much stronger.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"Overall, this textbook is clearly written, detailed, organized, and accessible.  The authors undoubtedly put a tremendous amount of thought and time into planning and writing the text.  I’d have trouble assigning such a lengthy book to my students, though.  It’s a lot to read in a regular semester and virtually unmanageable in an abbreviated summer course.  Moreover, although there are images and maps in the book, it’s really very text heavy.  Adding images to the text would serve to break up the reading for students, but would also better support visual learners.  Additionally, I was struck by the absence of primary sources, which are often incorporated into traditional texts.  There are some primary source excerpts and the bibliography lists primary sources, but I would like to see some inset primary sources for students, in keeping with the movement to ground students in primary sources.  Lastly, I found some of the topic headings slightly troublesome.  chapter one is entitled, “United States History before Columbus,” but replacing “United States” with “American” would be more accurate.  Columbus did not land in the U.S., the Aztecs were not in the U.S., etc. and so I think that terminology gives students the wrong impression.  The section in chapter seven entitled, “The Downward Slide to Revolution” also seemed problematic.  In trying to show students the community building that took place prior to the Revolution and the colonists’ response to various taxes and acts of Parliament, I would not like the textbook to present the Tea Act and the colonists’ response to it along with the resulting Coercive Acts as a “downward slide.”  From my perspective, it’s misleading, and discussing just the “Tea Party” in Boston represents a missed opportunity to show unity among the colonies.  While some of the headings are straightforward (Massachusetts Bay, Cash Crops, the Great Awakening, etc), others, like the ones noted above, raise some issues of concern.  If you are looking for a text with a solid foundation in social history, this might not be your best option.  If, on the other hand, you are searching for a textbook that takes a more traditional approach with a focus on political and military history, this might be a textbook to consider.","created_at":"2021-02-25T23:53:16.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-02-25T23:53:16.000-06:00"},{"id":4939,"first_name":"Lisa","last_name":"Swart","position":"Lecturer","institution_name":"Middle Tennessee State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"As a survey of the Pre-Columbian period through Reconstruction, the authors provide comprehensive coverage of the main ideas and concepts in American history. The text is quite lengthy around 850 pages, with some chapters going into more depth than others.  I appreciated the efforts in the first early chapters to firmly place American history within its global context, which is often glossed over in other surveys. \r\nAn index or glossary is not built-in. The key terms at the end of each chapter are helpful. However, it would be more beneficial if these terms were highlighted within the text making it easier for students to locate.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text presents the facts accurately, and the scholarship is sound. A bibliography and end notes are included at the end of each chapter. The text does not seem biased. When dealing with contentious issues, the text includes a variety of viewpoints, for example, the inclusion of Gavin Menzies’ controversial theories on Chinese exploration in Chapter 2, and the variety of opinions in assessing how radical the revolution was in the Sidebar 8.1 in Chapter 8 (which is a great tool for discussion).","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text contains the standard account of early American history, and content is current.  It does appear that edits and updates should be fairly straightforward, however, the links in the bibliography will need to be updated periodically.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The writing is clear, and the topics are articulated coherently. All terms, and key ideas are lucidly explained and expanded upon. I liked the annotated Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, these are helpful learning aids.\r\nThis textbook is accessible for most college students. However, based on the length of the text, it may be difficult for English language learners to navigate.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text maintains a consistent structure and style, each subsection is followed by a “Before You Move On” segment, and small quizzes which serve to reinforce key ideas and concepts. The end of each chapter contains “Critical Thinking Exercises,” key terms, and a chronology of important dates, which again reinforce the content learned. After reading the first few sections, there are no surprises for the reader in terms of layout and representation. As a non-military historian, I appreciated the fact that the battles of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War were simplified into the same format, and easily digestible. The terminology is consistent throughout the chapters.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter of the text is provided as a separate PDF download, and can be easily linked or attached to a course module in an LMS without the reader leaving the LMS. Due to the organization of the text into sections and subsections, the text can easily be broken up into smaller reading units and assigned at different points without disrupting the reader. The “Before You Move On…” segment and short quizzes serve to reinforce the modularity of the sections.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The text is well organized and logical. It follows a standard chronological format for the first half of the US survey. The topics covered in the text are clearly presented, and logically ordered into sections, with subsections delineating key concepts. The “Before You Move On…” segments are a helpful supplement in recounting the main ideas in each section of the chapters.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is a standard ubiquitous PDF file, no bells or whistles, which is a good thing – the simpler the better. I did not experience any problems accessing, downloading and navigating the text. It is easy to use. The PDF format is editable – it allows the reader to add annotations (text and stickies), and highlight text sections. A great tool for students and instructors.\r\nThe text was also accessible on my phone (Android), and there were no issues in viewing it in the phone’s browser, or downloading the individual chapter PDFs to the phone (Could this be the reason for the sparing use of images in the text?) The images were generally clear, and presented no problems.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is free of major grammatical and spelling errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive or offensive. Race, ethnicities, gender, and backgrounds are discussed broadly, but there is more weight given to political history. The early chapters set the expectation for inclusivity, but diversity, class and gender are painted with a much broader brush in the later chapters.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"It is impossible for a textbook to please everyone, and the authors have done a great job of putting together a text that is accessible, well written, and organized. The text is a great resource for the survey courses, and I would recommend it.","created_at":"2021-05-18T12:33:40.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-05-18T12:33:40.000-05:00"},{"id":5065,"first_name":"Seth","last_name":"Ridinger","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Berkshire Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This textbook overall is very comprehensive. To begin, the table of contents at the beginning of each chapter is very thorough. You know exactly what will be covered before you browse or read over the chapter. An example of the very thorough nature of this text is in chapter three when examining the Columbian Exchange, most books will provide a couple of paragraphs on this subject, the Locks, et al. text provides several pages on the subject and even breaks down the examination into sub categories of plants, animals, diseases, etc. \r\n\tIn chapter 6, entitled, Growing Pains in the Colonies, we find another great example of the very thorough and comprehensiveness of this book. The author cuts no corners in explaining, in good detail, the economic structure and geopolitical nature of the American Colonies. The authors elaborate upon consumer culture, trade, the mercantile system, and the growing role of imperial control in these equations. This thorough examination of the economic and political structure helps to build a strong foundation of understanding to which subsequent learning of this topic can be built upon. \r\n\tIt should also be noted that this book covers some of the many colonial conflicts of the 17th and 18th centuries in a pretty thorough manner. Many texts completely omit a study of many of the minor conflicts of this period. \r\n\tAnother, great example of the comprehensive nature of this book is the examination of the French and Indian War in chapter seven. The authors take great steps to examine the role of key individuals involved in this conflict, including George Washington, as well as their specific actions that first led to the war, expanded its scope, and finally led it its conclusion and aftermath. \r\n\tAnother example of the thoroughness of this text is in the examination of the case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) which all too often is only briefly cited in many texts, this edition take the time to explore the case and its importance to the broader subject of Indian removal. \r\n\tHowever, there were a couple of glaring omissions that were unfortunately left out of this book. first, the book seems to almost entirely skip over the Virginia Resolves, which were an essential part of the colonial opposition to British taxation in the years leading to the American revolution. Another example of this is when the authors discuss the Boston Massacre in chapter seven, they don't refer to any of the specific British soldiers by name and despite the ample detail and evidence provided in other sections, they are lacking in this subject.  \r\n\tOverall I would consider this textbook to be very comprehensive and thorough in the various items that it covers. I believe that this text covers enough important material, and at enough of an in-depth manner, to be highly valuable and useful as a college level resource.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content of this book is not only comprehensive but appears to be very accurate. The authors, on many occasions, endeavor to make use of primary source documents in their writing, sometimes as large block quotations and other times as small quotes incorporated into the text to provide substance and credibility to the points that are being made or alluded to. One example of this can be found in chapter three on page 79 where the book reads:\r\nColumbus went on to remark that the people were “mostly naked” even\r\nthe women, though he admitted that he had seen only one woman. The\r\nnatives appeared to have few weapons and, in fact, lived a very simple\r\nlife. Not only had they no weapons, they apparently had not seen any, as\r\nColumbus remarked that when he “showed them swords…they grasped by\r\nthe blades, and cut themselves through ignorance. They have no iron, their\r\njavelins being without it, and nothing more than sticks, though some have\r\nfish-bones or other things at the ends.”7 The experience of the Spaniards on\r\nthe other islands in the Caribbean was similar. In his entry of October 13,\r\n1492, Columbus recalled that “The natives are an inoffensive people, and so\r\ndesirous to possess anything they saw with us, that they kept swimming off to the ships with whatever they could find.”\r\n\r\n\tIt seems helpful for the reader to have both the large block quotations that aid the learner to independently judge the meaning and spirit of the text as well as the in-text quotes to provide greater veracity and strength to the assertions being made. \r\n\r\n\tThere is one statement that stood out to me in chapter twelve concerning President Jackson's Indian removal Policy, the authors, in making a historical case that many native Americas in the Southeast at this era had indeed assimilated to United State culture, stated that \"most Cherokee lived and dressed like the average American.\" I think this is a broad and overly general statement that is very difficult to quantify. Overall though I would conclude that this is a solid textbook in terms of accuracy.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This book seems to be very up to date and incorporates much of the contemporary thinking on the historical analysis.  In the first chapter the authors do a nice job of examining terminology and also the practical challenges of studying the pre-Columbian Era.  The authors also examine foundational mythology and scientific studies to provide context to the inhabitants of the Americas prior to the Fifteenth century. \r\n\tAlthough overall this book does a nice job of being relevant to contemporary readers, there are a couple of points where more effort could be made. for example, in chapter 7, when discussing the Boston Massacre, the authors mention the role of Crispus Attucks in this event and they cite him as being a \"black man of Wampanoag and African descent.\" The authors also correctly stated that he was one of the first individuals who died in this episode. I believe that this was perhaps a missed opportunity for the authors to discuss the role of Attucks and the plight of other African Americans living in New England at this time. Instead the authors only state that he is a \"black man of Wampanoag and African descent,\" and provide no further context or analysis into the subject.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This textbook is written in a clear and lucid manner that is easy to understand and also provides good context to help explain and illustrate points. It also appears to be generally free from technical terminology or jargon that would be difficult to understand. \r\n\r\n\tA separate observation on the subject is that key terms, ideas, policies initiatives, major figures, etc., could be highlighted or underlined. Although this may seem a bit juvenile, it may actually be helpful for students, especially at the freshman level, to be able to readily identify said key terms and ideas. Two brief examples of where this could apply is in chapter ten, when discussing Hamilton's Report on the Public Credit and chapter twelve in citing the Indian removal Act of 1830.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The consistency of this text is very good.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"This book is very easy to divide into smaller units.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This book is organized well and in a clear and logical fashion.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Strangely enough there was a hyperlink in chapter 12, page 539, for the election of 1824. The link appeared to direct the reader to a Wikipedia page.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text overall seems to be very well written and free from any major grammatical errors. However, one typo I did come across was in chapter twelve, at the top of page 547, in the PDF format, the text refers to \"Jefferson\" where it should have said Jackson. This identical mistake is made a second time a few paragraphs down on the same page and it begins to make the book appear unprofessional.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This book does not appear to present any culturally offensive material.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-06-09T10:55:04.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-06-09T10:55:04.000-05:00"},{"id":33950,"first_name":"Kevin","last_name":"Brady","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"While the textbook provides readers with a comprehensive and in-depth coverage of American History to 1877, the textbook does not include either a glossary or index.  Therefore, a potential reader will struggle to find specific information and topics within the vast textbook.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"After reviewing the textbook, I found that the content was accurate, unbiased, and error-free.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"After reviewing the textbook, I believe that the content is up-to-date in regards to the first half of the American History survey.  More importantly, each of textbook chapters are well-organized, which will make any necessary updates relatively easy to implement throughout the textbook.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook is written in a clear and concise manner.  Furthermore, any historical jargon or technical terminology have adequate descriptions, which adds clarity to the material as well as improves a student's understanding of the historical topics.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Despite having numerous authors, the textbook remains consistent in regards to terminology and organization.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"While the textbook offers readers a very detailed and in-depth discussion of American History to 1877, the amount of material within each chapter can easily overwhelm a student, especially one who is enrolled in a survey course.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics and key concepts in the textbook are well-organized in a clear and logical fashion.  More importantly, each chapter also provides readers with a list of key terms, chronology (timeline), bibliography, and end notes.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I believe that the textbook is free of any interface issues.  Additionally, the maps, charts, and historical images throughout the textbook do not pose any distractions nor confusion among the readers.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The textbook is well-written as it does not contain any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The textbook embodies diversity, inclusiveness, and equity as it explores a variety of races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds throughout the text.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"While History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877 offers readers an in-depth and comprehensive coverage of American History, some students may struggle with the amount of information in the textbook.  Despite this minor concern, I still believe that the textbook would a valuable resource for any American History survey course","created_at":"2022-07-11T16:23:29.000-05:00","updated_at":"2022-07-11T16:23:29.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/history-in-the-making-a-history-of-the-people-of-the-united-states-of-america-to-1877","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:02:39.000-06:00"},{"id":375,"title":"World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2016,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":"","accessibility_features":[],"description":"World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500. Authored by six USG faculty members with advance degrees in History, this textbook offers up-to-date original scholarship. It covers such cultures, states, and societies as Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Dynastic Egypt, India's Classical Age, the Dynasties of China, Archaic Greece, the Roman Empire, Islam, Medieval Africa, the Americas, and the Khanates of Central Asia.It includes 350 high-quality images and maps, chronologies, and learning questions to help guide student learning. Its digital nature allows students to follow links to applicable sources and videos, expanding their educational experience beyond the textbook. It provides a new and free alternative to traditional textbooks, making World History an invaluable resource in our modern age of technology and advancement.","contributors":[{"id":3882,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Eugene","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Berger","location":"Lawrenceville, GA","background_text":"Eugene Berger is a Professor in the History department at Georgia Gwinnett College."},{"id":6042,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"George","middle_name":"L.","last_name":"Israel","location":"Macon, GA","background_text":"George L. Israel, Ph.D., Middle Georgia Statement University"},{"id":6043,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Charolette","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Miller","location":"Macon, GA","background_text":"Charolette Miller, Ph.D., Middle Georgia Statement University"}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":446,"url":"https://ung.edu/university-press/books/world-history-cultures-states-societies-to-1500.php","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:39.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:39.000-05:00","name":"University of North Georgia Press"}],"formats":[{"id":767,"type":"PDF","url":"https://web.ung.edu/media/university-press/World%20History%20Textbook-082817.pdf?t=1510261063109","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":2295,"type":"Hardcopy","url":"https://www.amazon.com/World-History-Cultures-States-Societies/dp/1940771102/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\u0026qid=1479260945\u0026sr=8-1\u0026keywords=9781940771106","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":26,"reviews":[{"id":894,"first_name":"Leigh Ann","last_name":"Craig","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The test provides relatively even, if brief, coverage of western and central Eurasia, and  somewhat more brief coverage of east Asia and the Americas.  There is no glossary, nor any index.  In a PDF, the glossary would seem extraneous, but the lack of an index is somewhat confounding.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I noticed no counterfactual information in my own areas of specialty;  the text seems quite accurate throughout.  In such cramped quarters, there's little room for bias to creep in, and the author seems quite dispassionate in any case.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content is all accurate, but here I do not feel entirely certain that the approaches reflect trends in world systems theory.  it would be easy to add some note about the movement of ideas, technology, etc. thorugh regional systems (perhaps in the brief 'world context' segments,), but to really incorporate this larger field of view into the text would require a deep reorganization.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The author is careful to define terms throughout, and to indicate them in bold face.  The prose skews toward some awkward usages and clause structures, but not toward overlong sentences or needlessly ornate vocabulary.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is fully internally consistent in its organizational schema, foci, and incorporation of learning tools like maps, boldface terminology, etc.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is highly modular -- indeed, for my own part, a bit *too* modular, in that carryover between chapters and regions is limited.  Subheadings are frequent and accurate, and while they could indeed be reorganized, to do so would not change the fundamental approaches or flavor of the text.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book is well-organized, but I would not say the flow -- in the sense of connecting one segment to the next -- is as strong as it might be.  The goal of world history, from the world systems perspective, is to examine connection and movement, rather than division and insular locality.  This text is somewhat bare of that perspective, and one fo the benefits of that perspective is that it helps the reader to explain why they might jump from western Europe to China in a single page-turn.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The .pdf took quite a long time to open in a  web browser even with an otherwise quick internet connection, and it took some time for me, an early tech adopter,  to locate the pathways which would allow me to download it to my own machine.  I do not know if in-browser reading would be a good interface to expect students to use, but if one were to download it and make it available through a platform like Blackboard, that would seem reasonable.  No distortion of images or text was discernable;  once downloaded, the document was quite attractive.  It was hyperlinked from the table of contents to preclude the need to scroll though the entire document to find a given subsection.\n\n","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammar errors here.  However, the usage is occasionally clumsy.  The authors frequently place modifier phrases in awkward locations in sentences,  use needless passives, or structure sentences without a strong subject up-front.  I get the impression that the text could use a good editorial pass with an eye for enhancing the elegance of the prose.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Given the topic, this is a text which is automatically culturally inclusive.  Cultural content is handled here with reasonable sensitivity and with a kind of egalitarian eye for the complexities of human interaction.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"While it does not do as much work as I would prefer, for a college-level text, in discussing world systems rather than discrete segments of the globe, the localized information here is well-presented and easy to find, making the text a very fine reference source for introductory level information.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":950,"first_name":"Mary","last_name":"Soots","position":"Adjust Professor","institution_name":"Portland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book is comprehensive and all-encompassing in the development of states and societies throughout the world.  It tends to be a bit Eurocentric, with chapters dedicated to Greek/Roman/ Byzantine/ Western Europe, while other regions of the world are assigned one chapter through various empires.  Thus, one gets a more complete picture of some empires and a broad overview of others.\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content of the book aligns with my knowledge of the information.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because this is a book that focuses on the development of states and societies through 1500, the content may never change.  However, the interpretation of content through new information may be possible.  The organization of the book (by geographical area) makes it easy to update if necessary.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This book is well written in language that anyone can understand.  It is quite easy to understand, and relates history in an interesting manner.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is ideal for students of many disciplines because of its organization and content.  The framework explores individual geographic regions and the influences upon and between social groups.  Through research by different authors, each chapter is consistently supported by existing data, and uses the same thematic ideas in each chapter/region.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text book is arranged chronologically and geographically as, so it is simple to start reading at any point. Instructors of history may use the entire book as a class text, while instructors of other classes may choose to assign reading for only a region or historical period without any disruption.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of the book is good.  It includes the chronology of each region/time frame, an introduction, questions to guide the reader, key terms, and the factors of importance to the formation of state societies/empires in each region, followed by a conclusion, references, and links to other sources.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book had no significant interface issues that I could detect.  The graphics that are used beautifully illustrate the ideas presented.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book was well written.  I found no grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book was in no way offensive.  On the contrary, it seeks to explain the daily life of different societies, which is a way of creating understanding between cultures.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"The book presents very relevant information as a way of explaining the formation of state societies and the interactions between the societies/empires.  But at the same time, it depicts the way of life and the subsistence patterns, which give a nice perspective of life in those places.  I would recommend it for studies of students in many different academic disciplines.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":956,"first_name":"Chris","last_name":"Thomas","position":"Associate Professor and Program Head","institution_name":"Reynolds Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text adequately covers all the materials that would be required in a survey World History course.  While each chapter had a different author and thus in some areas more attention is given, overall the book provides the basic content and supplements it adequately with images, maps, and links to additional primary and secondary readings.  It is lacking both an index and glossary, but the digital nature of the text can compensate for that in part.\n\nSome chapters need to really rework the key terms.  Establish a ceiling and a floor, and make sure that if it's on the list then it's essential for a survey course.  The Prehistory chapter doesn't have \"Agricultural Revolution\" as a key term (which it really ought to), but has \"homo erectus,\" \"homo habilis,\" and \"homo sapiens.\"  Do freshmen need to know all the names of all the ancestors of modern humans, but not the event that began civilization?","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate and reflects a concerted effort to include recent scholarship.  There are places where biases creep in, but such is the nature of such collaborative works that have to cover such vast amounts of detail, yet be written by scholars with their own research interests and specialties.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"There is a nice mix of recent publications (some only a year or two old) with older publications.  Often the \"Further Reading\" sections include web links that can be a potential source of problems over time with dead and broken links, however they are frequently from organizations and institutions that plan to be around for a while.  Additionally, web sources are sufficiently balanced with print sources.  Best of all, because the book is primarily a digital text, updates can be published and made available immediately without older editions floating around.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Each chapter includes a list of key terms at the outset (though the number of key terms varies dramatically from chapter to chapter), and while these key terms do not appear in a glossary or index they are in bold in the text, creating a nice mix of help to the student, but not too much.  The words are easily found, but the student must still read to find the definition.  Overall the prose of the text is on par with survey texts currently available from big publishers and other OERs.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"In terms of framework each chapter follows a consistent model: chronology, introduction, questions for guiding students through the chapter, and key terms.  There is a bit of inconsistency in length of these individual section for each chapter.  The introduction to chapter 8 is about half page, while that of chapter               .  The timeline provided with chapter 12 (Renaissance) is almost three full pages, while chapter 11 (Central Asia) has only 5 entries.  Chapter 2 has eighteen \"Questions to Guide Your Reading\" while chapter 7 has eight.\n\nThere are a few places where the key term has issues.  Some chapters have a word in the key terms list that doesn't appear in the text, or doesn't appear the same as it did in the list.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text was very well organized in this way.  Each chapter is broken in sections, sub-sections, and sometimes even further than that.  This will be tremendously helpful for faculty who wish to use the text in pieces rather than assign the book in its entirety.  There are portions where 4-5 pages passes by without any kind of sectional break, but often this is due to large maps and images having been inserted into the text and thus stretching the section out to several pages.  Overall the structure of the book was one of the first things that caught my attention.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"History benefits from the fact that the narrative is the subject and thus a nice structure and flow is built in.  Each chapter does a nice job of taking the reader from point to point and having each new section or sub-section link with the one that came before.  The one area that could be pointed to as a weakness is how the chapter topics are organized.  One of the goals of World Civ is to study the earth and it's people as a whole, rather than looking at just one region as is done in Western Civ, African Civ, etc.  Other textbooks in world history achieve this by organizing chapters by topic and trying to use the chapter to compare say, Rome and the Han dynasty, or look at developments in Africa at the same time as South America.  Instead the text runs the risk of organizing world history as a collection of political and cultural entities that occasionally bump into each other.  It would be the equivalent of having a Western Civ course that forgoes looking at all the revolutions of the mid 19th century as part of a larger movement in Europe and instead looking at individual countries as isolated bodies.\n\nThis isn't saying the book doesn't cover the material, but it does reinforce the idea that world history courses are supposed to break down.  Look at the some of the chapters:\n\n-Prehistory\n-Early Middle East and North African Civ\n-Ancient and Medieval India\n-China and East Asia\n-The Greek World from Bronze Age to Rome\n-The Roman World\n-Western Europe and Byzantium\n-Islam to the Mamluks\n-Africa to 1500 (really? one chapter will cover the entire continent for the entire period covered by the text?\n\nSome chapters cross cutlural boundaries, like Islam to the Mamluks, but looking at the others I don't see a \"world history\" text as much as \"histories all over the world.\"","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is clean and effective in this regard.  There aren't lots of bells and whistles, but that's not always a problem.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There were a few errors that naturally will creep in with a text of this size.  Page 5 is missing the 'n\" in Neanderthal for example.  The book is by no means ruined by errors.  I find errors in books by big publishers, so given that they have more money to throw at editing and production, having the same number of errors is pretty good.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"You aren't going to be able to talk about every culture and people on the planet for the last several millennia and not offend either by omission or commission.  There are no clear, obvious, or overt attempts at poking one particular culture in the ribs, but history is controversial, and controversy by nature offends.\n\nGiven that the book is world history I think you have \"variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds\" covered.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Our school is making a big push in the direction of OER resources and reducing student costs while maintaining academic integrity.  I helped contribute to a similar project for American history, and for a while that was the only course for which we had a full OER textbook.  With this volume, plus another for Western Civ that we recently found, we are getting close to being able to offer all of our core classes with OER options.  It's not a perfect book, but none are.\n\nOne area where the big publishers still have a distinct advantage is in digital supplements (Connect, Inquisitive, etc.).  It there any plan for creating similar supplements for this book or others?  Many of my online instructors use those heavily and would be hesitant to adopt an OER book, even though it's academically sound, if it means all their assignments, quizzes, etc. are washed away and they have to design the class all over.","created_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2017-02-08T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1368,"first_name":"Pamela","last_name":"Crawley","position":"History Instructor","institution_name":"Tidewater Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"For a survey course, the text masterfully delves into early African history and brilliantly reviews the Classical World, Early Islam and Europe. However, instructors may want to supplement the text with additional readings for topics concerning South America and Southeast Asia.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate and balanced, if unequally distributed.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The text is up to date and I have no doubt that the creators will continue to update as necessary. I would prefer, however, to have an “open” option – such as a WORD document, that can be edited by instructors who choose to adopt this text.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The sections are similarly organized with a good mix of graphs, maps and illustrations. More, it is easy to digest and presents History as a topic of interest, rather than a dry list of figures. My larger concern is the lack of an index. No worries as a .pdf, but this becomes an issue for the student who chooses to print the text.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"It is clear that a chapter “skeleton” was used by each contributor. The result is a text that flows smoothly from one content area to the next. Students are clear in what they can expect from each chapter, in terms of questions, key terms and so on. Some chapters get better treatment with these extras than others.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each region is presented in a manner and layout common to any instructor of World History. I do like that they’ve narrowed in on subsections to allow for targeted reading.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"There are two schools of thought with survey texts: The People of X in Time Y or What’s Happening in Regards to A During Time B.  There are merits to both methods. This text takes the former route, allowing the instructor/learner to skip from one area to the next, drawing connections on their own.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I would think a web versions and a .docx/.rtf version to be in order. As for the .pdf, I am amazingly grateful for high and low res options. Great layout, typesetting and design.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I have yet to read a book without error. Could this use another pass from an editor? Sure, but so can every other book - fiction or nonfiction – that I’ve ever purchased.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I am pleased with the range of places and peoples touched on. I would have liked more on South America and Southeast Asia, but those can be supplemented by teachers, per their interest.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This book is great for those wanting to adopt a free textbook. I am, however, reluctant to label this true OER, as the text is only available as a PDF. Sure, there are programs available to jailbreak a PDF, but since the license allows remixing, the file should also be available as a .rtf, .doc. or .docx.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1403,"first_name":"James","last_name":"Frusetta","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Hampden-Sydney College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book provides an overview of key regional empires across the world. Such an approach, however, inevitably favors larger states and societies at the expense of smaller ones — understandable, given the breadth of material, and something I find in most world history textbooks. The book’s weight on classical Greece and Rome (2 chapters out of 12) will serve most classes, but contributes to the fact that 4 out of 12 chapters focus on Europe — while sub-Saharan Africa, India and the Americas receive only a chapter each. More significant for many, I suspect, will be that the approach — focusing each chapter on a distinct region — means the textbook’s ability to draw connections across different regions is hampered. This criticisms noted, writing world history is difficult and the textbook will likely serve well for courses where specific content coverage is mandated by department or college policy. \n\nAn index isn’t provided, but text searches are easy in a digital file and students will likely plan to use those in place of an index in any case. A collected glossary is not provided, but key terms are noted at the start of each chapter.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Material covered in the book is accurate and consistent; instructors should not be concerned at undue bias or error.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Content coverage is broad enough that new findings or approaches will not render the text obsolete — and occasional changes for nuance can easily be incorporated. The lists of further reading are the areas most likely to need revisions, and this can be done easily (and likely should be for the links to online primary sources, given how quickly web content can shift). The one area of concern in terms of relevance would be to note the ongoing debate about how to frame this kind of class — whether to cover multiple regions of the world, or to emphasize events that span across regions. I note this not in idle critique, but to note that your position on this (or your department’s position) will impact the relevancy of the book.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clearly and carefully aimed at an undergraduate audience; terms are not just carefully defined, but defined in such a way to make them accessible to students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The structure of the different chapters is broadly consistent: a chronology, introduction, guiding questions and key terms, followed by the text, then recommended secondary texts and primary documents. The length of these varies from chapter to chapter — Greece has a page of site and individual primary document links, while the last chapter links to two sites only. I found the history sections, however, were consistent in approach and wouldn't expect that students would be confused advancing through the text. Visual material was similarly consistent in terms of layout and quality.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The 12 chapters are largely self-contained, allowing an instructor to teach them in a different order — or to pick and choose which chapters to use — with the caveat that some are of course linear (e.g., the chapter on Rome logically builds on the chapter on Greece.)  One could fairly easily use a single chapter, or several chapters, without using the remainder of the book.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"For those teaching world history as a discrete series of introductions to regions of the world, the organization of the book will suit well. Each chapter is effectively a self-contained unit, with a specific story developed over the course of the chapter. This is perhaps stronger in chapters that treat shorter historical moments (e.g., the Ancient Greek world) rather than the wider survey chapters (e.g., Africa to 1500).  This is a good text for asking students to learn about unfamiliar regions and histories; however, for those teaching world history/global history as in terms of comparisons, connections or (world) change, the organization and flow of the text is problematic.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I found the .pdf easy to use, and quick to respond, both when reading within a browser, in Adobe Reader, and using other applications to read through it. The textbook looked excellent both within the browser and when read within applications. The only caveat would be loading time, which I found to be uneven and slower on some browsers — those using the text might wish to consider local hosting to distribute it to their students. The use of maps and images (drawing extensively on Wikimedia, but also including a fair number of high-quality originals) is impressive.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The odd typographic error is present, but the proofing and writing is as good as what I see from most professional presses. The occasional awkward phrase is, in my eyes, made up for with simple unassuming prose for the most part — I believe students will find this to be more accessible than much of what I assign them.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book is careful to avoid obvious pitfalls in terms of cultural insensitivity, and is careful to approach different cultures carefully. However, the nature of the project — encompassing world cultures to 1500 — means inevitably that it is incomplete, and some cultures are left out. The approach here, which emphasizes key regional powers/cultures, is a logical way to structure the book (and a course) but can’t be universally inclusive by its very nature","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The textbook should be relevant for many teaching the first half of the introductory world history survey to 1500. The particular modular approach may be tricky for others — I’ve variously been asked (at different institutions) to teach it to/from 1650, to 1300, and to 1500. For instructors looking for OER resources, the text is lucid, provides a relevant introduction and has an excellent look-and-feel. It will not suit all instructors, given its pedagogical approach (different chapters for different regions), but if you share that approach it will do quite well. Expanded primary document links in some sections would be useful.","created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1429,"first_name":"Katie","last_name":"Kirakosian","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Northern Virginia Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Overall, the book covers much of the expected content for a course focused on world history. In some areas, like chapter 1 I was looking for a decontextualization of the concept of \"prehistory\" versus \"history\", as this is considered a very loaded term in some contemporary communities and circles. Also, in Chapter 10, there were many culture areas that were not even introduced here. Even if briefly, I believe it was necessary to introduce students to the culture areas and give an overview of the diversity of Native groups within each. To cover all of North American in roughly 4 pages is problematic and expansion is necessary here.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"While I would not say the book had inaccuracies per se, given the breadth of the book, some of the complexities were overlooked. For example, there was no discussion of \"Pre-Clovis\" when discussing the peopling of the New World. This section simplified what is a very real and ongoing debate within archaeology and beyond.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"While most of the references cited were post 2000, I had hoped to see more references from research from 2010 to the present, as some very important discoveries have been made in this time.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book was a very clear and concise read, which was as free of jargon as possible. The definitions also provided the necessary context for the reader.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The book was quite consistent throughout, as was evidenced through the same layout and structure between chapters and authors. I particularly liked the questions at the onset and the links to primary sources at the end. Some chapters were less robust then others, with some chapters ranging only 30 pages, while others were 50 pages in length. If not prefaced, this might impact students sense of the richness of some regions and time periods over others.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I believe this textbook could easily be modularized with little issue.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of the book made logical sense in most instances. I was unsure of the placement of Chapter 11 on Central Asia right after the Americas however.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I experienced no interface issues and found t quite intuitive.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found few grammatical errors throughout.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find the textbook to be culturally insensitive.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1463,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Moore","position":"Adjunct","institution_name":"Chemeketa Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Global history is a very difficult topic to tackle in a textbook without becoming far too long to be useful to most students or too brief to provide any narrative at all. This book provides adequate coverage. Some chapters provide more depth than others. Some extremely significant events have little coverage in the text or are split oddly across chapters; the Crusades appear in very briefly in Chapter 8 and in some more depth in Chapter 12, for example. Reading the two sections side by side gives the reader a reasonable level of comprehension, but it may not be intuitive. Coverage on Asia is also somewhat lacking in comparison to events in Europe.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There were no obvious errors and, aside from a tendency to focus on European events, the text does not display any strong biases.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It is impossible to predict when we will uncover evidence that reveals new data on ancient events. It seems like our timeline for early villages changes every year as new archaeology comes in. That said, most of the content of this book is unlikely to change significantly and those updates should be easy to implement, thanks to the clear section divisions within each chapter.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I found the text more readable than most commercially available textbooks. I would have liked to see a glossary or short definitions included in the Key Terms section (or a section reference directing the reader to the location of that key term), though that's much less of an issue in a electronic text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The framework throughout the text is consistent and very helpful in locating the information you want to find.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is broken down into small sections that can easily be referenced and assigned individually or in various combinations.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Overall, I found the organization very helpful. Personally, I dislike organizing long sequences of events by geography, rather than emphasizing the connectivity of events. To return to my example of the Crusades from earlier: Chapter 8 focuses on Islam and the role Saladin played in the Crusades, while Chapter 12 focuses on the European motivations for the Crusades. That organization seems less helpful to me than a single chapter about the Crusades that incorporates both perspectives. If I were using this text in my class, I would probably cut the text up into a more chronologically consistent narrative.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I encountered no noticeable issues with the interface.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text was well-written; I noticed no errors in grammar.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I did not find any of the text culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. Diversity is at the core of this textbook, as it attempts to address the varied experiences of ancient cultures.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2017-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":1590,"first_name":"Kara","last_name":"Barr","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Bowling Green State University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers an impressive amount of ground in relatively short chapters, something which is always a struggle in any survey text of global history.  Some events and geographies garner more coverage and attention than others, which is understandable, but the criteria by which the authors determined the amount of coverage is a bit unclear.  For instance, the Crisis of the Third Century is covered extensively, but the end of the Roman Empire—an equally important topic—gets only a brief mention in the context of Augustine’s City of God.  An introduction to the text which introduced some overarching themes could have provided some rationale for these decisions and helped pull everything together.  \n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"No errors in accuracy or strong biases were noted","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The straightforward approach to the material means that it is unlikely to become obsolete in the near future.  It is also structured in such a way that updates would be relatively easy to make, if necessary.  However, the reluctance of the authors to make any contact with major historiographical debates and updates is a noticeable gap, and makes the text feel less relevant than it otherwise might. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing in this text is clear, if not exactly inviting or entertaining.  At no time did the authors employ historical jargon or terminology without context and a clear definition. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This text is remarkably consistent in structure given the breadth of subjects it covers and the number of authors involved.  As noted above, some cultures, states, and societies seem to receive more in-depth coverage than others, but that is all but unavoidable in a text of this scope and could be easily remedied in the classroom by a capable instructor.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The small subunits for each topic—each of which is helpfully listed in the table of contents-- should make it fairly easy for instructors to assign specific modules to suit their course structure.  An inability to easily navigate between these subunits or between the text and the table of contents might hinder this quite a bit, however.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"While the writing of this text is clear and to the point, the organization of topics and events could be quite difficult to follow at times.  For instance, in the chapter “Western Europe and Byzantium, 500-1000 CE”, the flow of the discussion of Byzantium is broken up by a somewhat distracting detour to the British Isles, which makes sense in terms of chronological coverage but tampers with the narrative quite a bit.  This would be easily remedied by assigning modules rather than chapters, but even between paragraphs the content can vary quite a bit without clear transitions between topics.  For instance when a two paragraph discussion of the Byzantine military reorganization abruptly halts and turns to a discussion of religious crises in the Empire, without any transition between the two.  \n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"No significant navigation problems were noted, other than the inability to easily return to the table of contents other than by scrolling, which could prove frustrating for students assigned to read modules rather than chapters.   ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Few grammatical errors were noted.  ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"No cultural insensitivity or offensive content was noted.  ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1760,"first_name":"J.M.","last_name":"Bates","position":"Assistant Professor ","institution_name":"Winona State University ","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This is reasonably comprehensive in covering ideas of the subject. However, as it stands, the book provides an uneven coverage of the materials associated with World History. Europe and the Middle East is given centrality in this book with extensive coverage of the Nations of Israel, the Roman Empire, the Byzantines and later Western Europe.  Almost half the text is related to these areas and they frequently show up in other sections.  As a result, the discussion of those areas is very comprehensive. However, the history of East Asia and the Americas is squished into a much smaller sections – While we learn about the goods traded in French markets, North America as a whole has five pages! The result is that those areas will require significant additional coverage from instructors. \n\nThe text does an excellent job in terms of balancing cultural, social and political history! I found that aspect particularly enjoyable.  The authors also put a considerably emphasis on exploring the experiences of both men and women.  Although, the message that women’s roles in society were restricted seems to repeated without clear terms of the differences between different societies. Moreover, when important individuals highlighted in the text are almost exclusively men. \n\nThe text also does a great job of introducing students to the skills associated with history. The authors repeated point out the texts that historians use to garner information about the past. They also point out when historians are still working with hypothesis or when there is considerable debate regarding a topic. \n\nThe book has a detailed table of content, but lacks an index or glossary. The lack of glossary might be particularly frustrating for students as some of the chapters are particularly long and include a laundry list of key terms that may be new to students. \n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"For the most part the text has no explicit bias and is relatively error free. (Although there are some pointed confusions in the conflation of the Mexica and the“Aztecs” I hope someone soon fixes this as there is no little information provided here, it seems it should not be too hard to include a more up to date understanding. \n\nYet, the uneven coverage does present something of a bias. In putting the large emphasis on European, Mediterranean and Israeli the book shows a bias in who is important in World History. Cutting those sections to give more attention to the Americas Africa and East Asia would be important in ridding the text and our students’ visions of who- or where - is important in our history and our contemporary world. \n","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"In those areas where the text provides extensive coverage, it is up to date. Necessary updates – as long as they stay within this geographic framework – will be easy to incorporate. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Overall, the writing is clear and engaging. There are two areas where this falls short. First, at times the text jumps around in terms of referencing later chapters in early chapters. – For example the prophet Muhammad is referenced in chapter three but not fully explained until chapters later.  This becomes particularly challenging since there is not a glossary or an index where students could quickly look this up. Also, the authors sometimes drop in “big names” that make sense to professional historians, but mean very little to our students. Faculty would know “Hobbes and Marx,” for example, but throwing them into the middle of a paragraph without explanation would frustrate and confuse students. \n\nThat said, I really appreciated the ways that the authors take the time to clarify and discuss the multiple meanings of particularly problematic or confusing terms ie discussion of the term “civilization.”  \n\nMoreover, by providing framing questions at the beginning of each chapter as well as a brief summary at the end of each chapter, the authors highlight the important take away for each chapter.  \n","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The positives and negatives in terms of consistency mirror those through the rest of the categories. On one hand, through most chapters, the authors do a wonderful job of creating parallel structures that discuss geography, political development, social developments, cultural practices, gender norms and those sources that provided a good deal of information about the materials. I really enjoyed this structure in the majority of chapters. Yet, in other areas where the authors give less attention – most notably The Americas, this consistency falls apart. There is no discussion of geography, and the section on how people arrived in the Americas seems particularly jumbled. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Text is divided into reasonable chapters with subheadings. It is not overly referential. Each chapter could be presented at different times during the course as they each stand alone without too much overlapping. \n\nWithin the chapters, however the modularity breaks down. In terms of revisions, I think breaking down the list of key terms, central questions and primary sources to match up with the subheadings – rather than the chapter introduction- would greatly improve the modularity of this text. By the time students have gotten through 60 pages of text, do they remember the “guiding questions” at the beginning? \n","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Within each chapter, I found the structure and flow excellent. My only recommendation for improvement in terms of structure mirrors my comments in terms of modularity. Breaking up key terms and guiding questions would help organization and structure. \n\nIn terms of the auxiliary materials included in each chapter, the flow might be improved by including primary sources before additional readings. It stands to reason that instructors would be using and assigning the primary sources for discussion far more frequently than they would talk through the additional materials.\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I found no problems with the interface.  My only concern is about the primary sources being links rather than in the text themselves. It seems that some students will use their textbooks while they are “off line.” It would be nice to have these embedded in the text itself. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is free from grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"Within each chapter, the text is not culturally insensitive. Yet, the structure of the book and attention given to different geographic regions can be culturally insensitive. In our increasingly global world, we cannot keep teaching “world history” as a “Europe and the rest” framework. I would have really liked to see a textbook that gives less attention to the history of Europe and Israel and provides far more attention to East Asia and the Americas. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"No","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1822,"first_name":"Martin","last_name":"Johnson","position":"Associate Professor of History","institution_name":"Miami University (Ohio)","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Overall, this text provides a brief but solid account that can be a useful foundation for a world history course. Its strengths and weaknesses are similar to any text in world history, in which choices as to structure, coverage, and emphasis are inevitable and inevitably debatable. The one area this text is most lacking in comparison to other texts is that it lacks a good deal of the supplementary materials for faculty, such as text banks, slides, and lecture notes. The pdf version of the text does provide very useful live links to bibliographies and copies of links to primary source, which does help. \n\nComparing this text to others suggests that it is a more basic, simplified approach that tends to focus on the largest and most enduring states and cultures. Given that World History is complex and can be confusing, this approach can be a significant advantage for providing students with a clear and easily followed structure. Moreover, the brevity of the text allows teachers to add materials, readings, primary sources, and activities without danger of over-burdening students. Of course, this approach also means that some regions, states, or cultures are either wholly neglected or only mentioned in passing, and probably every teacher will find at least a few such instances that they will want to rectify by adding material---but this is generally the case with any world history.\n\nPrevious reviews of this text have mentioned uneven coverage by both time and region. The table below listing chapters and page numbers supports this conclusion as regards a “western civilization” bias. Four of the twelve chapters cover Greece, Rome, and European history, accounting for about a third of the pages of the book. This is a serious imbalance, but instructors can of course compensate by adding readings, videos, and activities. \n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found no inaccuracies. ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text has a date of 2016; the great majority of the citations to readings are from the last 15 years, so I would rate this as highly up-to-date and relevant. The longevity is also high, given its classic approach to most issues and topics---highly individual approaches can be ephemeral. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clearly written and organized. For more, see point 1 above.\n\nchapter\t      Pages\tAuthor\t\n1 Prehistory\t20\tBerger\t\n2 Early Civs \t40\tMiller\t\n3 India\t        50\tIsrael\t\n4 East Asia\t60\tIsrael\t\n5 Greece  \t    45\tWilliams\t\n6 Rome\t            45\tWilliams\t\n7 Europe to 1500 30\tReeves\t\n8 Islam to 1400    40\tParkinson\t\n9 Africa\t            32\tMiller\t\n10 Americas\t    30\tBerger\t\n11 central Asia    28\tParkinson\t\n12 Europe to 1500\t50\tReeves\t\nTotal pages\t480 \t\t\n","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"One strength is the structural consistency and predictability across chapters. Each chapter includes in same order:\n---Chronology: Mostly 8 to 15 key dates relating to the topic of the chapter. The Central Asia chronology has only 5 terms, while the Europe to 1500 chronology is over 2 pages long. This is a sign of inadequate coordination and of the uneven coverage / treatment noted by several reviewers. \n---Introduction to the major developments in the chapter\n---Questions: Usually 4 to 12 questions that tend to focus on the particular approach of the text. For example, “how did the Inca use local resources to build their empire?” has a clear answer in the text. Other questions are more general, for example, “explain the main ideas of Confucianism,” which can be answered from this or any other good source. These questions could be used as reading checks or as the basis for discussions or class essays.\n---Key terms: lists of 20 to 40 names, terms, events, or places that are \n---6 to 12 sections presenting historical content, chronologically within chapters\n---Summary/conclusion\n---Links to further reading\n---Links to primary sources\n","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"With 12 chapters and numerous divisions within chapters, this text is highly modular. The uniformity of organization within chapters also is a plus in this regard, see \"consistency,\" above.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of chapters by major regions presents an image of world history as somewhat fragmented or disconnected. Within chapters there are sections dealing with trade and exchange, but overall there is little discussion of relationships among the major regional states and cultures, nor are cross-cultural patterns much in evidence. Similarly, we gain a strong sense of evolutions over time within cultures, but on a world / global scale these transformations are relatively unconnected. Instructors can fill the need for pointing out patterns and larger developments, of course, and might want to make that a focus of lectures and activities in order to balance the episodic vision of particular regional changes. \n\nInstructors will probably also want to provide a good deal of “big picture” guidance, because the text lacks a general introduction. Teachers may want to especially emphasize connections and bridges between chapters. The conclusion of one chapter and the introduction to the next generally display no continuities. Essentially, these chapters are distinct and stand alone. Nor is there an overall vision presented of themes, patterns, organizing principles, or connections across regions and time periods. While some texts provide orientation to using sources, reading critically, understanding maps, etc, there is none here. There is no printed index. While the PDF version is searchable, a good index can alert students to connections in a way that word searches cannot.\n","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Finally, it would be helpful for the authors or for instructors to divide the large pdf download into more manageable units or chapters. At present, the entire book, about 75 megs, needs to be downloaded, and this might be troublesome for the less digitally privileged. I plan to adopt this text for my courses and thank authors and organizers of this initiative for their service to students and education more generally.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No major issues noted.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"A somewhat \"western-centric\" approach (see point 1, above), but no obviously offensive content.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"\nIllustrations are helpful but tend to be more decorative than essential. They generally come from standard and accessible websites such as wikipedia. In the printed version, maps and illustrations sometimes do not reproduce clearly due to size / resolution, but the pdf versions are clear and bright.\n\nI plan to adopt this text for my World to 1500 course. \n","created_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00"},{"id":1923,"first_name":"Frederic ","last_name":"Krome","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"University of Cincinnati Clermont College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book does a nice job of covering the broad meta-themes of World History--for example the Agricultural Revolution, the Origins and spread of world religions such as Christianity and Islam. As with any textbook you can have quibbles about whether some topics, such as Oceania, should receive more coverage. I would personally like a bit more detail on the impact of climate change and environmental history on world civilizations.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I did not find much to quibble about in the text, and most comments would be rather minor. For example in the section on the rise of Islam, (pp. 299-304) the authors make a comment about Muhammad reciting the Quran to convert followers. Since some scholars argue the Quran was redacted a generation after Muhammad I would clarify such material with more detail. ","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The only area in which I was not sure of the text being based on the most recent research was in the sections on Judaism and Christianity. In the Christianity section they point to the pioneering world of Peter Brown on Late Antiquity and St. Augustine. A great deal of work has been done on early Christianity, by Paula Frederickson, From Jesus to the Christ, which does not appear to have been consulted. Martin Goodman's Work, Rome and Jerusalem would also round out the picture.\nHaving said that, however, the links to primary sources at the end of each chapter enable the instructor to adapt the material to changing interpretations. ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is well written and thankfully eschews the use of jargon. No complaints here.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The structure of the book--specifically the glossary and study questions at the beginning of each chapter--are one of the books strength and are well constructed. No chapter seems to have been given predominance over another.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"My university operates on a 14 week semester, and World History I covers material to circa 1500, so the structure of the text fits well with our Learning Outcomes. \nI personally like the use of sub-headings as it helps students think about issues, such as the transition from Roman Republic to early Empire, the Era of Good Emperors, and the Origins and Spread of Christianity.\nThe organization is especially useful in chapters, 2, 9, and 10, where in order  to cover such diverse geographic regions (and the various civilizations that developed) it is necessary to jump quickly from region to region. As with any subject it can sometimes appear as \"one damn thing after another,\" however, this is a minor criticism.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The only major issue I would point to is that the first 8 chapters focus on Eurasia to the cusp of the age of exploration. The reader.student is not introduced to developments in Africa or the Americas until chapter 9 and 10. While these subjects can be treated in isolation from the broader chronology of the rest of the world, living as they did in actual isolation for thousands of years, it could make the student's head spin as they are then introduced to a thousand years of African history in one chapter.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I had no difficulty in utilizing the text, or the links. My only suggestion is to make the links to primary sources open automatically into a separate tab to make ease of movement between the sources and the text easier. (My grandson had to point out to me I could open links in a separate tab.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No grammatical annoyances that I could find. Copy editing was well done.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"It is often difficult to deal with sensitive subjects, such as religion, without either offending people or watering the material down to blandness. The authors did a nice job of being balanced and sensitive to various belief systems.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"No","created_at":"2018-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2053,"first_name":"William","last_name":"Burns","position":"Adjunct","institution_name":"University of Mary Washington","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"As a world history textbook, this book is ludicrously Eurocentric and frankly unacceptable.  Chapter 2, 5, 6, 7 and 12 are devoted to Mediterranean/European civilization while China, India and the Islamic world get one chapter apiece.  (The western chapters are also longer on the average.)  The Persian Empire, Achmaenid, Parthian and Sassanian seems to have completely fallen into the cracks as the Achmaenid Empire appears only as an adversary for the Greeks, which means Zoroastrianism doesn't get attention either.  (Phoenecians not around much either.)  This is simply not in line with how world history is taught these days, although it may suit the \"West and the World\" model of western civilization teaching.\n\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I saw no major errors.  There are some exaggerations—\"all Greeks\" did not cooperate against the Persian empire.  (p. 172), but you correct that later.","relevance_rating":1,"relevance_review":"The work's pronounced Eurocentrism makes it instantly irrelevant, and it will only grow more so with the passage of time.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is well-written, not pitched as a level above that of college students.  I like the way that it acknowledges scholarly controversy and the weaknesses of evidence for some periods, such as early Israel.  (Unfortunately, this is not the case for the discussion of the origins of Islam, the subject of much recent scholarly controversy.)\n\n","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"Western civilization is covered in much more detail with much sharper periodization and a much greater emphasis on events than other civilizations.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book is modular, but this is not always an advantage.  A good world history textbook needs to make comparisons between cultures and discuss links between them.  Poor awareness of the importance of cultural encounters is a weakness of the text—the Greek encounter with Judaism in the Hellenistic period, absolutely central to the development of Christianity and the Western tradition, occupies only a short paragraph on the Maccabean wars.\n\n","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book flows nicely, with strong organization.  One problem that it deals with multiple civilizations encounter with Islam before introducing Islam itself.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"No problems.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Did not see any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The book's consistent philosophy that western developments are more important may be considered culturally offensive by some.  In terms of specifically offensive statements I didn’t see any, but as a middle-aged white guy I'm not the most qualified to judge.  (Kind of odd that on page 334 the text tells students not to use the terms \"bushmen\" and \"pygmies\" but doesn't tell them what terms to use instead.)  Sometimes the text goes over the top in correcting for the students (assumed) prejudices, as in the statement on page 370 that \"our task is to admire\" Pre-Columbian history.  It isn't—our task is to understand.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":" I would never consider this book for a world history course due to its extreme, old-fashioned Eurocentrism.  Liked the use of Wikimedia Commons, though.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2054,"first_name":"Suresh","last_name":"Sethuraman","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"University of Mary Washington","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book covers a very wide canvas in terms of time and space (World History upto 1500) , yet, it is fairly comprehensive and incorporates all the major regions, events and socio-cultural developments. The book does not have an Index or Glossary. But this is somewhat compensated by a List of Key Terms for every Chapter provided in the first few pages of each Chapter and a summary of the contents of each Chapter towards the end of the Chapter.  ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book provides an accurate account of World History. I did not find any factual error. Of course, for certain periods/aspects of World History, there are controversies regarding the dates of events and identification/location of places. In most instances, the authors have discussed such controversies in simple terms and in the process, provided the various theories/divergent opinions pertaining to a particular event/topic. For example, the controversies regarding the administration, system of writing and the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization are discussed in pages 72-73.   ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The year of publication of the book is not stated. The book incorporates the recent researches and developments in the subject. Even works published in 2013 and later have been cited. Each Chapter also lists the Website Links to the Primary sources pertaining to the contents of that Chapter. A book of this nature, dealing with World History--a subject taught in several Universities and colleges--will not easily become obsolete or outdated. The book is written/formatted in such a way that any new researches/studies/discoveries can be easily incorporated within any of the Chapters and in the Bibliographies provided for each Chapter. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Despite being a multi-author work dealing with different regions and cultural periods, the book ranks high in terms of clarity. The editors of the volume have ensured that all the chapters are of the same style of writing and also share the same format and sequence in which the various facts are presented. Non-English/technical terms, often unavoidable especially in the Chapters dealing with Asia, are kept to the minimum and whenever such a term is used, its meaning is clearly explained in the text. Major historical terms, personal names, dynastic names and place names have been presented in bold font that further enhances the easy readability and the clarity of the text.  ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"As indicated earlier, despite being a fairly large multi-author work, the book is remarkable for the uniformity in style and presentation format followed in all the chapters. Each chapter leads to the other and there is consistency in terms of terminology and overall presentation.  ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is divided into several sections, the number of such sections range from 9 to 31 per chapter. Most of the sections are further divided into smaller sub-sections with side-headings. Each section/sub-section reads like a self-contained independent unit and thus can, without any major modifications, be assigned for student exercises/other classroom requirements and can also, if need be, mixed/realigned with other sub-sections for classroom requirements. The entire book has been carefully structured for classroom purposes. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Despite the challenge of having to present World History from the prehistoric times down to the 15th century within the confines of a classroom textbook, the authors have succeeded in presenting the text in a logical, clear and classroom-friendly fashion. The first chapter is, not surprisingly, devoted to Prehistory in various parts of the world. Each of the subsequent chapters deal with a particular region during a specific historical time-period. Due to the complex nature of the subject and the profusion of source materials for certain regions/historical periods, certain regions and historical time-periods have been given greater coverage than others. This is unavoidable in a history textbook of this nature. ","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"As indicated earlier, the book is well-structured and well-organized and hence, not difficult to read, comprehend, consult and use in the classroom. Many pictures/maps have been sourced from the Internet or directly from the authors/other publications, with due permission. None of the images/maps are blurred or unintelligible.  ","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I have not traced a single grammatical/other types of language-related errors in the book. It is well-edited and well-presented.  ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Due to the very nature of the subject-matter (World History), the book deals with multiple cultures, races and ethnic groups. But no part of the book displays cultural insensitivity or contains any offensive/objectionable references about/against any group.  ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Being a book on World History from the Prehistoric times down to around the 15th century, this book will be of immense use for the students and teachers in the disciplines of History, World History, Ancient/Pre-Modern/Pre-Colonial History and Medieval History. Simultaneously, the book will also be useful and helpful to students and faculty in other interrelated disciplines including Archaeology, Prehistory, Art History, Classics, African Studies, Chinese Studies and Asian/South Asian Studies. The book presents a fairly comprehensive, cogent and integrated account of World History, methodically and neatly sub-dividing the subject region-wise and period-wise. \nThe book consists of 12 chapters. The first Chapter deals with Prehistory, clearly outlining the theories regarding the origin of the earliest human habitations in different parts of the world. In course of time, human beings began to live in larger, permanent settlements (community living or settled life) and began to rely on agriculture instead of hunting for their food requirements. \nThe next Chapter focusses on the Early Middle Eastern and North East African Civilizations. These include the historically famous Mesopotamian and Egyptian Civilizations that flourished on the banks of major rivers. Urbanization, social stratification, labor specialization, trade and a well-developed system of writing (language and script) are among the salient features of these civilizations.   \nChapter-3 focusses on Ancient and Early Medieval South Asia/India. The Chapter commences with a detailed overview of the Harappan or Indus-Valley Civilization that was almost cotemporary to the Mesopotamian and Egyptian Civilizations. The later part of this Chapter deals with the major dynasties of ancient South Asia. These include the Mauryans, the Kushans and the Guptas. Chapter-4 deals with China and East Asia (including Korea and Japan) from the Neolithic times down to the period of the Ming Dynasty that flourished from around 1368 to 1644 C.E.  \nChapter-5 traces the history of the Greek World from the Bronze Age to the time of the conquest of Greece by the Romans in the first century B.C.E. The next Chapter (Chapter-6) presents the history of the Roman Civilization from 753 B.C.E to 500 C.E. while Chapter-7 narrates the history of Western Europe and Byzantium (500 -1000 C.E.). These three chapters (5, 6, 7) will be most useful to students and teachers of Classical Studies.    \nChapter-8 narrates the rise of the religion of Islam and the history of the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The next Chapter traces the complex history of many regions of Africa during the ancient and medieval periods. Chapter-10 deals with the history of North and South America from the earliest times to around the 14th century. Chapter-11 focusses on the history of Central Asia upto the medieval times. The final Chapter, which is also the longest, deals with Western Europe and Byzantium (1000-1500 C.E.) \nEach of the chapters do not merely confine themselves to political/dynastic and administrative histories but include trade and economy, socio-cultural conditions, religion and philosophy, architecture, visual and performing arts, literature and learning. But the space devoted to the non-political and non-administrative aspects vary from chapter to chapter. \nEach chapter commences with the Dates or Chronology of the major political/dynastic periods, rulers and events described in the chapter. This is followed by a brief Introduction to the contents of the chapter, a set of questions to guide further reading and a list of key terms used in the chapter. Each chapter concludes with a good Summary or Concluding Section followed by a Bibliography including web-links to primary sources. All the chapters are supported by excellent color photographs and maps.\nThe book is an ideal textbook as well as a reference tool. \n","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2513,"first_name":"Justin","last_name":"Vance","position":"Adjunct Faculty","institution_name":"Boise State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"Leaves out Southeast Asia which is unusual for a World History textbook.  Also leaves out Oceania/Pacific Islands which unfortunately is common of World History texts.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found no errors even in the areas that I know the content well from my own research.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Good.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is extremely well written.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book author's seem to have worked together as one.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The chapters could be used independently to supplement other material.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The books organization works fine which is always a challenge when writing a World History text.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Only available as PDF which is the best way if can only be available one way in my opinion.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is very well edited I noticed no errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The authors seem to have done well in this area.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"This book is extremely well written for an OER and seems based on the latest scholarship.  The maps, images, and charts included are VERY effective. The organization is fine and unlike some of the other reviews I did not find the problem with the book to be Eurocentric.  The chapters on India and China are robust.  However, it is more of a survey of “major Civilizations” vs. a true World History.  That may be okay since it is impossible to cover every society in World History but notably missing is Southeast Asia which made major contributions to World History (Angkor Wat for one) and is one of the most populated areas on earth.  Also missing is Oceania/Pacific Islands which unfortunately is left out of most World History texts.  I may adopt this book but I will have to supplement these two areas with other readings which may be okay since there are only 12 chapters and I usually have time to cover 14 chapters in a semester.  As far as I can tell there are no test banks or instructor resources either so that will be another consideration to adoption but the authors of this text should be commended for producing such a strong work.","created_at":"2019-01-11T09:50:35.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-01-11T09:50:35.000-06:00"},{"id":3149,"first_name":"Rick","last_name":"Warner","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Wabash College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book approaches the subject of world history along the \"regional tour\" model, which is quite old fashioned for our day. Recent texts are more thematic and comparative in nature. The strong suit is that the more frequently mentioned topics in the first part of the world survey are covered well in terms of content (early humans, world religions, agriculture, etc.). Using this book in place of no book at all would be appropriate, but it would be a true shame not to expose students to better textbooks by Bentley, Strayer, Smith, Tignor, and others. I don't want to be snooty but I have evaluated many textbooks on the market due to my role in the World History Association and other organizations. This is better than nothing but not nearly as good as alternatives that can be purchased.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Despite missing information on places such as SE Asia and Oceania, the basic information is generally correct.","relevance_rating":2,"relevance_review":"The book is not up to date in terms of current world history scholarship, as noted above.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"It is relatively easy to read, though perhaps not as much as the Strayer text.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Seems straight forward, if not overly imaginative.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The book would teach well but the instructor should supplement with missing content areas and theoretical/historiographical questions.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As noted the book follows a \"regional tour\" model that has generally been discarded in world historiography, but from within that framework it is logical. In other words, it would be appropriate maybe 20 years ago.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Graphics are basic but accurate and clear.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No issues here.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I would not say that it is insensitive, though there is a slight tendency toward western civilization in many places.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"If students cannot afford a textbook, a good teacher can make this work. If moving to this platform means leaving behind good scholarship, I find that very depressing. I apologize if I appear offensive in my remarks, but I have been very involved in world history for over 20 years, both in teaching and at a national level. I felt like I should speak my mind.","created_at":"2019-08-14T08:41:21.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-08-14T08:41:21.000-05:00"},{"id":3789,"first_name":"Corinne","last_name":"Kannenberg","position":"Affiliate Faculty","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University of Denver","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I would have liked to see more in-depth discussion of East Asia, Africa, and the Americas.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"It seems to be accurate and error-free.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"It seems relevant and/or easy to update.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"My students complain about this text often. It is written in a very dry prose that my college students don't find engaging or easy to read.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"I often assign multiple sections from various chapters and this is made easier by the multiple headings and subheadings within each chapter.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Sometimes I am confused by the organizations of some of the chapters, which seem to be organized by both geography and chronology (for example, the chapters on Europe and Byzantium jump between the two in a way that is not intuitive).","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The PDF format makes the interface quite easy to navigate.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There are no grammatical errors that I've noticed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Aside from being more Eurocentric than I expected, I do not find it otherwise insensitive or offensive.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I use this text in a course on the global Middle Ages since no such stand-alone textbook exists (yet). I love being able to offer my students an OER that is free for them to use. While this textbook is functional, it is not perfect, and I find that it works best as a supplementary text when used along side multiple primary source readings, scholarly articles, etc. Simply put, I find that its coverage of world cultures, particularly those of East Asia, Africa, and the Americas are surprisingly lacking, and these are the areas that I hoped to find covered more extensively. Overall, I find that it is certainly worth using this text so that my students can save money on books, but I wish that it had more extensive coverage of ancient and medieval WORLD civilizations and cultures to the extent that would be expected in an introductory-level college history course.","created_at":"2020-05-01T15:56:27.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-01T15:56:27.000-05:00"},{"id":4025,"first_name":"Chris","last_name":"Brooks","position":"Instructor in History","institution_name":"Portland Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"Most of the chapters are dense with information and do not skip over important events, individuals, or phenomena.  There are some peculiar lacunae, however.  For example, there are a few offhand references to the Bronze Age, but no detailed discussion of it or the Iron Age.  The Persian Empire is treated like a historical afterthought, which is a real problem since Persia represents one of the most venerable and influential cultures in world history.  As other reviewers have noted, the book is strangely Eurocentric in the sense that it simply devotes more attention to European history than it does to the histories of other regions, which is an imbalance that would be obvious to savvy students.\r\n\r\nOne noteworthy omission is the lack of a general introduction at the start of the book.  Given how detailed and robust the book is in general, that absence is puzzling.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There are places in which phrasing implies something that isn’t quite true - for instance, Mesopotamian empires did not directly transition from the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great to the Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi centuries later (to name a single intervening empire, there was the “Ur III” dynasty).  Likewise, “Pharaoh” was the term for the king of Egypt only during the New Kingdom.  That noted, I did not detect any significant errors, with the exception of a single typo: Edward Gibbon was an historian alive during the Eighteenth Century CE, not the Nineteenth (page 224).\r\n\r\nOne issue that might ruffle some feathers for students but still deserves attention is that there is, in fact, no textual or architectural corroboration from Egyptian sources of the Hebrew Exodus.  The book discusses some of the problems of using the Hebrew Bible as a historical source, but it still describes the Exodus as if it definitely happened, which simply cannot be confirmed.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The topics are relevant and well-chosen.  The authors deserve full credit for including robust discussions of all of the major subfields of history (i.e. intellectual, political, gender, etc.) in most chapters.  If anything, an issue for students might be that the book is too dense in many places.  The long digression on the problem of source analysis in the context of the ancient Greeks, for example, might lull 100-level history students to sleep.  Likewise, there are occasional references to terms, people, and concepts that many students simply do not know about: e.g., “She and hundreds of other scholars from Hobbes to Marx” (page 12).  I would anticipate many history instructors opting to copy and paste sections of the book to keep it more manageable for students rather than assigning the whole thing, which of course is precisely a benefit of using an OER.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"One issue with the book’s clarity is its density, as noted above.  Another is simply a byproduct of the choice to focus on a given geographical region in each chapter: sometimes the narrative must refer to a culture, state, religion, etc., from outside of a given chapter’s region without being able to explain it adequately.  That is especially noticeable in those chapters that cover a vast time frame in a single chapter (e.g. India, East Asia, the Americas, Africa).  For instance, the chapter on India refers to Islam but does not explain its context, simply because the chapter on Islam is later in the book.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The authorial approach is consistent throughout, with each chapter including a background discussion, issues with sources, geography, a chronological narrative, and then a summary to wrap up.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is very well-structured, with clear headings, subheadings, and sections.  It would be very easy to adapt to an online class, and it would be equally easy to select specific sections to assign to students.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As noted under clarity, above, several of the chapters cover a given world region’s entire history to 1500 CE.  The intersections between chapters can suffer as a result, since it is impossible to explain a reference to an “outside” influence adequately while remaining focused on a given chapter’s primary subject.  That is rarely a major issue, however, although it might throw some students off a bit.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The only possible issue with the interface is that the book is only available as a single PDF.  There are no captions for the images as a result, which is an accessibility issue.  It would also be fairly labor-intensive to copy sections of the book into a different document, although that might be easier using a full-featured PDF editor.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not detect a single grammatical error, and the prose is clear and readable throughout.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Given that the world history paradigm was largely inspired by a desire to break from Eurocentric narratives, the strangest aspect of the book is the fact that it is “Europe heavy” in its coverage.  Persia is an afterthought, but Greece gets an entire chapter, for instance.  In fact, four out of the twelve chapters are on European subjects, while even China only gets a single chapter!  As a reader, it is a bit odd to encounter so much on the nuances of life and politics in a few Greek poleis while both American continents get only a single chapter overview.\r\n\r\nOne specific issue unrelated to the book’s coverage of Europe: the term “Aryan” begs for further discussion in the chapter on India.  Aryan was indeed the self-designation used by the Indo-Iranian peoples who migrated into India and Persia during the Bronze Age.  Because of the grotesque abuse of the term by racist pseudo-scholars starting in the nineteenth century, however, many (most?) contemporary Americans connote the word with white supremacists, not least because “Aryan” identity was so central to the Nazis during the Third Reich.  The book really should explain that “Aryan” was never a racial identity; at most it could be considered a linguistic-ethnic designation for peoples who migrated to India and Persia at a certain point in ancient history.\r\n\r\nThose issues aside, it should be clear that the authors do go out of their way to dismantle problematic assumptions and ideas related to the history covered in the book.  For example, while it’s on the lengthy side, the introduction to African history does a great job of explaining to American readers some of the key issues and false assumptions that have distorted the Western understanding of African history and identity for far too long.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This is an excellent book.  It is based on recent scholarship, it is well written, it manages to cover a vast range of subjects with relative clarity, and it would be extremely useful in any lower-division world history survey.  From my perspective it would be best used as a source of material to be copied and pasted into separate documents for students, which in turn would render some of the minor issues noted above (e.g. the book’s density, the under-explained outside references) irrelevant.\r\n\r\nIt should also be noted that the book includes both helpful bibliographies of secondary sources and lists of primary sources at the end of each chapter.\r\n\r\nOverall, the book is easily the equal of many commercial world history textbooks, and the authors deserve a great deal of credit for their effort.","created_at":"2020-06-21T14:11:03.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-21T14:11:03.000-05:00"},{"id":4365,"first_name":"Jennifer","last_name":"Welsh","position":"Term Assistant Professor of History","institution_name":"University of Alaska, Southeast","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text balances a mix of broadening coverage to include geographical areas which are frequently ignored or discussed only briefly in World History texts (the Byzantine Empire and Central Asia, for example) with a problematic tendency to stuff all of the history of non-Western areas into a single chapter. There is only one chapter for the entire history of Africa until around 1500, for example, and all of Chinese history up until the Ming Dynasty is likewise crammed into a single chapter. Given that Greece and Rome each get their own chapters and Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire gets one chapter on history from 500 until roughly 1000 and another covering history from 1000 until 1500, this means that Western history is getting much more space than the rest of the world. While this means that Eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire are given much stronger coverage than found in many World History textbooks, it also means that non-Western areas are shortchanged. The first chapter, covering human origins and prehistory, is only half as long as the others, and is thus providing only a very brief summary of a very long period of time. \r\nEach chapter includes a list of key terms, but there is no overall index or glossary. The lack of an index is somewhat mitigated by the use of subheadings and divisions within the chapter, and the list of key terms. That does not mean that it wouldn’t be better to have a full index that students could use to look up concepts or names that they can’t place geographically or chronologically.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content of this textbook is generally error-free and unbiased. There are areas where students could engage in discussion about differing points of view, or instructors could supplement the content of the book with additional information to fill in gaps or provide different theories. The authors also acknowledge potential areas of difficulty. For example, when discussing the history of the ancient Israelites and the kingdom of Israel, the problems with relying on Scripture as a source are clearly explained, and the inclusion of archaeological and other sources when possible is highlighted.\r\nIn spite of the generally high level of accuracy, there are some areas that could be improved. The chapter on India begins with a strong discussion of the cultural and religious variety that has defined the subcontinent, and notes that the historical boundaries of “India” are much wider than the present-day nation of India. However, at the end of the chapter, when giving demographic information about religion in modern India, the authors say that India is approximately 80% Hindu and 15% Muslim, and do not mention the existence of Pakistan and Bangladesh (p 106).  Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, is contextualized via a reference to her fame largely revolving around her love affairs with Caesar and Marcus Antonius- while it is true that that’s how she is remembered, framing her that way is dismissive and a missed opportunity on the part of the authors to talk about gender, power, and history (p 211).","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This textbook was clearly written using recent research and relevant concerns. For example, the chapter on Africa provides valuable, thought-provoking material about the history of colonialism and the ways in which the legacies of slavery and Imperialism have shaped our perceptions of the continent and its diverse cultures. The fact that Central Asia (including the Mongol Empire) gets its own chapter is another good sign of relevance and inclusion.\r\n\r\nThe structure of the book means that making changes and additions will be fairly easy, either by splitting and expanding existing chapters, adding or replacing individual sections, or making edits within a section.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The level of the prose in this textbook is appropriate for a college survey class. The inclusion of a key word section at the start of each chapter is also helpful, as it gives students information about what they should be paying particular attention to. Terms are also briefly explained within the text as needed.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook demonstrates a solidly consistent structure from chapter to chapter, including starting each chapter with a chronology, providing a list of key terms, drawing the reader in with an anecdote or primary source to start the chapter, a list of questions to guide the reading, and a concluding section with bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, both printed and online. Within the chapters, there is a good mix of maps and images, drawn almost entirely from Wikimedia Commons. That does lead to variations in the map style and some inconsistencies about attribution (is the “author” the creator of the work or the person who took the picture that was on Wikimedia Commons?)","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The structure of this textbook is easily dividable, with each chapter containing subheadings and sections that could easily be assigned piecemeal.  It would be easy to shift the order of the non-Western chapters around (although that also indicates that there is too much of a focus on Western civilizations)- for example, discussing Central Asia and China in closer proximity than their respective chapters are. It would also, in theory, be possible to assign one section of one chapter and then follow it with a section from another chapter- for example, if the instructor wanted to interrupt the discussion of India with a discussion of Islam before returning to talk about Islam’s impact on Indian civilization.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of this textbook is generally good; the chapters on Western Europe and Byzantium progress in chronological order (following a chapter on Greece and a chapter on Rome), while the chapters covering larger geographical areas have good internal organization. When there is a reference to another content area, the specific reference is provided. \r\n\r\nThe chapters themselves generally follow the same thematic structure, which is helpful.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Navigating this textbook was quite straightforward, and the text itself was very readable. There were some maps (taken from Wikipedia) that suffered from small font size from the original source, usually an older geography book. The attribution of the images and maps could use some editing; pulling material from Wikimedia Commons means that the source attributions given can vary widely, and the difference between something that is treated as a personal name and something that is defined as “user” can be awkward- just because “Locutus Borg” looks like a personal name does not mean it is (p 345).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is well-edited and contains almost no grammatical or typesetting errors. Any minor errors do not detract from the readability of the text.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The authors of this text are clearly working hard to be inclusive and present a wide range of examples. However, because the chapters themselves are skewed towards European history, there are fewer non-European examples presented in the text. There are also some chapters that start out with anecdotes drawn from European sources even though the chapter is focused on other parts of the world.  Why does the chapter about Africa need to start with the boasts of a Portuguese raider? Why is Cortes the best choice to start the chapter on the Americas?","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, this is a very solid textbook for a World History survey course, with plenty of material for discussion and analysis. The length of the textbook (12 chapters) means that instructors could supplement this textbook with additional materials, possibly dividing one of the chapters that covers an immense chronological scope and adding readings to deepen coverage.","created_at":"2020-11-02T18:07:20.000-06:00","updated_at":"2020-12-16T15:51:46.000-06:00"},{"id":4400,"first_name":"Jeannie","last_name":"Harding","position":"Adjunct Professor","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"This text covers most of the major civilizations that are emphasized in an ancient world history course, but it omits smaller civilizations like those in ancient Japan, Southeast Asia, and Polynesia. I also felt that it drastically shortchanged Africa and the Americas, both of which received fairly cursory treatment. For example, in the chapter on the Americas--and there is only one chapter devoted to that region--the Aztec only get two pages, and a good portion of that consists of images.\r\n\r\nThere is no index, only a very simple \"find\" tool to locate a specific term, and there is no glossary.\r\n\r\nIn general, I found the text to be broad but not very deep and similar to the coverage found in a standard “brief edition” textbook published by many companies.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"I did not detect any glaring inaccuracies. The individual sections appear to be edited well.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"I think it’s time for this source to be updated to reflect the shift away from Eurocentrism. Europe receives a deeper treatment than most other continents here, and that can and should be rectified quickly. Otherwise, this is a great starting place for instructors, and they can supplement content as needed.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"I found this to be a fairly dense, dry read. Each chapter has an exhaustive list of key terms, too numerous to be of any real help in guiding students’ reading. When I used this text during the sudden move online in Spring 2020, I provided a short background for my students before they tackled each section, and I gave them my own list of key terms to help them focus their reading. I feel some chapters delve too far into minutia and side plots that distract from the most important concepts. My survey course students require some guidance in navigating the reading and discerning which information is important.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The overall framework of the text is consistent, with chronology, guided reading questions, and key terms attached to each chapter. Each chapter begins with a discussion of geography and a map; this is a format I use in lectures, and I like that the source mirrors that. I found that the depth of coverage on topics is somewhat inconsistent throughout the text, with some societies receiving more attention than others.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity of the text was one of its strongest points. The text is structured in the same way I organize my class, largely chronological. I liked that the Table of Contents could be turned on to show continually in the margin so that the reader can move easily between chapters. The sections within each chapter are clearly labeled, and the only issue I see is that the search function operates like the “Find” tool in a Word document, which is cumbersome.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organizational structure makes sense. Each chapter is devoted to a region of the world chronologically, but it lacks continuity between chapters. As a textbook, each chapter functions independently.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Each chapter provides a nice list of primary sources with links, but if students download the Adobe version (which I recommend), the links sometimes do not work. I found several bad links, including a good number to the sources from Fordham, which I apparently do not have permission to view. This and the rudimentary search function detailed above are major drawbacks.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no obvious grammatical errors that I noticed.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"As noted above, Europe receives more attention and more detailed coverage than other areas, so most instructors in a “World History” course may want to supplement what is provided here. As an example, China gets only one chapter to discuss its history from the Shang to the Ming! I would like to see the non-European sections expanded.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"For instructors who typically utilize \"brief editions\" of textbooks or who have time to modify or add to this text, I think this could be a good choice. If you prefer a text that provides more detail for your students and is easier to read--perhaps something you can assign without having to supplement very much--I suggest you look elsewhere. In the spring semester of 2020 when I had to find an OER for my class that suddenly moved online, this worked, but I switched back to my favorite standard textbook for the next semester.","created_at":"2020-11-21T10:06:02.000-06:00","updated_at":"2020-11-21T10:06:02.000-06:00"},{"id":4529,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Hammerman","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Central Oregon Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"I think it is definitely comprehensive in terms of narrative.\r\nA few problems; too much detail; not enough focus (beyond geography). Other World History books have sections to take us through different segments of the population\r\nI like the citing of primary sources, but they should be accessible apart from the text. \r\nKey terms lists are great for each chapter, but it seems confusing or overwhelming for a student to read on their own.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Good citing; good maps; good representations of the known past. nice balance on regions of the world and genders.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"World history is hard to make irrelevant. The areas of Mesoamerican and African strengthen this book and the inclusion of women's lives is solid.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"It is clear and the vocabulary lists are great. But students need themes and breakdowns. Not just a comprehensive outline of every single thing that happened. Great bibliography. The linking system to primary sources is good for instructors but not students.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Each chapter is around 40 pages give or take. the vocabulary lists (key terms) for each chapter are lengthy as well. There are links to primary sources at the end of each chapter. The only curious thing is merging Byzantium with Western Europe. I would place them seperately.","modularity_rating":2,"modularity_review":"This is the weakness of the book. The pages are dense and the information is not easily divvied up. Should be columns.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"This is divided geographically instead of thematically and chronologically. I think this is an okay way to do it, although my personal preference is to divide a book by theme, then you get a sense of the awesomeness of a particular period, such as the \"Axial Age\" which includes Confucius, Socrates, Jeremiah, Buddha, and others were all thinking of new ideas and solutions around the world at the same time.  I also don't like the huge, 500-year chapters.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"i like the linkable TOC -- keep an eye on the primary sources links to make sure they are up to date.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I couldn't see any.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"It may have some more \"traditional\" history perspectives, but to be fair it's hard to do ancient and medieval history super sensitively. To say Columbus \"discovered\" the New World is a bit insensitive-- i prefer encountered. Things like that...","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-01-06T18:18:23.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-01-06T18:18:23.000-06:00"},{"id":4672,"first_name":"Kelli","last_name":"Nakamura","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Kapiolani Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook is well organized along chronological as well as geographic lines. I appreciate its efforts to comprehensively address issues such as geography, economics, culture, and politics. I like the fact that the chapters begin with a chronology, key terms, and questions to consider which might help direct a student's reading. I also commend the author for including \"works consulted and further reading\" at the end as well as links to primary sources. One area that I saw that was missing was the Pacific as Austronesians (Lapita people) were notable for engaging in the most extensive overseas migration. Additionally, some discussion of South East Asia (e.g. Vietnam) might be helpful to readers (beyond simply being tributaries of China).","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I appreciate the fact that this book provides wide coverage of World History and addresses multiple societies. Too often \"world history\" textbooks are just focused on European history.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The best part about history (especially in a discussion about ancient history) is that changes in historical interpretations don't often occur. For a textbook about World History, this information will not be irrelevant in the near future.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I appreciate the fact that the terminology in the book is relatively straightforward and key terms are clearly explained (e.g. Polytheistic: belief in many gods). College students should not find this book difficult to read.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"A consistent framework organizes the book's chapters: Chronology, Introduction; Questions to Guide Your Reading; Key Terms; Works Consulted and Further Reading; and Links to Primary Sources.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is easily readable and the sections are clearly organized. I wish the bolded terms were potentially highlighted in a different color just to set it off from the body of the text.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book is well organized chronologically and geographically. I wish there was more cross-cultural analysis/comparison as this just reads like a standard history textbook (lots of dates/facts/people). It might be relevant to include the current relevance of this information for students today.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"I did have some issues when I clicked on links in the primary sources section or the \"works consulted and further reading\" section as either the links were broken or I had to adjust my settings. Many of these settings linked to other textual-based sources and I was hoping for a more dynamic interface. Also, I wish that there were instructions on how to cite or quote from these selections as that would be an issue for my students.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is well written with no grammatical issues.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I appreciate the book's wide coverage of peoples and cultures and its impartial historical contextualization/explanation of potentially sensitive topics like religion. I wish there was more coverage on the experiences of women, even to highlight their exceptionalism (like Empress Wu/Wu Zhao) in the text itself. Additionally, it would be useful to analyze cross-cultural interactions such as Zheng He and Marco Polo (expand the latter beside a link to primary sources).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"At 487 pages, this book may be challenging/intimidating for students to read. I currently assign a \"brief\" version of the textbook to encourage students to read (it is about half of this) and having them read is still a challenge. An explanation of how to use/understand primary sources might help both readers, as well as professors as simply linking to Marco Polo in primary sources, does not explain his connection to the content under discussion. Also, I was hoping for questions to guide an understanding of the primary source besides just listing it for the reader.","created_at":"2021-03-03T18:26:15.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-03-03T18:26:15.000-06:00"},{"id":4677,"first_name":"Deanna","last_name":"Brandenberger","position":"Instructor of History \u0026 Anthropology","institution_name":"Aiken Technical College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is an incredible feat of collaborative materials designed to blanket the dearth of information that encompasses the totality of World History. In truth, I am not sure that a perfect product for this mission is ever entirely possible. With such a large compendium, it inevitably falls short in certain areas, giving time and space to discussions regarding traditionally focused cultures (as some other reviewers have commented: Eurocentric), and arguably less to less familiar civilizations such as East Asia and The Americas.  The text does provide keyword indices at the beginning of the chapters, but the bolded key terms are not always situated within the text that makes them readily accessible to those who will be searching for clear definitions and a reliable format of studying. There is also no glossary at the end of the textbook to provide succinct definitions or page numbers for reference which are crucial to cross-referencing study tactics.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"While many of us are considered subject matter experts in the overall information that is \"World History,\" we are more specifically suited to our field niches. For me, this would be the Americas chapter. Unfortunately, I found some of the information too brief, confusing, and not exactly comprehensive. Futhermore, what concerned me is the sources that were referenced. How can you examine the Nahuas (Aztecs) without looking at Charles Gibson, the Maya without looking at James Lockhart, or the Inka without looking at Gary Urton? They have produced the leading historiographical monographs of these civilizations and yet they are not mentioned. Certain tidbits of information seem to be jammed together, such as the progress of the Olmec, Toltec, Zapotec, and Mixtec, Huastec, etc.","relevance_rating":2,"relevance_review":"While I think it is admirable that the author tried to include civilizations that are not always included within the scope of Western Civilization courses, I think these chapters are not as comprehensive or given the same attention as the traditional European civilizations. It is important that the author took this step, but it will certainly need updating and a collaborative effort might be the best way to do this.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"One of the most important things with scholastic resources, is that they have to meet the reader where they are at. Students taking this class may see this resource as offputting due to the lofty diction that is utilized at times. This author can write very well, but it seems that the audience being written for is not necessarily suited to an introductory class. It felt a bit like reading a dissertation in places with extraneous information and verbiage. As I have previously noted, a textbook should have clear outlines of information and bolding key terms and providing succinct definitions can help the student to focus on specific sections, rather than having to go back and forth through the expansive- even though elegant- prose.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"First, let me say again that I appreciate that the author acknowledged a need for more diversity in the literature available and I appreciate the the attempt to become more inclusive of the subaltern. However, like other reviewers, one of the biggest issues is the inconsistency of length of chapters and breadth dedicated to specific civilizations and cultures. While the author incorporates the Indus and Chinese civilizations into the timeline of traditional Western Civilization, the chapters on The Americas is woefully cut short and anachronistic in the chronology of chapter dedication. For example, when the Olmec and Toltec civilizations were constructing massive architecture such as Teotihuacan, you had the philosophers of Greece coming into prominence. Yet, the Americas jams two continents and countless civilizations together in a short chapter at the end of the book, presumably to align with the Conquest of the New World beginning in 1492. This in itself is quite problematic and should be addressed.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"As I previously mentioned, the prose is quite profuse at times and reads much like an extensive essay. This could be problematic when trying to break up the chapters into reasonable subject focused readings.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The organization for the most part is good, taking the traditional chronological approach. My objection to this are the chapters on Africa and the Americas primarily, which do not fall into the same formula. Rather, they seem to have been added on principle of inclusion rather than being properly incorporated into the other chapters. Speaking plainly: the author at times alternates between a chronological and geographical model which can prove inconsistent in places.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I love the use of photographs of sites, artifacts, diagrams, maps, etc. and that they are in color and ready for public use. These help illustrate and enhance the information we are asking students to memorize and the visual cue gives elaboration to the information and concepts being described. The author has picked out some very beautiful images. My only complaint here is that some of the digital links are corrupted. For example, the very first link of the book is redirected to an Error 504 page. I am not sure if there is a way to permanently connect these, but if they are going to be listed, then they will need to ensure they are reliable; otherwise, this resource will need to be continually monitored and updated.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"There were some minor grammatical errors that I noticed. For example, in Chapter 10 (the Americas), the author calls the Tlaxcalans incorrectly \"Tlazcalan.\" This could have been a simple mispelling. While not necessarily an error, in Chapter 2 (Egypt): the author uses the description of Afterworld rather than Underworld to describe a deity. This seems like a portmanteau concept of Afterlife and Underworld. It is not common and might be confusing to the students. I believe a more clear description of the Underworld transcending into the Afterlife (according to the Book of the Dead/ Papyrus of Ani) would be appropriate there.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"If anything, I think that it is very clear this author was dedicated to diversity and inclusivity. While all chapters may not have been equal in these measures, the attempt is there and it is clear that this is a mammoth task! One of the most important things is that these items be revisited and elaborated upon in future editions. Particularly, as we navigate the historiography of subaltern cultures, some information will change, new information will be added, and outdated paradigms need to be discarded.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":"I would have liked to see a little more cohesive discussion and imagery with the evolution of bipedal hominids. Photographs and flowcharts would be especially helpful here. I would also recommend looking at the oldest mummy Otzi, to discuss the transition from foraging to agricultural models.","created_at":"2021-03-05T22:46:48.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-03-05T22:46:48.000-06:00"},{"id":33354,"first_name":"Charles","last_name":"Young","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Umpqua Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook has a straightforward chronological direction that provides good foundation for what comes next historically across the world stage. It is reasonably comprehensive in covering world cultures, states, and societies beyond the not uncommon over emphasis on western civilizations. The depth given to Chinese history as well as the Americas and Africa to 1500 is particularly good. For such a broad coverage of world history there are understandably some areas given short shrift, such as factors in the rapid spread of Islam and in the rise of the Mongols and the significance of their extensive empire to increased world trade and communications, but comprehensiveness is, as I said before, pretty good.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Accuracy is error free and unbiased. In a few areas more depth would have strengthened understanding, such as in the rise of the Persian Empire. That is, in my opinion, an example where brevity lost an element of clarity. These too abbreviated examples are few however.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Textbook will need further revision given the ever increasing realization in recent years of the extent of Eurocentric bias that still infuses so much of our educational system's perspective, but this text is better than most at avoiding that. More focus on lack  of rights for women and the challenges they have face, and still face, is a specific area for further revision.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text narrative is very lucid and accessible in prose. There is excellent context and explanation for jargon and technical terminology used.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent in terminology and framework. There is an excellent balancing of text with images, maps, charts, and statistics.  Key terms chapter by chapter are very helpful to understanding as are the inserted in depth focuses.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is outstanding in being readily divisible into smaller reading sections. There are not long blocks of reading material. Instead, there are effective use of subheadings and interspersing of appropriate maps and other visual imagery. An example of excellent, manageable text focus are the pages 80-85 on the rise of the Upanishadic Worldview and its leading to Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Text topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion. I would have be more clear as to the Ming Dynasty merging more into the early modern period but, again, attempting to cover all of world history to 1500 is bound to leave some areas with less depth than desired. I would have had more on the significance of Sparta to the Classical Ancient Greek world, and of the creation of the trireme fleet along with the hoplite phalanxes as crucial to the rise of democracy but, again, the text does a pretty good overall comprehensive job.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Interface is excellent in that balancing of textual narrative with images and maps.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I see no significant grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is not culturally insensitive and is inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I definitely recommend this textbook and intend to use it myself in my world history classes. I would have preferred that it went from the Paleolithic to around 1000 C.E. and then had a part two from that point to the present but I can work this \"to 1500\" chronology into a three term schoolyear.","created_at":"2021-07-19T14:57:08.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-07-19T14:57:08.000-05:00"},{"id":33780,"first_name":"Faith","last_name":"Skiles","position":"Adjunct Instructor, History Department","institution_name":"Virginia Tech","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"First, I want to applaud the tremendous effort and work that undoubtedly went in to producing this open access textbook. The scope of history covered is truly comprehensive for an introductory textbook on World History and the authors cover political and military history without excluding gender, intellectual, and cultural histories. However, the coverage of individual geographical world regions is unfortunately uneven. As many other reviewers have mentioned, European history gets more coverage than other region. I see this as the hardest hurdle for me to overcome in incorporating this textbook into my classes . (A hurdle though, that I am going to endeavor to leap.) To offset this unevenness, some reviewers suggested more coverage in other regions, and I think for the chapter on the Americas, this is true. However, my suggestion would be to make Europe’s treatment more on par with other sections of the textbook since this is for an introductory course. The book does not contain an index or glossary, which of course, if included, would be helpful.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I see no problems with accuracies. Different debates on historical events continue. Authors of this textbook often reference these debates. However, if they are not mentioned, this provides a great opportunity for instructors to update students on the latest debates.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"As in any history text, information would need to be up-dated as new scholarship comes to light. The way in which the text is written would make updates extremely easy to do. I believe this textbook will remain relevant for a number of years yet,","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text, for me, was clear, lucid and accessible and I believe it would be for students as well. There are some mentions of scholars students might not know. However,I found little “jargony\" language in the text. I think I do remember the use of teleology once…..,","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"A textbook created by different authors, as many textbook are, will not be completely consistent in writing styles or emphases. This is true for this textbook as well. Each chapter does, however, employ the same rough overall framework, which brings consistency to the book.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity would seem to make it easily divisible into smaller reading sections. Subheadings are present and are easily recognizable to someone who teaches world history. Reading through the book I was taking notes on how I would use different sections in my world history course.","organization_rating":2,"organization_review":"If you like to teach World History one region at a time, you will like the organization of this book. I do not like this approach, however. It limits students from seeing cross-cultural trends like the rise of major world religions within a similar time frame. Also, cross- cultural interactions between regions is not a “modern” phenomenon but one that dates back to the earliest complex societies. I can understand why the authors would choose this organization, but it does not give students the opportunity to identify trends and concepts arising from and similar to different regions of the world.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Overall, I like the interface. I especially like the open access images used. They are great. Some links, however, do not work. This is very frustrating for students and would produce a number of emails letting me know they aren't working.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I did not notice any grammatical errors. However, I am not good at noticing them while reading a book.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"For the most part, the writing is culturally sensitive. Fellow reviewers have pointed out a few places that might be written with a bit more sensitivity. However, on a positive note, I really appreciate the discussion on the concept of civilization at the beginning of Chapter two.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Overall, I would highly recommend this textbook. I like the idea of using an open access  textbook and this one covers topics well and is well-written. My plan is to adapt it to fit my thematic, roughly chronological organization. I will most likely leave some of the material on Europe on the editor's floor and add some of my own. But isn’t that part of what makes teaching unique and fun.","created_at":"2022-04-08T14:21:16.000-05:00","updated_at":"2022-04-08T14:21:16.000-05:00"},{"id":33848,"first_name":"Yongguang","last_name":"Hu","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"It does a good job of covering major events in European history, but it does not provide an equal amount of information on other parts of the world. For example, it uses four pages to discuss the transitional period from Caesar to Augustus. But for a non-western region, these four pages would cover some major events of several centuries.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I am impressed by the quality of the content. Although it should give more attention to non-western history, it does have an accurate understanding of the world. I appreciate how it describes the major achievements of the Song dynasty in China. Many famous commercial textbooks fail to do that. It is also one of a few titles addressing the history of native peoples in the world. When it comes to European history, the sheer amount of information is noteworthy too.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Since its publication, there have been some newly acknowledged understandings that the authors could use in the future. For example, localism or the \"localist turn\" is a very important notion among American historians working on late imperial China. The nature of the Mongol Empire could be further explained. China's early modern period started from the Song, not the Ming.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Its text is accessible, and I don't find any jargon in the book. On the other hand, the writing is sometimes plain. If the writing style was more compelling, it would motivate more students to further explore history.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"One major issue of this text is its overemphasis on western civilization. Too many chapters are devoted to discussing the typical western line, from Greece to Rome, and from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the early modern. Other regions do have their individual chapters, but one such chapter often covers the entire history from the beginning to 1500.","modularity_rating":2,"modularity_review":"This is the biggest drawback. No one teaches world history by spending one month on the non-west and another two months on Europe. The current framework is almost unusable. If I assign this book to my class, I have to pick out certain pages for my lectures, and students have to jump back and forth to find references. Following chronological order would be much better.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"Within each region, the content is fine. But the relations between world regions are barely covered. World history focuses on interconnectedness and the global exchange of commodities, ideas, plants and animals, and people. The book has a long way to go.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The book looks nice, and all the maps, pictures, and graphs are used clearly and efficiently.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I don't see any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text does not treat non-western peoples seriously. European history is given too much attention. The implication is that only the west matters in history. As many scholars have indicated in recent decades, the centers of the world were in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia before 1500.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. If I were to assign it to my survey class, I would make many changes and add more content on Asia, Africa, and Americas.","created_at":"2022-05-12T19:26:40.000-05:00","updated_at":"2022-05-12T19:26:40.000-05:00"},{"id":34048,"first_name":"Timothy","last_name":"Fitzgerald","position":"Associate Professor of History","institution_name":"James Madison University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text aims to be comprehensive geographically, but such coverage is imbalanced. Following a traditional approach to world history, Western/European content is thicker and more differentiated. For example, all of Africa is examined, if thoughtfully, in one short chapter (about 30 pages in a 480-page book). Each chapter provides guide questions and key terms—often too many for this reviewer. There is no comprehensive index.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"This long, full text includes a lot of information about very many times, places, cultures, and historical subfields. Any one scholar cannot assess the accuracy of all of it. But, the material presented in the fields with which this reviewer is best acquainted is generally accurate, if not cutting-edge. There is a laudable effort to avoid bias and present different perspectives on some contested topics—e.g., the peopling of the Americas.","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"One basic limitation to relevance/longevity is the text’s fundamental approach, which organizes chapters by geography and favors political history (states, empires, dynasties, etc.). More thematic pedagogic designs, and ones that emphasize “connections” and “encounters” among peoples, have moved away from texts like this one.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Though chapters are separately authored and each has a distinctive style and set of interests, the writing is clear. However, there is a lot of detailed information presented—too much for the typical undergraduate, in this reviewer’s opinion—making the material potentially overwhelming at times.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text’s basic structure is consistent. Each chapter provides a chronology, guide questions, key terms, and information on further reading and primary sources. But, such information varies in quantity and in kind and, again, can be too much—there are over 100 key terms for the chapter on Rome!","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text offers many separately-titled subsections. The discussion is self-referential in some instances (referring readers to other chapters). Chapters vary in length, and topical coverage within each tends to be idiosyncratic—there are few obvious thematic through-lines. Geographic coverage is imbalanced, so even an instructor pursuing a “civilizational” approach would likely need to supplement and reorganize. On balance, the book appears more “modular” than “integrated.”","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Again, the text is organized geographically and has a chronological drift, moving from prehistory to the 16th Century. Chapter subsections tend to follow a traditional emphasis on political history, at least for narrative framing. Treatment of some topics (e.g., trade and war) shows connections across societies, and there are a few brief attempts at global comparison. But coverage tends to be more interested in the “trees” than the “forest.”","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"The interface is accessible and easy to navigate. Though reliance on maps and figures available in the public domain (mainly Wikimedia Commons) means their quality and utility varies. Some images are blurry and pixilated. Maps sometimes present an overwhelming number of place names and introduce inconsistences in spelling that could confuse students. There are broken web-links, and at least one interactive map does not function properly.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The writing is generally clear and free of grammatical errors. Though the spelling (transliteration) of proper names and technical terms is not always accurate and consistent.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text offers a traditional approach to world history. It emphasizes coverage by geographic region and is heavy on information/“facts.” While this design continues to have merits—and there are welcome maneuvers in this text, such as discrete attention to Central Asia—other approaches could be considered more current and inclusive. Important topics like gender and environmental history are buried. Moreover, the text’s more detailed coverage of Western/European history makes a statement about the relative importance of the non-West, which could alienate students and cause them to miss important changes in the field of world history that have enhanced its “relevance” in recent decades.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"For this reviewer, parts of this text might be used to advantage in a world history survey course. But it cannot stand alone.","created_at":"2022-09-18T10:49:24.000-05:00","updated_at":"2022-09-18T10:49:24.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/world-history-cultures-states-and-societies-to-1500","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:31:43.000-06:00"},{"id":429,"title":"Canadian History: Pre-Confederation","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2015,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Canadian History: Pre-Confederation is a survey text that introduces undergraduate students to important themes in North American history to 1867. It provides room for Aboriginal and European agendas and narratives, explores the connections between the territory that coalesces into the shape of modern Canada and the larger continent and world in which it operates, and engages with emergent issues in the field. The material is pursued in a largely chronological manner to the early 19th century, at which point social, economic, and political change are dissected. Canadian History: Pre-Confederation provides, as well, a reconnaissance of historical methodology and debates in the field, exercises for students, Key Terms and a Glossary, and section-by-section Key Points. Although this text can be modified, expanded, reduced, and reorganized to suit the needs of the instructor, it is organized so as to support learning, to broaden (and sometimes provoke) debate, and to engage students in thinking like historians. Written and reviewed by subject experts drawn from colleges and universities, this is the first open textbook on the topic of Canadian history.","contributors":[{"id":4109,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"John","middle_name":"Douglas","last_name":"Belshaw","location":"Thompson Rivers University","background_text":"Dr. John Douglas Belshaw is an Open Learning faculty member at Thompson Rivers University, a consultant to the post-secondary sector, and a writer. He has authored, co-authored, and edited several books and articles on the history of British Columbia."}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":343,"url":"https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:39.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:39.000-05:00","name":"BCcampus"}],"formats":[{"id":556,"type":"Online","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/front-matter/dedication/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":557,"type":"PDF","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1616,"type":"eBook","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"5","textbook_reviews_count":1,"reviews":[{"id":4609,"first_name":"Cara","last_name":"S","position":"Adjunct","institution_name":"American University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"Very thorough and thoughtful in how the history is presented.  While the focus is on Canada, the content is placed in the greater context of other histories that were happening at the same time.  This provides a broader and balanced perspective that grounds the history in a global timeline.   The book starts with a discussion about history in general, “what is history” “researching history” “making histories” followed by “the current state of historical writing in Canada.”  This approach makes the content applicable to other courses – the early chapters can be used when reading histories of other countries.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content is accurate and the focus on broader world history provides a good framework for providing an unbiased look at history.  Within Canadian history, many audiences and populations are presented in a balanced approach.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The content is up-to-date and while the topic is seemingly Canadian history, this book would work as reading material in American and European history courses not only to show how the histories relate to each other but also to show different points of view and perspectives on history.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Great writing style – clear, accessible prose with definitions and details that elucidate the content.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is organized well and the framework is based on historical timelines, but with the added organization of greater history, which provides a solid through line.  Terminology is defined when appropriate or explained with examples and stories to ensure clarity and cohesion.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Modules work well as single units that can be pulled out of the book but also lead easily from one to the other to ensure full comprehension of the history being presented.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"History has its own built-in logic as one follows events from year to year and century to century, therefore this book has a solid base on which to build.  The topics are not only arranged in chronological order but within the modules the combination of social, economic, and political history are also presented clearly and logically.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text was easy to navigate and use – no interface issues presented during use.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammar and writing style are excellent – clear, presented well, and thoughtfully proofread.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Book presents the histories of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in an unbiased, well-thought-out, and careful presentation of facts.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-02-02T12:52:11.000-06:00","updated_at":"2021-02-02T12:52:11.000-06:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/canadian-history-pre-confederation","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:06:34.000-06:00"},{"id":467,"title":"The History of Our Tribe: Hominini","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2017,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Where did we come from? What were our ancestors like? Why do we differ from other animals? How do scientists trace and construct our evolutionary history? The History of Our Tribe: Hominini provides answers to these questions and more. The book explores the field of paleoanthropology past and present. Beginning over 65 million years ago, Welker traces the evolution of our species, the environments and selective forces that shaped our ancestors, their physical and cultural adaptations, and the people and places involved with their discovery and study. It is designed as a textbook for a course on Human Evolution but can also serve as an introductory text for relevant sections of courses in Biological or General Anthropology or general interest. It is both a comprehensive technical reference for relevant terms, theories, methods, and species and an overview of the people, places, and discoveries that have imbued paleoanthropology with such fascination, romance, and mystery.","contributors":[{"id":4252,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Barbara","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Welker","location":"SUNY Geneseo","background_text":"Barbara Welker is Associate Professor of Anthropology at SUNY Geneseo. She received her Ph.D. in 2004 from SUNY Buffalo. She is a biological anthropologist, anatomist, primatologist, and behavioral ecologist. She teaches courses in biological anthropology, e.g. “Human Evolution”, “Human Ecology”, and “Primates”, and anatomy, e.g. “Human Osteology”. Her research involves feeding ecology and color vision genetics in mantled howler monkeys in Costa Rica."}],"subjects":[{"id":40,"name":"Anthropology","parent_subject_id":9,"call_number":"GN25","visible_textbooks_count":9,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/anthropology"},{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":9,"name":"Social Sciences","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":"H1","visible_textbooks_count":285,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/social-sciences"}],"publishers":[{"id":393,"url":"https://milneopentextbooks.org/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:39.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-04-15T13:41:17.000-05:00","name":"Open SUNY"}],"formats":[{"id":676,"type":"PDF","url":"https://milneopentextbooks.org/download/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini-2/?tmstv=1672257463","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":677,"type":"eBook","url":"https://milneopentextbooks.org/download/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini/?tmstv=1672257463","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":678,"type":"Online","url":"https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":7,"reviews":[{"id":2003,"first_name":"Mary","last_name":"Baker","position":"Professor","institution_name":"Rhode Island College","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This a great undergraduate-level text focusing on human paleontology that fills a gap between less detailed introductory texts and more complex or challenging text meant for the graduate level.  The book highlights the key fossil primates and gives complete coverage of the hominid record.  There is no index, but I didn't find this to be a problem.  ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content was accurate and unbiased, which is not always easy in this discipline.  I did not find errors.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The book is up-to-date, covering the most recent discoveries.  If the rate of discoveries continues, updates will soon be needed, but the organization of the text lends itself to easy amendments.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"This is a excellent book for an undergraduate course on human paleontology that is written with a sense of humor that should help draw students in to a fascinating topic.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This is a wonderfully consistent book which I think will support student-learning.  Key terms are highlighted and some include pronunciation guides.  When possible, every section covering the fossil record is organized in the same subsections:  Sites, main people associated with the fossils, a brief introduction, discovery and geographic range, physical characteristics with tables highlighting primitive and derived characteristics, and environment and way of life.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Overall, I like the text's organization.  For future editions could separate the section on dating techniques from the history of the discipline.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization makes sense and it follows the structure of a typical undergraduate course on human evolution:  an overview of the discipline including dating techniques, a section that connects human and nonhuman primate ecology and behavior, the evolutionary history of the primates, anatomy, and the human fossil record.  I think students will find the consistent structure to be easy to follow and understand.\n","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Excellent use of images, charts. and tables.  All of the links work.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The writing is clear, easy to understand; I did not find errors.  The content is sufficiently challenging but avoids unnecessary jargon or overly complex concepts and details.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Explores evidence for the evolution of culture and fossil diversity.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"I plan to adopt the book.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2056,"first_name":"Brian","last_name":"Peasnall","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"University of Delaware","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The comprehensive nature of the material presented in this textbook was uneven. While some topics such as primate social organization was thorough and well presented, other topics were found wanting and sorely inadequate. This is particularly obvious with introductory material. For instance, one would expect a textbook on human evolution to present a discussion on the process of evolution by way of natural selection. Although the terms “evolution” and “natural selection” are used throughout the book, there is no explanation of what evolution is and how it works.  Having taught many courses in physical anthropology, it has become painfully obvious that many, if not most, students have a poor understanding of these concepts. It is fair to assume that any textbook on the evolutionary sciences will contain a basic presentation of what evolution is. However, the discussion of evolution is pretty much summed up by the following sentence: “Biologists and geneticists have refined the theory of evolution by means of natural selection by determining how traits are inherited” (page 5).\n\nAdditionally much of the basic introductory material is perfunctory.  For example, the history of paleoanthropology is presented in a single paragraph (page 7).  Likewise, students often wonder how we know when certain hominid species lived. And it is important that they know that the dates we have are actually based on real evidence. However, the discussion of dating techniques is extremely abbreviated, frequently omitting detail about the underlying premises upon which the dating method is based.  The student is told that obsidian hydration dating is used to date obsidian (volcanic glass) by measuring the amount of hydration that has occurred (page 11).  This is not particularly useful to the student who has no familiarity with how the past is dated. It would have been much more effective had the author explained that after a piece of obsidian is broken, it will absorb water at a constant rate along the broken edge. This then can be measured to determine how long ago the piece was broken or chipped. And if this piece happens to be tool or the byproduct of tool manufacture, we can tell how long ago the tool was made.  Discussion of other dating methods suffer from the same lack of detail and explanation.\n\nSimilar issues occur for the author’s discussion of primate classification (pages 13-23). Thus, the discussion on cladistics suffers from the same perfunctory treatment as dating methods mentioned above. At the very least, a formal definition of “cladistics” would have been useful. Instead the author presents terms used to delineate branches in a cladogram without actually talking about what a cladogram is or even what cladistics is.\n\nOn the other hand, other topics, such as primate social organization and the characteristics of Hominim anatomy are thorough and well presented. Where the textbook really shines is in its presentation of the various hominid species that have evolved throughout the Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs. In these chapters, which are located at the end of the book, the author presents a wealth of information concerning each hominid species, including information about the relevant fossils, important sites, who discovered the fossils and what the each species reveals about the evolution of our own species, Homo sapiens.\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall the book was generally accurate in terms of the material it presented and in terms of the general consensus held by those who work within the field of paleoanthropology. However, there is one glaring issue that hits the knowledgeable reader in the face, the mistranslation of the scientific names given to some of the species discussed in the book. For some reason, the term for the genus name “Homo” was erroneously based on the Greek word homo meaning “same” rather than the Latin word, homo, which means “man”.   This results in strange translations for the various species under discussion. So Homo habilis, which should mean “the handy man” in Latin (in reference to its production and use of the first known stone tools) is instead translated as “the same man”. This makes one wonder how such basic information made it past the editorial process, and may cause one to question the validity of other information presented in the book.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The material is current and up to date in terms of the research and presents the most recent understanding of hominid evolution. This is quite an accomplishment for a text dealing with a science that is constantly facing new data that challenges everything we thought we knew. Furthermore, the structure of that part of the book dealing with various hominid species is presented in a catalog form that will be very easy to update as new developments emerge.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Clarity of material presented in the textbook is somewhat uneven. Most of the lack of clarity stems from the same issues discussed above in terms of the book’s comprehensiveness. This is further exacerbated by prose that is frequently stilted and awkward, potentially impeding the students’ understanding of complex ideas. Furthermore the author’s tendency to add silly comments throughout the book frequently gets in the way of communication of the material.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is consistent in its use of terminology. And the overall framework for how the material is organized and presented is logical and well done.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The overall structure of the textbook makes it easy to divide the book into logical segments to be assigned for reading throughout the semester in a general course on human evolution.  The topics presented are: Paleoanthropology, Primate Classification, Primate Evolution, Primate Social Organization and What is a Hominim. This is then followed by a comprehensive discussion and catalogue of various hominim species thus far known.  The only real problem is that, although the book is divided into topics that make sense, the coverage of the topics themselves is uneven with some topics being thorough and others lacking in the presentation of information.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"As indicated above the organization of the book is logical and well planned. However the perfunctory nature of some topics and the tendency towards the use of stilted, run-on sentences sometimes impedes the flow of information.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"With exception of images drawn specifically for this book, images used in the book are all public domain images. Although not always the best, most are adequate to demonstrate the ideas being expressed by the author. On page 22, the author presents a link to an informative video demonstrating rudimentary linguistic capabilities of a bonobo chimpanzee named Kanzi. The link worked well. However some of the diagrams and text boxes, particularly those in the chapter on primate classification, are sometimes confusing.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"With the exception of run-on and stilted sentences, the book is relatively free of grammatical errors. However those that do occur standout like a sore thumb. For instance, on page 15, where the author discusses the diminution of our olfactory senses, the author writes “We haplorhines have simpler, dry noses and do not smell as good!”","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The language throughout the book is gender neutral and inclusive.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"Due to the various issues discussed above, I would not adopt this book as a primary text for a course in human evolution. There are far too many gaps in basic information the students require in order to understand fully the concepts underlying the evolution of our species and the process of evolution generally. This need would be better served by a more detailed text on paleoanthropology and human evolution. However, I would certainly adopt this text as supplemental material primarily due to its excellent catalogue of the various hominid species that provides an invaluable understanding of our own evolutionary pathway.","created_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-05-21T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2236,"first_name":"Christine","last_name":"Boston","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Lincoln University (Missouri)","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"While the front matter of this textbook suggests that this is a textbook meant to cover physical anthropological subject matter this textbook emphasizes that which the title refers to: human evolution, or as the author liberally defines, subject matter related to primates: nonhuman and human alike.  These are two primary topics addressed within the text, meaning there is a great emphasis on primatology (primate classifications, anatomy, and social organization) and paleoanthropology (hominid/human evolution).  I disagree with the the author’s recommendation of this textbook for an introduction to physical anthropology class.  Having taught introductory anthropology courses for over a decade it is my belief and experience that this text is not suitable for such a course.  In the Introductory chapter the author admits that she wrote it with her 200 level Human Evolution course in mind, and the subject matter seems to mirror that curriculum closely.  Topics that I would expect to see in an introductory text but are excluded herein include an overview of anthropology and its subfields, a history of evolutionary thought, evolutionary theory, Mendelian and population genetics, and modern human variation.  Several of these topics are briefly discussed but in insufficient detail to allow a novice student the ability to understand the subject matter as presented in this textbook.  That is not to say that this textbook is not without its merits.  What it does discuss-primatology and paleoanthropology-is very well addressed and rather comprehensive.  This textbook would therefore make an excellent supplement to an advanced (300-400 level) primatology or human evolution course where students already have the background missing from this text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Based on the content presented herein being primarily based on primatological and paleoanthropological subject matter I see no glaring inaccuracies in the subject matter, as well as no biases.  The subject matter is presented clearly and with multiple viewpoints shown when needed.  Therefore the accuracy is very high given the ever changing nature of the paleoanthropological subject matter.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The paleoanthropological content is up-to-date based on the current information within the field regarding the specific species that are known and published in the literature.  I find fault in the author’s lack of inclusion of more information pertaining to the debates regarding the origins of modern Homo sapiens, specifically her brief discussion on the Out-of-Africa, Multiregional, and Mostly-Out-of-Africa hypotheses.  These hypotheses are at the forefront of much current debate within the paleoanthropological scholarly community, and at the present time there does not appear to be a suitable means of incorporating that information into this textbook without creating a new chapter.  This may actually be preferred given the amount of information on this topic, which is a favored one for students to explore in writing assignments for introductory and advanced physical anthropology courses.  Overall, though, the information presented herein is quite relevant, making this textbook one that can be used for several semesters before either major edits are required to the text or a large amount of supplemental information is necessary to make up for deficiencies that occur as new information is discovered.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"Unfortunately, this textbook does lack in clarity in various ways.  While there are summary tables that are meant to enable the reader to better understand the content through concise description of the information presented within the body of the chapters many of these tables are unlabeled and a couple are not closely positioned to the content they are meant to summarize.  This left me, an advanced reader and physical anthropologist, confused, which means that students, who do not have the same background, may become lost by the content.  When the tables are labeled and closely positioned they are amazing resources.  This just is not consistently done throughout the textbook.  \n\nAnother area of lack of clarity is the information presented within the first few chapters that are meant to summarize content related to archaeology and evolutionary theory.  These chapters are quite sparse and act more of summaries than actual explanatory content.  They currently warrant additional information to enable an introductory student the ability to understand the content.  As written these chapters are most suitable for students who already have the background to understand what the author is referring to, further demonstrating the usefulness of this textbook in advanced anthropology courses.\n\nLastly, the author explains the differences between Australopithecines and Paranthropocines rather oddly.  She correctly identifies that the primary differences between these two genera is based on the cranial morphology, specifically related to mastication, but she provided more detail on what specifically these differences entailed with the Paranthropus introduction, which came after the introduction to Australopithecines.  I feel this explanation is needed with the Australopithecines to better explain the differences between the genera.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This textbook is internally consistent.  Each major section is introduced by a brief introduction, providing the reader with an idea of what the main theme is.  The chapters follow a sequential order that is required and standard of physical anthropological subject matter, as well as chronological order of the hominid species addressed herein.  The chapters have similar structure, allowing for ease of understanding by the reader.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"As noted above there are main sections identified within the text, which does allow for an educator to easily assign specific sections or modules of information to students.  The only critique within this criteria is that the summarizing tables are often not labeled, which can cause confusion and difficulties in quick review of the information by readers.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The subject matter and order presented herein follows the standards within the field of physical anthropology.  The only critiques are the lack of introductory information pertaining to anthropology, evolutionary theory, etc. (as noted above), and the inclusion of anatomical terms between the sections on primates and human evolution.  I understand why the author may have chosen this placement as her discussion on primates was not very anatomically heavy, whereas the discussion of human evolution is, but it can seem to distract the reader if they are not able to make that connection.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Several of the images are distorted and blurry.  This includes photographs, charts, and figures.  This disables the readers ability to clearly understand and read the content of these images to understand what the author is referring to in the chapter content.  Unfortunately, at least in the downloaded PDF, there is no way to download the images to view them through a different image viewer to try to remove this distortion.  As well, while I appreciate the inclusion of videos in this textbook as it enhances the learning experience it is unclear in several videos that there are embedded hyperlinks to view them.  \n\nLastly, the author adds personal commentary throughout the text.  This can be a boon or a bane to the reader, depending on how they feel about said commentary.  This may draw readers in as they appreciate the quirkiness of the author’s thoughts and humor, engaging them in the subject matter further, or this may turn off the reader and act as a distraction.  I found some of the commentary to be entertaining, while others were distracting and irrelevant (e.g. the Black Skull and the Skull and Cross Bones image).","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The textbook was largely grammatical and spelling error free.  The only critique is the lack of capitalization of formal names of specific hominid species (e.g. Neandertals).","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The author does not engage in any culturally insensitive language or writes in an overtly offensive manner throughout the text.  My only concern is the Eurocentric nature of her discussion of anatomically modern Homo sapiens.  She claims that her discussion of largely European evidence is based on the amount of it, but I do not feel that is a logical argument to exclude the evidence from Africa.  I would like to see an inclusion of that information within this chapter as it is different sets of evidence that demonstrates cultural diversity that has and continues to exist among groups on either continent, as well as showcases how environment affects cultural evolution.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"None at this time.","created_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-06-19T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2275,"first_name":"Daniel","last_name":"Kreutzer","position":"Community Faculty","institution_name":"Metropolitan State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book feels like it begins in the middle of the semester. The subject of paleoanthropology is introduced without an explanation of what anthropology is and quickly summarizes the history of paleoanthropology while touching upon major subjects like evolutionary theory and population genetics, which are rather important to the concept of an evolving hominin lineage. How paleoanthropologists conduct research in the field and in the laboratory would benefit from additional details and explanation. There are three chapters that discuss the primates as an Order comprehensively, including their classification, evolution, and social structures. Likewise, the chapter that describes the hominins is equally comprehensive in introducing the group. The majority of the text is dedicated to a chronological listing and description of the genera and species identified as hominins, taking a splitter’s approach by exploring each species separately. The latest available information is used along with maps, photographs, and sketches, which allows for a fairly complete picture of hominin history and diversity.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There are no glaring inaccuracies within the text. The public domain images used connect to the material and are placed appropriately within the text. The sketches that begin the chapters are creative interpretations and visually interesting.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The information is relatively up-to-date, which is not easy in this field. The way the text is organized should make it easy to update information as needed.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The author’s voice clearly comes through in the writing style. While her sense of humor won’t appeal to everyone, personally I find it more accessible than the usual dry style of the typical textbook.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There are no obvious inconsistencies within the text.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is highly modular and could easily be divided into numerous sections. Some chapters are far less informative than others, but that is more a reflection of how spotty the evidence is for some hominin species.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The organization of topics is logical and the chronological presentation of the hominin species is standard for texts on this subject at this level.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"Some of the public domain images used are distorted at 100% magnification, including text elements that are unreadable.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The most glaring error is chapter 5’s title, What is a Hominim, rather than Hominin. Otherwise, spelling and grammar are acceptable.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"In chapter 36, Homo sapiens, the discussion of cultural traits and innovations focuses on Europe to the exclusion of AMH elsewhere in Eurasia and especially in Africa. This makes it seem like all paleolithic cultural development occurred in Europe.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"The textbook works better as a supplemental resource for biological anthropology courses rather than as a primary text because it is focused solely as a paleoanthropology text. Even for a paleoanthropology course there would need to be more information on evolution, archaeological methods and laboratory techniques, especially on the topics of reconstructing paleoenvironments and relative and chronometric dating.","created_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2018-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:00"},{"id":2402,"first_name":"Cat","last_name":"Sartin","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Fort Hays State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book offers a comprehensive overview of the Hominini fossil record, including many recent finds. In order to use this book in a Biological Anthropology or Human Origins course, it may be necessary to pull in other, more introductory, resources about constructing phylogenies, dating fossils, etc. ","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"This book offers an accurate description of all the fossil material. When discussing how different fossils fit into the phylogeny, it does a good job of indicating where there are disagreements and the nature of those disagreements.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This book is up-to-date and arranged in a way that would make up-dates relatively easy and straightforward to implement. As new discoveries are likely, and those discoveries will likely change and/or add to our existing theories, up-dates will almost certainly be necessary. However, it is impossible to predict how far in the future the next such big discovery will be made.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing is extremely clear, but does not shy away from technical terms. Students would need knowledge of human osteology and, depending on prerequisites for the course, may need additional materials to aid their understanding.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The layout for each chapter is consistent and makes it very easy to navigate and find information.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter, which usually covers a single taxa, is relative short. Within each chapter are sections headings, which could easily be assigned individually if the full chapter was too long.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The book is organized into broad geologic time periods. Within each time period, each fossil taxa is given its own chapter. This will make it quite easy to move taxa in light of new evidence. It also helps to reinforce the idea that evolution is not directional - that it not a straight line, but resembles a bush instead.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The book was easy to navigate and read on my laptop (HP), tablet (HP), and iPhone. It was formatted nicely for each device and free of distortions and other formatting problems.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The text is well written and free of grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This text addresses misconceptions about different taxa, such as H. neanderthalensis, in an objective and scientific manner. When discussing anatomically modern H. sapiens, the text addresses the paucity of the fossil record and why more is known about certain regions (e.g. western Europe) than others.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2018-11-25T12:30:29.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-11-25T12:30:29.000-06:00"},{"id":2506,"first_name":"Guy","last_name":"Prouty, Ph.D.","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Boise State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"There is no index or glossary to this text; they are needed to make this text more comprehensive. Plus, a number of the references are cited from Wikipedia.  Although using Wikipedia may be useful for initial research to prepare content, it would have been better instead to cite the academic literature for students.  Plus, there is no tight peer review for Wikipedia articles.  I teach online sections in introductory Biological Anthropology, plus lab, and I do not use Wikipedia for this very reason.  \r\n\r\nIn addition, Part 1 needs expansion; there is too little material present.  There is little discussion of the principles of genetics, natural selection, and the process of fossilization. These basic biological topics are essential to help students understand the evolutionary and adaptive processes of primates and hominins. \r\n\r\nI also would have preferred to see a chapter on modern biological variation.  I try to make my courses very relevant to my students, especially to those who are not anthropology majors, and they enjoy learning why there is no such thing as “race.”  This would have been a welcome addition to this text.\r\n\r\nFinally, I would have preferred to see a module presented on the last 10,000 years of human prehistory, particularly how the development and adoption of agriculture impacted human health, such as the increased rates of developing type II diabetes, obesity, cancer and how they may be treated.  My students are often surprised to learn this, along with the fact that modern Homo sapiens are continuing to evolve.  \r\n\r\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"I found all of the sections to accurate, and I appreciate the updated material on the individual chapters on the various species of hominins analyzed in the text. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"As previously noted, more relevant material needed to be added about modern human biological variation and the last 10,000 years of human prehistory. These are very important topics and need to be included in all introductory texts such as this one. \r\n\r\nThe author has done a nice job of keeping the material up to date and updates should be relatively easy. \r\n","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"I found the text to be well-written overall with adequate definitions of jargon and technical terminology.  However, more clarification is needed about dating techniques, genetics, and natural selection. In-depth discussions of these would help illuminate content for students, especially when they read technical material about hominins in the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene epochs. ","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in terminology and framework.  I did not observe any significant inconsistent statements or content. \r\n\r\nHowever, I think that each chapter, whenever possible, should have at least one video to maintain consistency. Many, if not most introductory students are visual learners, and I think they would appreciate viewing a number of excellent video productions available on the Internet. \r\n","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I found the text to have adequate subheadings, and not overtly self-referential.  The modules on the various hominins discussed and analyzed in Parts II, III, and IV are well done.  Often, in traditional texts, a number of hominin ancestors are discussed together, which can confuse students. A chapter dedicated to a specific genus and species in this text is most welcome. \r\n\r\n","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"I found the topics in the text to be well organized and easy to follow.  There are no discrepancies that I observed. ","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"A number of the tables and figures were difficult to read; apparently, there was a problem in resolution, and they were not sharp and clear.  How will students with visual problems, along with normal vision, be able to clearly read these?  The text obviously needs to be updated with these corrections to prevent confusion or distractions. \r\n\r\nAlso, although I appreciated the figure drawings by KIeenan Taylor, they are not of the caliber found in traditional textbooks. Although creating more professional illustrations would require greater costs, the quality of the drawings needs improvement. \r\n","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"Homo was described as “same”, rather than the correct Latin description of “man.”  The heading of chapter 5 was also misspelled as “hominim”, rather than “hominin.”  These are the only grammatical problems I observed. Tighter proof-reading is needed.  ","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The material is benign and is not offensive to different ethnicities and backgrounds.  As noted earlier, a discussion on racism is needed to make the material relevant to students. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"As this text is currently presented, I would not use it to replace my current textbook; it’s lack of introductory material on genetics, natural selection, and modern biological anthropology does not fulfill my needs for a 100-level textbook.  Rather, I would gladly use it as a supplement, especially the material presented in Parts III-IV where each chapter is dedicated to a specific hominin ancestor. \r\n\r\n","created_at":"2019-01-09T15:35:29.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-01-09T15:35:29.000-06:00"},{"id":35202,"first_name":"Sharon","last_name":"Methvin","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Mt. Hood Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"It provided an excellent review of primates and human evolution. Later homo is a bit scanty, but the lineage is clearly covered. No discussion of current trends.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Well supported and well referenced.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Updates and additions will be easy to include.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Consistent in format and easy to follow.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"I love the consistent pattern throughout each section. So great!","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each section is modular and has the same approach.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Flows well across each evolutionary period. Covers same format for each.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Excellent diagrams and illustrations. Would like more media links.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"None noted.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"No mention of local conservation of sites and materials.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Would like greater coverage of later homo. Inclusion of modern homo. Inclusion of more media links. Inclusion of discussion questions.","created_at":"2024-08-15T11:59:02.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-08-15T11:59:02.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:09:08.000-06:00"},{"id":569,"title":"Keys to Understanding the Middle East","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2017,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"This book is intended for readers who have never studied the Middle East, or experts who may wish to fill gaps in their knowledge of the region from other disciplines. Whether for establishing or deepening one's knowledge of the region, these fundamentals are important to know. The languages, cultural, religious and sectarian communities of the region, and selected turning points and influential people in history are starting points for gaining an understanding of the diverse contexts of the region. It isbased on introductoryand graduatecourseson thecontemporaryMiddle East, which the Center's director, Dr. Alam Payind, has been teaching for the past 30 years. The book's co-author,Melinda McClimans,hastaught these and other courses with him, as well as her own,for the past 15years. The material isintendedengage with diverse – even conflicting – culturaland historicalperspectives,andways of perceivingboth Middle Easternandworld historyfrom perspectives within the region. It is not intended to reinforce a monolithic or matter-of-fact perception of the region.For this and many other reasons, images are an important aspect of the knowledge presented. Each chapter starts with links to its image galleries, along with other visual aids and key elements.","contributors":[{"id":4576,"contribution":"Author","primary":true,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr","first_name":"Alam","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Payind","location":"Ohio State University","background_text":"Dr. Alam Payind is the Director of the Middle East Studies Center (MESC), a senior teaching member of the International Studies Program and the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department, a liaison for the Office of International Students and Scholars, and a member of University’s International Programs Task Force. Born and raised in Afghanistan, and previously a holder of government and academic positions in Kabul, he speaks Pashto, Dari and Urdu with native fluency. He continues to conduct field work, provide consultations on a regular basis in Afghanistan and has visited the country 13 times since September 11th, 2001. He travels extensively within the Afghan borders, and during recent trips he has been witness to the Taliban’s resurgence in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, and other provinces of Afghanistan. Besides being a professor at the Ohio State University, he is still part of the faculty at Kabul University in Afghanistan, and is a consultant to the Afghan government in its educational reconstruction efforts. In late 2006, Dr. Payind was appointed as Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Kingdom which he turned down for personal and professional reasons. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science and Higher Education, as well as an M.A. in Political Science in 1977 from Indiana University, his M.Sc. in Higher Education from Indiana University in 1972; and his BA in Political Science \u0026 Islamic Law from Kabul University in 1966. Dr. Payind served in the Afghan government as the Director General of Cultural and Foreign Relations, and was a professor at Kabul University before the Soviet invasion in 1979. Dr. Payind has seen Afghanistan through many phases: under King Zahir Shah, President Dawud, the ten-year Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Mujahiddin regime, followed by the Taliban regime, and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Unlike most political scientists, he has fluency in the languages of the region he studies and literary competence, as well. His combination of academic qualifications and life experience uniquely qualifies him to give the cultural, historical, and current social context for recent events. He teaches “Introduction to the Modern Middle East,” and the interdisciplinary upper-division “Contemporary Issues in the Middle East,” offered through International Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. He co-directs the Center’s Summer Institute on Middle Eastern Cultures with Professor Merry Merryfield. He provides vital consultations to press and news agencies on Middle Eastern affairs and delivers an average of 70 public lectures on Middle Eastern issues per year. Dr. Payind speaks Pashto, Persian, and Urdu, and has research capability in Arabic."},{"id":4577,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":null,"first_name":"Melinda","middle_name":null,"last_name":"McClimans","location":"Ohio State University","background_text":"Melinda McClimans's M.A. is in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, from Ohio State, and she is currently in the Global Education doctoral program. She has lived and studied in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, studied Arabic in Cairo and Tunis, and in 1994 she enrolled in Franklin University in the Italian speaking area of Switzerland. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1997, and worked as an intern at the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand, after graduating. She manages the Center’s programs, oversees the grant writing grant writing and reporting, trains oversees staff development, creates educational materials and conducts outreach to the P-12 community. As part of this she leads the annual study tour to Turkey for teachers. She has taught a class on Egyptian culture including a study tour in Egypt, she oversees and teaches in the Center’s institutes for teachers, and has co-taught online courses for teachers. She directs the Center’s teacher training program and co-creates and/or edits teacher-created instructional materials. Melinda has research ability in Arabic and French, and is fluent in Italian."}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"},{"id":34,"name":"Philosophy","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"B72","visible_textbooks_count":40,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/philosophy"}],"publishers":[{"id":539,"url":"https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/","year":null,"created_at":"2018-09-07T12:22:40.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-01-02T23:49:27.000-06:00","name":"The Ohio State University Pressbooks"}],"formats":[{"id":920,"type":"PDF","url":"https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/key2mideast/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":9,"reviews":[{"id":2383,"first_name":"Jessica","last_name":"Malo","position":"Adjunct Professor ","institution_name":"Florida State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The textbook covers many important topics and subtopics for understanding the Middle East, especially pertaining to religion and languages, and therefore culture. There was a certain emphasis on Islam as a doctrine but less so as it is lived in the Middle East, particularly the cultural aspects of the religion and how the communities in the ME share and diverge in celebrating and expressing their religion(s). I especially appreciated the well-sought images and detailed maps that accompanied the text. The maps, tables, glossary, index, key terms and explained concepts all aided in the understanding of important criteria that define the ME. These illustrations helped to refute and rectify certain misconceptions and generalizations. I would have appreciated more on the Christian sects that are particular to the ME (The Maronite’s and the Copts). \r\nThe language section of the book was in depth and accurate. The last chapter was able to identify key moments and persons in the ME, without which the readers’ understanding is incomplete and flawed. The authors of the book say that “It is intended for readers who have never studied the ME, or experts who may wish to fill gaps in their knowledge of the region from other disciplines.” Taking this into consideration, I would say that the book has achieved its objective and would be best used as a preparatory resource/ general knowledge. \r\n\r\n","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":" I found the content of the textbook accurate and unbiased, especially in the discussion of sensitive issues such as the “jihad” and in comparing/contrasting different faiths. I thought the use of the diagrams and tables for this purpose were very effective, easy to follow and memorable. On another note, page 73 was repeated twice and the placement of its repetition made little sense. There were a few typos that do not hinder the flow of the book. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"This textbook is not time sensitive  when it comes to the chapters on religion, language and history. The only two issues that are up-to-date and that can change over time are the demographics (percentage of Muslims in a country) and use of language (number of speakers). I thought the section with images of celebrities and a brief description of their nationalities and ethnicities can be edited over time to include more relevant people.  ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The text flows smoothly. It is easy to comprehend and it is not technical. When there is a key term that needs to be explained, there is a box defining those terms. There is enough background information to understand the subject matter and though it is at times controversial and sensitive, the authors did a great job in making it compressible for the reader. The sentences are short and straight-forward and I did not find myself having to read between the lines or re-read sections. The prose is user-friendly and accessible. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The beginning of the textbook explained the definition of the Middle East and reiterated it as needed throughout the text. The chapters were clearly defined and there is a consistency in the style of writing of the textbook and in the terminology and use of framework. The transliteration table in the beginning of the textbook is clearly used by the authors to have a consistent pronunciation of the Arabic words/texts used and I found that very effective and easy to follow. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text can be easily divided into smaller reading sections within the course. The instructor can choose what to focus their lecture on and what to dismiss as the book moves from the general to the specific in a reverse pyramid fashion. The first and last chapters can be reorganized and realigned to better serve the teaching objectives of the instructor and is not overly dense.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The text contains some grammatical errors. However, these errors do not hinder comprehension.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"  The textbook is relatively unbiased and respectful to all religions/faiths/communities and countries presented. There is enough examples to cover all the key points and information. ","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Thank you for including this book in the Open Textbook Library.","created_at":"2018-11-13T21:29:53.000-06:00","updated_at":"2018-11-13T21:29:53.000-06:00"},{"id":2795,"first_name":"Katie","last_name":"Herzberg Hachimoto","position":"ESL Instructor","institution_name":"Open Oregon Educational Resources","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book was very comprehensive.  It explained more than just religion.  It described the forms of government.  The book also compared Islam to Judaism and Christianity.  The resource also showed famous people and places of worship from all different backgrounds, not just Islam.  The resource even described languages in the Arab world. \r\n There weren't any biased viewpoints or explanations.  At the end of the book, there was an index and glossary.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"There are times when literature can be very biased.  However, in this textbook, there was a very thorough description of all of the different sects of Islam.  Also, the history of Islam wasn't one-sided.  There was an accurate description of history.  The book also gave a very accurate description of nation states and stateless nations.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The content is written accurately.  I appreciate that the text focused on historical content.  The content isn't in so much of a chronological order; the textbook is organized more by topic.  If the text needs to be revised, it will be easy to add additional text.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is written in very clear, academic language.  Furthermore, the book does not contain to much jargon or technical terminology.  I found that it was not difficult to read.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book has the same message and terminology the whole way through.  The book doesn't switch back and forth between terminologies during the book.  Also, each chapter has the same structure all the way through the textbook.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is divided into chapters.  I found each chapter easy and quick to read.  As I was reading each chapter, I imagined using this text in my course.   It would be very easy to assign reading.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"I am not familiar with a lot of Arab history.  However, this book was very easy to read.  One topic flowed into the next.  There was not any disconnectedness.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The layout and the navigation of the book is without any problems.  However, this book should be opened on a computer.  If it is opened on a cell phone, a couple of the images are cut in half.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I am an English as a Second Language structure.  So, I work a lot with grammar.  This resource didn't have any grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"I have many Arab friends and consider myself to be knowledgeable about Arab culture.  The textbook was not offensive or discriminatory in any way.  The book compared Islam, Christianity and Judaism.  The book even acknowledged Jesus and Abraham as real people in history.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This was the first time to read a book about Arab history.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I learned a lot.  I would recommend its use in a classroom.","created_at":"2019-04-16T02:35:12.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-04-16T02:35:12.000-05:00"},{"id":3070,"first_name":"Gregory D.","last_name":"Young","position":"Senior Instructor","institution_name":"CU Boulder","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"A very good introduction to language, culture, religion and the impact of imperialism on the region. Certainly not an advanced text, but challenges the common misperceptions held by the West and often conveyed in the media.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The content gives a nuanced view of cultural differences and the diversity of the region with good maps and images. Of course everything has some bias, but this text again challenges conventional Western wisdom/bias regarding development and the impact of colonialism in the Middle East.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This is not a text that gives an overview of current affairs in the region, but provides the necessary background over which to lay current events. It will not be immediately out of date, but far from it. In this regard it could supplement a current events approach in the classroom.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The writing is very accessible and would be appropriate for an Introductory level Middle East course. A very adequate glossary at the end provides review of cultural, Arabic and religious terms for immediate review.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"This text does a remarkable job of explaining many terms across linguistic boundaries for consistency. This show how many very disparate cultures share multiple religious similarities.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Is is absolutely divisible. I plan to use Chapter 1 \u0026 2 as an introduction to Middle East Politics course that I teach. I will then use Ch. 3 later to challenges the assumptions made in Bernard Lewis' book, \"What Went Wrong\" about why the Middle East fell behind the West or if that is even an appropriate comparison.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The introduction lays out the very clear structure for the three chapters, then follows the plan as delineated. This is something that certainly could be debated, but I might move the \"Defining the term Middle East\" section of Chapter 3 up to the beginning with the similar section of the introduction.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Navigating the text is very easy, but I might not skip quite so much white space between images, maps or pages. Some photos are embedded within the text and others are at the end of each section. This could be made uniform.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I found no grammatical errors. I found one typographical error at the bottom of Page 47 on the last line: \"Kurds a\" should be Kurds are. Secondly, one picture caption on P. 38 states \"the previous Jesus mosaic image\" is in fact several pages later.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text in my opinion is far from culturally insensitive or offensive. In fact it provides instruction to aid others in cultural awareness of the region to avoid that trap.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-07-01T12:58:58.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-07-01T12:58:58.000-05:00"},{"id":3078,"first_name":"Levi","last_name":"Thompson","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"CU Boulder","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers all the areas it sets out to address appropriately, moving from a discussion of languages in the Middle East (ending with a discussion of Arabic), to the religious context (with a suitable focus on the diversity of religious affiliations in the Middle East), to the Middle East during the modern period. An extensive glossary of key terms appears at the end of the book. There is also a Table of Contents, but no index at the back of the book. One important factor to mention here is the attention paid to Afghanistan throughout, something one generally does not find in an introductory textbook on the Middle East.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Developed from many years of experience teaching students in International Studies at the Ohio State University, Keys to Understanding the Middle East offers readers accurate introductory content about the Middle East: languages, religions, historical context, and politics. A highlight is the book’s inclusion of solid material about modernization, the non-aligned movement, and Western imperialism in the second half of the twentieth century.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because the book avoids the immediately contemporary period and limits its treatment of the modern period to the twentieth century for the most part, the material included will continue to remain relevant far into the future. In the coming years, additional material could be added to directly address the Middle East during the early twenty-first century.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook is eminently clear in how it deals with its subjects in a lucid, straightforward language that should be accessible to a high-school-, or possibly even middle-school-level reader. Jargon is either avoided or immediately explained. The glossary at the end of the book is also a useful resource.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The textbook is consistent across the three chapters, introduction, and conclusion with its terms and approach.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The book is highly modular, even within the three chapters. Shorter sections (e.g. “Gamal Abdul Nasser and Non-Alignment”) could be excised from the text and used independently of the larger book’s framework. Overall, the text is presented in manageable chunks throughout, making an instructor’s job of choosing what to give for a specific reading assignment simple.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The progression of topics in the three chapters proceeds in a logical, clear manner.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"In the PDF version of the text that I consulted, the book cover and associated images (which are cited on page 2 of the PDF) are missing entirely. There are also some formatting issues that should be addressed, especially in the case of other images within the text. Take, for example, the photographs of “Modernizing Leaders” Reza Shah Pahlavi, Amanullah Khan, and Mustafa Kemal Aratürk on pp. 86-88 of the document (not of the PDF). There is quite a bit of white space on these pages outside of the images, and this also often happens between sections. Furthermore, there are some minor issues with text not appearing correctly and other typography problems. (E.g., on the same pages, see the mistaken “?” inserted between the alif and nūn of Antoin when written in Arabic script or the misplaced umlaut in Atatürk’s name that appears above the “r” not the “u”.) Lastly, the problem of spacing also shows up on pages v-vi in the document where the authors include their Romanization chart for Arabic letters. This is likely a result of the conversion of the document into a PDF, but it could be easily fixed.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"There are, every now and then, issues with the use of articles. For instance, on page ix, we find, “Giza, district of Cairo where pyramids…,” missing the “a” before “district.” There are also some minor errors in the transliterated Arabic or Persian. Sa‘di Shirazi’s name is transliterated as “Saadi Shirazi” only two pages after the book’s Romanization Chart, which indicates that the ʿayn will be transliterated with an apostrophe ('), not the “a” that we see in \"Saadi.\" Consider also the transliteration of al-jihād al-aṣghar and al-jihād al-akbar rendered as \"Jihad al-Asghar\" and \"Jihad al-Akbar.\" The missing macrons or diacritical marks are not an issue, particularly in an introductory textbook, but the missing definite article on jihad in both instances is incorrect. Elsewhere, we find the term muadhdhin (a person who does the call to prayer) rendered as muadhan (pp. 64, 119), which leaves out the repetition of the geminated second radical in the word and, unfortunately, would be read by someone who knows Arabic not in the active sense, but rather in the passive due to the transposition of the (correct) “i” into an “a.” These last mistakes reflect the authors’ research abilities in Arabic, but indicate a lack of fluency in the language. In a future edition, I would suggest avoiding transliterated Arabic in these cases and instead, for instance, using the anglicized “muezzin,” which better reflects the actual sounds of the word for a reader that has no experience with transliterated Arabic. Alternatively, a consultant fluent in Arabic could also be brought in to check over transliterations.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The book makes a point of including material on a variety of different Middle Eastern languages, faith traditions, and countries. It is fair and unbiased in its treatment of its various subjects. I would perhaps have expected yet more space to be devoted to Arabic, in the chapter on languages, and Islam, in the chapter on faith and religious identity, but I understand the authors’ choice to bring more balance to their approach.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2019-07-01T12:58:58.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-07-01T12:58:58.000-05:00"},{"id":3190,"first_name":"Nahyan","last_name":"Fancy","position":"Professor","institution_name":"DePauw University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"For a short introduction to the Middle East, the book does an excellent job of being comprehensive with regards to linguistic and religious diversity. It also raises excellent theoretical discussions with regards to naming of Middle East, misconceptions people have about the region, etc. The glossary is very good as are the many maps and tables throughout the book. ","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book is fairly accurate, which is indeed an accomplishment given that the text is also a basic introduction and so there is only so much nuance that it can introduce. Nonetheless, it does an excellent job of covering many key fundamentals accurately. For example, the book lumps Sephardic Jews under Mizrahi Jews, when in fact these are different Jewish communities with different customs (even if slightly), and if anything the modern state of Israel does the reverse: it lumps Mizrahi Jews under Sephardic Jews. But by and large the text is fairly accurate. ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book should remain relevant and should not be very difficult to update as and when needed. Again, since it covers introductory material, much of the material will not need updating (Islamic belief in judgment day will remain as true 20 years from now as it is now). Some other minor inaccuracies, e.g. origins of the Yazidi religion, or painting too rosy a picture of Sufism as inclusive and open stance towards all other religions, can be easily corrected over time. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The prose is lucid and accessible for undergraduates. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book stays consistent in both its terminology, cross-referencing, and its broader goals. ","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"There are a few cross-references in the text (especially when discussing the concept of Middle East or population demographics). The text is fairly modular and allows for using in small chunks rather than assigning even the larger chapter itself. The one thing that gets in the way, perhaps, of doing that are the fantastic images and tables. They would encourage, in my opinion, assigning larger chunks of a chapter. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The book is organized fairly well in terms of the chapters and the various subheadings. ","interface_rating":2,"interface_review":"There were quite a few problems with the pdf interface of the text. There were some repeated maps (such as the Turkic language map), and often labels for images and tables were not on the same page as the actual image or table. There also seemed to be too much white space at times. ","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The text contains some grammatical errors. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text definitely depicts a culturally diverse Middle East. The chapter on linguistic diversity especially stands out in this regard, although the other chapters also highlight the cultural diversity of the region. ","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I absolutely loved the images found in the text. The tables are also excellent as are the wonderful maps. I would highly recommend instructors using the various maps, tables and images even if they find that the text is too basic for their needs (as I certainly did). ","created_at":"2019-10-17T13:19:19.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-17T13:19:19.000-05:00"},{"id":5195,"first_name":"Sevan","last_name":"Yousefian","position":"Adjunct Professor of History and Geography","institution_name":"Massachusetts Department of Higher Education","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text provides students with a comprehensive introduction to various themes and topics necessary for a better understanding of Middle Eastern culture, history, politics, and current events. The authors begin by discussing the approach and goals of the text, presenting readers with their definition of the Middle East, and identifying common misconceptions and narratives that they intend to challenge and subvert throughout the book. The authors follow with a chapter on the major languages of the Middle East, a second chapter on religion, and a third and final chapter that focuses on the twentieth century and the impact of imperialism on the region. \r\n\r\nThe authors state that the text is not intended to be a thorough history of the Middle East, but rather a concise resource for students with little to no prior exposure to the history, politics, and cultures of the region. The authors succeed in their goal of presenting a clear, concise, and comprehensive introduction to the ethnic, linguistic, and confessional communities of the Middle East, as well as to the region’s major religious traditions, and topics relevant to understanding the Middle East’s current political landscape. \r\n\r\nThe authors include highly useful, informative, and engaging charts, maps, timelines, definitions of key terms, and images throughout the text, as well as a glossary at the end.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The authors provide a largely factual and accurate introduction to Middle Eastern culture and history. However, while the authors make a point to state that they avoid advocating “for a particular community’s point of view,” this is not unproblematic. For instance, writing that the relationship between Kurdish communities and different state governments is “complicated” is unfortunate, as is using the words “expelled” and “displaced” to describe the fate of the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. At times, frank and candid discussions/descriptions of challenging and potentially controversial topics are avoided.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This text is intended to provide students with the necessary background to understand Middle Eastern culture, history, and politics, and it does so effectively. It is not an introduction to current events in the Middle East, but gives students the knowledge to contextualize Middle Eastern history and current events, and I’m confident that the background information included in the text will be useful and relevant for future students, as well.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is clearly written throughout and will be accessible to students with little or no knowledge of the Middle East, which is what the authors intended. They also do a nice job defining and clarifying important terms and concepts that may be unfamiliar to students.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent throughout, utilizing the same framework, structure, and terminology across chapters.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The different chapters and sections of the text can be easily assigned individually. For example, I would highly consider assigning selected sections from the chapters on language and faith to my geography students for our unit on the Middle East. I am confident that the third chapter would be especially useful to students in my modern world history class for our unit on the Middle East in the twentieth century.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text is organized clearly into three main chapters, which are further divided into sections. The authors take a thematic approach to organizing the content within chapters, which generally flows well, but feels a bit disjointed at times.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I read the text using the online interface, which I found to be very engaging and easy to navigate.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"I noticed a few grammatical mistakes in the text, though they did not impact the clarity or effectiveness of the book.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The authors do a great job introducing readers to many of the ethnic, linguistic, and religious communities of the Middle East. They also encourage readers to challenge their own perceptions of the Middle East by challenging and contextualizing Eurocentric notions of “modernization” and “development.”\r\n\r\nThough certainly well intentioned, the authors' attempt to avoid the appearance of supporting the views of any particular community--which I discussed when rating the accuracy of the text--is at times problematic.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-06-30T17:00:23.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-06-30T17:00:23.000-05:00"},{"id":33776,"first_name":"Selda","last_name":"Altan","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Randolph College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book provides a bird's eye view of the Middle East but does not go into the details of the region's history. The focus is limited to religions, languages, and a brief discussion of imperialism and non-aligned movement. The glossary is comprehensive and useful.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Overall, the information provided in the text is accurate. On page 67, I feel uncomfortable with this statement: \"Shi‘is have also been called Fatimids.\" Fatimids is an Egypt-based Shi'a dynasty, not another word for Shi'is.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book successfully highlights some of the most important issues in the Middle East as it concerns a western audience. Ony the later parts of the book pertain to current events, can easily be updated.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The language is easy to understand and it conveys its message successfully. Many terms were explained in separate boxes or in the glossary.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"There is no consistency issue in the text. The book definitely situates the Middle East in the larger context of the Islamic world.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into small units though some subsections are too narrow.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The narrative flows well. However, from a historian's point of view, there are significant time lapses. For example, the authors jump from the impact of imperialism to Nasser's Third Worldism rather quickly.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"There are plenty of blank spaces, especially around images. Albeit not a big issue, it can be distracting at times. Images are great and provided with adequate information but some images deserve more explanation. For example, the image of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was murdered in Turkey by ultranationalists can be the topic of an hour-long discussion about the rise of nationalism, the Turkish-Armenian conflict at the end of the Ottoman empire, and genocide. No historical context is provided for this type of discussion. The images on page 69 are distorted.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"There are not many grammatical errors in the text but especially towards the end, there are issues with spacing. The bibliography is not in perfect shape with inconsistent capitalization.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The book's main achievement is to provide an introductory text that can help students revisit their biases toward the people of the Middle East. The ethnic and linguistic diversity of the region and its religious pluralism, themes highlighted in the text, are helpful to contextualize the region. Thanks to this perspective, students can overcome the common tendency to conflate the region with Islam and understand its long history as a crucible of diversity.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2022-04-05T18:56:10.000-05:00","updated_at":"2022-04-05T18:56:10.000-05:00"},{"id":34285,"first_name":"Jessalynn","last_name":"Bird","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Saint Mary's College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The book begins by comprehensively mapping out the linguistic and religious diversity of the \"Middle East,\" with an emphasis on the importance of Arabic and Islam in the region, but then jumps from the era of the expansion of the Islamicate to the era of colonialism and imperialism, and ends in the Col War Era.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"Because this is an introductory-level textbook, the authors have carefully defined terms and have sought to avoid over-generalizations and specialist terminology.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"Because the text does not engage with any material past the Iranian revolution, there is little that will date quickly or become rapidly obsolete.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The book is clearly written for undergraduate audiences.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The authors avoid obvious pitfalls in choice of terminology and any specialist terms employed are carefully defined for the reader.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Chapters are short and easy to navigate, which should appeal to undergraduate audiences. Visuals accompany each chapter.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"There is a startling gap between late antiquity and the modern era (the entire medieval period and early modern periods are omitted).","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"By and large the book is clearly formatted and easy to read, although the placement of images is a bit awkward in some chapters.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Clearly and concisely written.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The authors stress that the region studied is a complex and varied one and encourage readers to explore it further.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"I very much appreciated certain sections of this text and may well use them in my own courses, but as a medievalist/early modernist,  it was strange to me not to see any mention of the cultural and trading connections between the Middle East and other regions of the world (Asia, Europe, Africa), and, let's name the elephant in the room, the crusades. I appreciate that the authors were focused on the imperial and post-world-war periods, but feel that it is hard to understand developments in the Middle East in those later chronological periods without at least some reference to the medieval period (apart from Rumi).","created_at":"2022-12-15T11:06:28.000-06:00","updated_at":"2022-12-15T11:06:28.000-06:00"},{"id":34445,"first_name":"Lindsay","last_name":"Benstead","position":"Associate Professor of Political Science","institution_name":"Portland State University","comprehensiveness_rating":5,"comprehensiveness_review":"This book is highly comprehensive from the point of view of a beginning course on Middle East area studies. For a graduate school or upper-level undergraduate course, it could be used for the first week or two focusing on the history and cultural context of the region. For lower-level undergraduates, it could be used for an entire course providing an introduction to the region.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The book is accurate and free from bias. The authors address several topics, such as the critique of the term The Middle East, which highlight the authors' attempts to be unbiased and fair.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"Because this book addresses mainly historical topics, it is highly relevant and likely to be a useful text for many years.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The book is clearly written and accessible for learners at the high school level an beyond.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The book is cohesive and consistent, covering major topics in the history of the MENA region, the study of the Middle East (including a critique of the term), and the cultural and social context.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"One key benefit of this textbook is that the material is broken down into short sections with descriptive headings. It is possible for instructors to select sections that pertain to the content for a particular module in their course.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"The topics in the book are presented in a logical order. The book is organized into short sections that make them manageable for readers at any level of study.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"This textbook is highly navigable, with a Table of Contents that links to each section of the book. The text and images are clear.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"This book is free from grammatical errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"This textbook presents the cultural and religious heritage of the Middle East and North Africa in a cultural sensitive way that makes it a good choice for high school and university level courses.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2023-03-09T23:40:22.000-06:00","updated_at":"2023-03-09T23:40:22.000-06:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/keys-to-understanding-the-middle-east","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:12:35.000-06:00"},{"id":671,"title":"Canadian History: Post-Confederation","edition_statement":null,"volume":null,"copyright_year":2016,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"This textbook introduces aspects of the history of Canada since Confederation. “Canada” in this context includes Newfoundland and all the other parts that come to be aggregated into the Dominion after 1867. Much of this text follows thematic lines. Each chapter moves chronologically but with alternative narratives in mind. What Aboriginal accounts must we place in the foreground? Which structures (economic or social) determine the range of choices available to human agents of history? What environmental questions need to be raised to gain a more complete understanding of choices made in the past and their ramifications?","contributors":[{"id":4790,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":"Ph.D.","first_name":"John","middle_name":"Douglas","last_name":"Belshaw","location":null,"background_text":"John Douglas Belshaw, Ph.D. has a long connection with Thompson Rivers University as a History professor and is now a faculty member in the Open Learning Division. He is also a consultant to the post-secondary sector and a writer. Belshaw has authored, co-authored, and edited several articles and books on the history of British Columbia."}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"}],"publishers":[{"id":649,"url":"https://opentextbc.ca/","year":null,"created_at":"2019-02-22T18:54:29.000-06:00","updated_at":"2019-02-22T18:54:42.000-06:00","name":"BCcampus"}],"formats":[{"id":1154,"type":"Online","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1155,"type":"PDF","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1615,"type":"eBook","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1849,"type":"MS Word","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/open/download?type=odf","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":4595,"type":"XML","url":"https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":null,"textbook_reviews_count":0,"reviews":[],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/canadian-history-post-confederation","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:42:20.000-06:00"},{"id":698,"title":"Western Civilization: A Concise History","edition_statement":null,"volume":"Volume 1","copyright_year":2024,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Western Civilization: A Concise History is an Open Educational Resource textbook covering the history of Western Civilization from approximately 8000 BCE to the recent past. The textbook is divided into three volumes. The core narrative of the textbook is a political history of the greater Mediterranean region in the ancient period in Volume 1, Europe and European empires in the medieval and early modern periods in Volume 2, and both European and world history in the modern period in Volume 3. Elements of intellectual, cultural, social, and religious history are present throughout, but the main focus of the text is politics over time.","contributors":[{"id":4837,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr.","first_name":"Christopher","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Brooks","location":"Portland Community College","background_text":""}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":676,"url":"https://www.pcc.edu/","year":2024,"created_at":"2019-05-04T14:15:42.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-05-09T14:42:51.000-05:00","name":"Portland Community College"}],"formats":[{"id":1415,"type":"Google Doc","url":"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PFCxpi7tR5vVcSSBU-h2pgoNTTOcjn5ceIgNS5H9lgo/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1207,"type":"PDF","url":"https://www.pcc.edu/staff/christopher-brooks3/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":7,"reviews":[{"id":3010,"first_name":"Michael","last_name":"Hofstetter","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Southwest Minnesota State University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text covers the main ideas and areas of the subject well.  However, it lacks an index, glossary, and bibliography.  The addition of  a bibliography (or at least some suggested readings connected with each chapter) would be most helpful for undergraduates.\r\n","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The text is generally accurate.  However, some sections are stronger than others.  The chapters on the Roman republic and empire are particularly strong and even handed.  The chapter on Islam, however, glosses over key events (such as the murder of Uthman and the events at Karbala) which were crucial in the creation of the division between Sunnism and Shiism.  There are also some minor factual oversights which could use editing - Abbasid era scholars did pioneering work in optics and refraction but did not develop telescopes; the letter which Pope Gregory sent to missionaries in Anglo-Saxon England did not go to Bede but to Augustine of Canterbury; Solon was by all accounts an archon and not (unlike Draco before him or Peisistratus afterwards) a tyrant.\r\n\r\nOf greater concern is that, on occasion, the author makes unnecessary polemical statements.  The most egregious of these is his repeated assertion that  many Western Civilization textbooks begin with Greece.  Most widely used textbooks, however, begin with Mesopotamia and Egypt just as this one does, so this is misguided.  This otherwise very useful text is also occasionally marred by diction which is overly informal.  A textbook such as this needs to both present material in an engaging fashion (which this does) and to offer students a strong example of scholarly prose.  ","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The book incorporates recent scholarship though its citation of it is uneven.  Here again a bibliography of some sort would be most helpful.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text explains most technical terms very clearly and makes appropriate use of etymologies in its explanations.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"As noted above the use of terminology is consistent.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is divided into clearly defined chapters which would facilitate classroom use.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Most of the book is well organized.  It could use a bit of tightening up in a few areas, though.  For example, it discusses the Mycenean Civilization in two different sections when it would be clearer to keep it all together.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface works well.  It is also easy to download the text in a PDF format.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The text is grammatically correct though the diction is at times too informal.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is inclusive.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"This textbook clearly is the product of great effort and is generally well-organized and presented.   As mentioned above, it could benefit from some  minor editing for accuracy, diction and, on occasion, organizational clarity and would  be improved by the inclusion of a bibliography or suggested reading list as well as an index.  It is a strong attempt to offer a survey of a broad period and would be of use particularly in the community college environment.","created_at":"2019-06-24T15:04:00.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-06-24T15:04:00.000-05:00"},{"id":3760,"first_name":"Mark","last_name":"Janzen","position":"Assistant Professor of History","institution_name":"Louisiana College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The chapters covered in this first volume are well-organized and the major topics are addressed but sometimes without sufficient space (more in \"Consistency\" section). I was especially happy to the ancient world given several chapters instead of just 2-3 chapters as many books do. \r\n\r\nSince the book is apparently marketed in three parts, I think it's important to provide an index for each part. Certain institutions or programs may use only volume 1, for example, and there is no index for it.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"Most sections I found to be accurate but there were a few errors, some more troubling than others. Jews, Christians, and Muslims do not worship the same god as the Introduction claims. There are substantial differences -- Trinitarian God vs. Allah is One, Deity of Christ, etc. -- to the extent that devout believers of each faith would bristle at the notion that they worship the same god. If the intent was to inform students that the three 3 largest monotheistic faiths have much in common due to their Abrahamic heritage, then that needs to be said. Claiming they all worship the same god is a gross simplification and requires far too much \"cleaning up\" from the professor to my mind. Either this needs to be removed or given a fuller treatment with far more nuance. The explanation regarding the Trinity is also a bit muddy and it felt like the author was not quite sure how to explain it. I also find using terms like \"party line\" to discuss a religious dogma to be in poor state and this risks giving students an overly politicized view of religion. Of course, religion and politics mixed often in that time period, but again I thought nuance was lacking here. Overall the sections on religion need the most work.  \r\n\r\nAnother area that needs more nuance is the so-called \"Dark Ages\" and the long since worn out characterization of the Germanic tribes are barbarians. The author appears to be aware of this by continually putting it \"barbarians\" in quotes and then explaining it in one paragraph. The term, however, should be replaced by the actual names of the tribes for their distinctions to be noted. They were not one homogenous group. There's no reason to perpetuate the Roman stereotype of them. Note it and move on to addressing them by name. \r\n\r\nA colleague of mine has read it as well and made some additional observations I'd like to highlight. The sections involving Latin terms also need to be cleaned up a bit. \"Coloni\" are not slaves but colonists. Most Coloni were \"veterani\" or their descendants who were settled in conquered provinces to secure Roman power.  They kept the peace and were given land as incentive for military service. They were by definition free Roman citizens, in contrast to the rustici or nativi who were non-citizens and often suffered under early forms of serfdom.\r\n\r\nA few topics deserve more treatment, in particular the time between the Arab Conquest and the Crusades. More should be said of the Carolingians, the Holy Roman Empire, etc.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"I think it's relevant and appears like it would be easy to update. I don't know if the author is a Wikipedia writer but at times it reads very similar to Wiki entries and makes use of Wiki Commons media/images. I don't not say this as a criticism necessarily. If anything, such a relationship makes updating even more streamlined. \r\n\r\nI will include these next remarks here because of the relationship to Wikipedia. I considered placing them in the first section as well. I would greatly appreciate a section \"For Further Reading\" so that the reliance on Wiki would be mitigated a bit. Considering that nearly every professor I know tells his/her students to not rely too much on Wiki, it's important that the book provide additional sources.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"See some of my comments above, but overall I think it is well-written for an early Undergraduate textbook. I would like a bit more precision and nuance on certain topics (some addressed above) but the overall prose is lucid and accessible. I think this is written in a more readable prose for Freshman than the vast majority of textbooks.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Terminology is fine so far as I could tell. I do think the framework needs to tweaked some (see comments above about the time periods between the Arabic Conquest and the Crusades). I think more should also be said of a few ancient events like Late Bronze Age Collapse and the Peloponnesian War. That said, I greatly appreciated the space devoted to the ANE, Greece, and Rome.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"No issues here. The headings are intuitive and provide a generally fair amount of reading for each section. Easily digestible for undergrads.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"They are logical and clear other than the last chapter or two on Islam and the Early Middle Ages which feels rushed (see comments above)","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"Layout, pixelation, etc. are all well done.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"No major issues.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"It's inclusive. A bit more on women/gender throughout would be helpful. The section on women in Egypt was great to see but so short. Much more could said there and in other regions and times. See also my previous comments on religion.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"My other major concern is that there is a lack of primary source citations. Many expensive texts include text-boxes or something similar to address this. Others include an entirely separate book. Considering cost, the latter is a bad option, of course. Good instructors will no doubt supplement this book with primary sources, but I would like to see more sources cited in the text to demonstrate how vibrant, exciting, and relevant history is. For example, when I discuss women in Egypt, I discuss letters from the worker's village at Deir el-Medina from two women to each other. One essentially states she has nothing to wear for the social function that week, so she wants to borrow something from the letter recipient. My students get a good laugh at that! More significantly, that conversation allows us to discuss literacy rates and gender. Did these women know how to write or have access to scribes somehow if not? Both options have interesting implications for their treatment in Egyptian society. I say all this as one example how vital including primary sources is to make history come alive. The book is well-written but needs more of this for history to come alive, which I find is often an uphill battle in Civ classes, as many students come into the class after a poor experience with history class in high school (IE, boring). \r\n\r\nFinally, I'd like to note that there is a good chance my department adopts this book. It does a nice job overall. My comments above are made in hopes of improving it further.","created_at":"2020-04-25T08:35:41.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-04-25T08:35:41.000-05:00"},{"id":3960,"first_name":"Nicole V.","last_name":"Jobin","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"University of Colorado Boulder","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text includes an introduction and thirteen chapters covering the history of Western Civilization from the Origins of civilization in Mesopotamia through the era of the Viking invasions in Western Europe. \r\n \r\nThe introduction frames the entirety of the text as if the reader were going to use all three volumes. This introduction highlights the issue of where the study of western civilization came from and why it is still relevant, while also pointing out the ways in which the text seeks to put Europe into context by acknowledging contributions, contacts, and influences from an area that extends well beyond “the west.” Perhaps the most interesting statement in the introduction is the examination of why Western Civilization even exists as a field of study, relating it to the era in which it first appeared (the 20th c.) as a distinct set of textbooks and courses in American universities.\r\n \r\nChapters cover Mesopotamia, Egypt, The Bronze and Iron Age civilizations of the Near East, Greek and Roman civilizations, the advent of Christianity, the early Byzantine Empire, the advent and early spread of Islam, and the kingdoms of Early Medieval Europe. \r\n \r\nAs the title indicates, the text is concise. It is also primarily focused on political and intellectual history, with occasional forays into economic, religious, and women’s history.\r\n \r\nThere is no index or glossary for this text.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content of this text appears to be accurate and in-line with the narrative of published works on this subject, which usually begin with early hominids and the rise of agriculture, though some subjects are treated with more detail than others. One example that shows that this material is up to date is the reference to recent changes in our understanding of early hominids, for instance. Errors mentioned by a reviewer of the first edition have been corrected in the February 2020 edition. Since this is a concise history, some topics necessarily are treated in very short form. As with all survey texts, the story is presented a bit too much as a narrative with most of the questions already answered, and little references to sources, but this is more a problem of the genre of survey textbooks than with this textbook in particular. A bibliography or indications for further reading would help to flesh out the sense that the information in the text is well researched (which it appears to be) and provide the message more clearly to students that works such as this are based on research, not just a retelling of static, uninterpreted facts.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"The reading level is appropriate for entry-level college students and the material is consistent with the subject areas typically covered in the beginning portion of the survey course. In order to use this text in a semester-based course, a portion of Volume 2 would also be necessary. It is clear that the author has made some attempt to bring in new scholarship where relevant and on a limited basis. This is not usually something that is done on a large scale except with major revisions to traditional Western Civilization texts every few years. Here, the author has already completed one revision since the original publication of the text a year or so ago.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"The language is clear and accessible. Students are introduced to new terms and concepts in ways that make meanings clear. Highlighting terms that are likely to be unfamiliar, or providing a vocabulary list at the end of each chapter might increase this accessibility further, but the text itself does provide good cues.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in terminology, focus, and framework. Chapters follow similar patterns as the text moves through its chronological narrative.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"The organizational structure is built on a chronological narrative that would make taking chapters out of order somewhat nonsensical. That being said, if an instructor was teaching a version of the course where certain topics were not included or that extended beyond the end of the text, it would be fairly easy to take chapters out or add some from the next volume to achieve the desired coverage. At the chapter level, more subheadings would be helpful.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The sequencing is logical and consistent with other introductory texts in the field, though occasionally the flow within a section is a bit disrupted. For instance, in the section on Egypt, the political chronology of the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom is divorced from the discussion of continuity (mostly cultural) that follows in a way that some historians might find less than optimal.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The selection of maps and photographs is well chosen to illustrate the chapters, though a few more illustrations would be welcome. While these maps and photos are clearly labeled, citation of sources for each item clearly visible in the descriptive text with the titles would be welcome. Right now the citation list appears at the end of each chapter which makes it less integral and less visible to students who need to learn about proper citation both in OER and for other formats. Providing some statistical or data visualization items could expand the usefulness of the text for explaining to students the different methods of historical analysis available to historians.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Few, if any, grammatical errors of significance are present.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Within the confines of the topic of Western Civilization, which is necessarily focused on Western Europe, this text appears to be mostly inclusive. The author makes a clear statement in the introduction that he has expanded coverage of areas that interacted with and influenced Europe, as well as looking in later volumes at the impact (both positive and negative) European expansion had upon the world in a larger sense. He also states that he has attempted to expand his coverage of women in history, though this is still in a somewhat imperfect state given the brevity of the text and the focus on mostly political and intellectual history. See the sections on Rome for an example of this, where scholarship has revealed more about women and gender in Roman society, but the text here has only limited coverage of this kind of information.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2020-06-11T16:12:38.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-11T16:12:38.000-05:00"},{"id":3970,"first_name":"David Henry","last_name":"Paradis","position":"Senior Instructor","institution_name":"University of Colorado Boulder","comprehensiveness_rating":2,"comprehensiveness_review":"The comprehensiveness of this work is somewhat uneven. Some topics, such as ancient Sumeria and the Greeks resemble similar treatments in other concise editions. Other topics, such as the medieval religion, medieval state building, and the defining features of Germanic and Celtic cultures are noticeably weak or absent. The author acknowledged that his background in the history of political theory influenced his focus on political history. He acknowledges the book’s lack of coverage of topics related to gender, social relations, and cultural development. One way to appreciate Brooks’ contribution is that it constitutes an initial edition, ready for emendations and improvements. \r\nAlthough it has been traditional to provide an index in paper textbooks, it seems less necessary in an electronic source that one can easily search. Nevertheless, a glossary with hyperlinks to somewhat specialized terms, such as a redistributive economy, would be a benefit for many students.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"Any textbook that covers the scope of material included in these volumes will have a few inaccuracies, or it will offer explanations that cause a specialist to cringe. Nevertheless, Brooks’ treatment of complex historical developments, such as the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire, not only was lucid and brief but also demonstrated familiarity with recent works on the subject. On a few topics, this mastery of the material was not as evident, especially in matters medieval: the use of Latin was not confined to written communications between intellectuals in Europe during the Middle Ages; scholars across Europe continued to speak Latin into the early modern period. Similarly, the only impact of the Fourth Crusade was not the weakening of Byzantium; the Venetians carved out a trade empire that lasted for centuries.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"One of the strengths of OER textbooks is that the author can allow derivative publications with acknowledgement. This volume provides a much-needed OER textbook for survey courses in European History. Similar to most texts in this genre, this concise history begins in the ancient Near East, where the first agricultural revolution or farming package transformed human material and social conditions. It then proceeds from the dawn of civilization around 3,500 BCE to cover Ancient Greece and Rome before covering medieval and early modern Europe in volume 2. Because the presentation of material in these volumes resembles the standard canon for Western Civilization textbooks, it is likely to attract supporters who seek to transform this first edition into an even stronger revision.","clarity_rating":3,"clarity_review":"In some regards the terminology used is quite clear. For example, the section on the early Middle Ages refers to the Church of Rome as “the Latin Church,” and it explains why the term “Catholic” is not necessarily appropriate for this period. Overall, the writing is generally clear and efficient in its coverage of the material. However, in some passages the language could be clearer, more formal, more concise, and more precise. In some passages typos, such as “sword” instead of “sworn,” and poor word choices undermine the professional presentation of the material. In others, references to customs and traditions as “things” (the word appears 42 times in volume 1) or to wars among the Hellenistic successor states as “feuding” are ripe for editorial revision. In still other instances, the language is just a little too colloquial: “huge” and “hugely” make a combined 46 appearances in volume 1. Finally, the text refers to medieval peasants as \"farmers,\" a term that is somewhat anachronistic for the period.","consistency_rating":3,"consistency_review":"Although the coverage of the ancient world was fairly robust, coverage of early medieval Europe was too cursory. This uneven coverage limited the continuity of the analysis. For example, the text mentioned the importance of bureaucracy in maintaining political stability in the ancient world but failed to note the significance of its development within medieval Europe in general or in Anglo-Saxon England or in the Ottonian empire in particular. While Anglo-Saxon history has arguably occupied too large a position in previous accounts of Western Civilization, the diminution to just two paragraphs appears to be an over-correction, especially to this English medievalist. When one considers that the textbook is essentially an introduction to European history, it is hard to understand why the Mongol Empire, fascinating as it is, receives more attention than the Anglo-Saxon or Ottonian states.","modularity_rating":3,"modularity_review":"The chapter headings and foci are excellent. The tripartite division of the volumes makes lots of sense, even though most Western Civilization courses have two parts, one modern and one pre-modern. It seems that if one is going to employ this tripartite division of periods that the divisions would fall along the lines of ancient, medieval, and modern. Given that the early Middle Ages functioned as a sort of crucible for European Civilization that fused the Greco-Roman, barbarian, and Christian customs and traditions, it would make sense to begin volume 2 there instead of the period around 1000 when that medieval culture started to transform into a civilization.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organizational structure of this Western Civilization textbook is in some ways superior to many of the more elaborate textbooks. The chapters on the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Caliphate, for example, address these entities over the course of several centuries without interrupting their development to focus on other polities. Consequently, the narrative and analysis remain unbroken in contrast to some books that jump back and forth between the Byzantines, the Muslims, and the barbarian successor states during the Middle Ages. With that back and forth approach, students often lose some of the continuity of the Byzantines and the Muslims. Brooks’ organizational structure makes especial sense for those courses that have only one class on the Caliphate and another on Byzantium.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The PDF version of the textbook worked very well. It integrated easily into our institution’s learning management system (LMS). Students were able to access it without issues.","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"Although the number of grammatical errors was fairly small, the prose periodically borders on wordy or unclear forms of expression. A more thorough editing could improve the quality of the prose quite a bit.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Since the 1980s introductory courses in European history often address the racist and imperialist assumptions that initially fashioned the concept of Western Civilization. Brooks addresses this unfortunate legacy in the first dozen pages of volume 1. Similarly, his treatment of the rise and influence of Islam begins with an explanation of the similarities between Islam and Christianity and with a brief accounting of the West’s indebtedness to Islamic scholars during the Middle Ages. In addition, Brooks pointed out that his own background in intellectual political history has limited his ability to address cultural history and gender relations adequately. Admitting that his treatment of these issues might fall short for some readers, he has given permission to use this work as a foundation for derivative works according to OER guidelines.","overall_rating":7,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2020-06-11T16:33:57.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-11T16:33:57.000-05:00"},{"id":4087,"first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Harrison","position":"Instructor of History","institution_name":"Linn-Benton Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is very comprehensive in terms of the number of civilizations and cultures covered. In fact, I wonder if even a 16-week semester would suffice to cover them. It is gratifying to see a fairly detailed chapter on Islamic civilization. The text is also quite comprehensive in its survey of political and military events. Empires like those of the ancient Hittites receive more coverage than would be typical in a Western Civilization survey. However, to little attention is given to artistic, literary, and cultural life in general.  Brief thumbnail sketches of topics like Greek art and drama just don't go far enough. The lives of ancient women are mentioned in a number of places, but without enough detail. The orientation of the text is clearly from the top on down, with an emphasis on dynasties, rulers, and their wars and conquests. One example is the list of Egyptian rulers and their accomplishments, which are important, to be sure, but daily life, while mentioned in various cultures, is given too little attention, as are topics like the construction of the pyramids. One example is the statement that slaves probably didn't build the pyramids of Giza, which is accurate, but substantially more information than that is now available regarding the lives of workers. Another example is how the rise of Hebrew monotheism receives a fair summary, but almost entirely from biblical texts, without much reference to archaeology. The lack of even short excerpts from key primary documents is also a problem, as is the need for more maps.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The text was quite accurate in most regards, though the statement in the introduction about most histories of Western Civilization starting with the Greeks doesn't match my experience. I don't think I have ever seen a text which doesn't begin with Neolithic events and then moves to Mesopotamian civilizations. Recent archaeology also should be reflected more often in the text. For example, the work at Gobleki Tepe in Turkey has challenged traditional explanations of how the rise of farming and civilization arose in sequence. Another problem area was the description of the life of Jesus as having been miraculous based on statements of some gospels. The earliest gospel, that of Mark, does not include any of the legends of the nativity, and historians don't describe events like the visitation and annunciation as historical. The statement that the young Jesus showed great aptitude for theology is likewise not  historically responsible. We really know nothing of Jesus' early life. The author would do well to consult the work of the Jesus Seminar, whose founder, Dr. Robert Funk, has estimated that 18% of the sayings of Jesus recorded in the gospels is accurate. The problematic nature of the gospels as historical sources needs some attention in the text.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"There is a need to incorporate recent archaeological evidence and the work of other social sciences in order to bring the text truly up to date. One example is the area of Biblical archaeology, which has challenged the traditional explanation of the rise of Hebrew monotheism in interesting ways, most importantly the notion that Yahweh was worshiped with Asherah as a consort. These discoveries are now decades old. I also think the text needs a substantial increase in the coverage of gender and class, with more attention paid to the daily lives and contributions of women, workers, and slavery.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"I found no problems with the clarity and style of the text, and especially appreciated the lack of jargon.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Although I have problems with the degree to which the text centers historical events from a ruling class perspective, I must agree that the approach is consistent. I would recommend much more of a \"people's history\" approach.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Sections of the text could easily be assigned in smaller sections without losing a sense of clear organization. Chapter subheadings are clear and there are rarely more than 3-4 pages assigned to each subheading.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"Topics are generally listed clearly; the chronology works well.  However, I think the text would more effective with blocks of primary documents to break up the narrative. More charts and maps would also relieve the flow of one page full of text after another. Images are critical to a students' grasp of major themes, not just one the flow of events.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"I was pleased with the easy interface of mostly maps in the text, though at least one map lacked a key to the expansion of an empire.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Grammar and style are generally not a problem, and the book seems to be at an appropriate level for college readers. However, a few sentences could raise problems, such as this one from page 204: \"Christianity united self-understood \"Western Civilization\" just as Roman culture had a few centuries earlier.\"","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text's problems with cultural relevance do not stem from dismissive or insensitive references, but much more from its default perspective: that of male rulers (with exceptions of course) and how history is grouped around their actions.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"Despite some shortcomings, the author certainly deserves praise for a highly readable and accurate survey of a vast period of history.","created_at":"2020-06-25T16:18:15.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-06-25T16:18:15.000-05:00"},{"id":4906,"first_name":"Nikolas","last_name":"Hoel","position":"Instructor","institution_name":"Northeastern Illinois University","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"For the immense project the text aspires to take on, the end product achieves a level of comprehensiveness that is on par with most print-based texts of a similar nature.  That said, there is room for improvement.  The text could easily expand to take a more global perspective that is predominant in the field of pre-modern history today.  Approach the material as \"The West in the World,' might prove to be more useful to instructors who are moving more towards that direction in their own understandings of the period.  The other main issue is that there is little reference to or inclusive of primary sources in the text.  The analysis of primary sources is key to developing not just as a historian, but as a critical thinker more generally.  The text as written seems to provide the opportunity to include these types of materials and they should be considered for future updates and editions.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"Within the constraints listed above, the content is historically accurate and reflects current consensus of scholars in the field.  It might be beneficial to be more forthright about the reality that everything in the text and in the field generally is an interpretation and that those interpretations change over time.  Of course, no text is perfect, but the few and minor errors in accuracy by meticulous intervention by the instructor with their own interpretations.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text is up-to-date, and should be easily updated in the form that it exists now.  The best updates would be to add primary source material, further readings sections, and a glossary.  As it is in this format, contributors should be able to keep the book consistent with trends in the field, particularly as pre-modern history becomes more global.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"This prose is adequately clear.  The logic that links the sections and chapters together is fairly easy to follow.  The only issue, as has been raised in other places in this review, is that there is no term list of glossary.  This made not be much concern to many students who have grown up in the \"western tradition\" and are familiar with the terms and concepts from previous experience and education, but as the demography of college students changes, if might be worth considering the renewed importance of such tools.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The terminology is consistent with the purposes and framework of the text.  It is also current with the standards for the field at this time, which lends the text to be used as a gateway for further study, as intro courses can often serves as recruiting tools for majors.  The consistency of the text will aid continuing students well.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The modularity is perhaps the strongest aspect of this text.  The chapters are easy to follow and the layout of that modularity throughout the entirety of the book is fairly consistent.  Furthermore, the navigational side bar to the left reflects the modularity well  and allows quick reference and navigation.","organization_rating":3,"organization_review":"The organization within each chapter is satisfactory.  The bigger concern is the organization of the three-volume work as a whole.  Granted it is based on a quarter not a semester system, but division of the volumes still seems problematic.  The chunks are far too big.  Further, if it were divided into more volumes, sections could be used for more specific classes on narrower periods of time.  For example, there are few OER textbooks for medieval history, and a simple reorganization of the chapters, would facilitate those courses.  Finally, far too much is packed into the chapters on medieval society as opposed to those on ancient or later periods.  More depth in these areas would help improve the overall usability of the text.","interface_rating":3,"interface_review":"The general aspects of the interface for the text is fine.  The navigational panels to the left side are effective and easy to use.  Further the charts, maps, and images are free from distortion.  The main problem is not what is here, but what is not.  The text is limited with no glossary and bibliography or list of further readings.  There are many terms and concepts in \"Western Civilization\" that may not be familiar to students, especially those outside of that tradition, and which find their way necessarily into this text. These could easily be hyperlinked for more easy of access, not only to definitions, but also to understanding.  It should be noted that I only viewed the text on a desktop and other issues may exist when using a mobile device as so many students do.","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"Overall, the text is free from grammatical errors.  That said, at some points the sentence structure is odd, which may distract students or limit comprehension, especially of non-native speakers of English.","cultural_rating":3,"cultural_review":"The text is fairly inclusive and certainly is more so than more tradition, paper-based textbooks.  Yet, the movement in the field is towards placing ancient and medieval Europe in their more global context, and this text could present those themes a little more clearly.  The book does problematize the concept of the \"West\" in the introduction, which is important and necessary, but it would be stronger if it followed though more completely on the promises that section seems to make.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":null,"created_at":"2021-05-11T14:30:12.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-05-11T14:30:12.000-05:00"},{"id":5172,"first_name":"Denise","last_name":"Griffin","position":"Adjunct Faculty / ABE Program Coordinator and Instructor","institution_name":"Holyoke Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is comprehensive while being concise. The courses I teach need more breadth than depth which this text has. I think that my students will enjoy the informal diction. The style of writing makes for enjoyable, interesting reading while delivering comprehensive information. I like the format of the introduction which sets the groundwork for the text.","accuracy_rating":5,"accuracy_review":"The text is accurate although because it is concise, does not include some of the finer detail on topics that an instructor may choose to clarify.","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text is up to date and written in a format that lends itself to being updated easily.","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"For my Freshman student population, accessible prose is important and I think this text does an excellent job of that. It also explains any terms the students may not know. As others have stated, there is no index or glossary.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"Most chapters have a conclusion but not all. I think the overall format is good, but wish that there were some questions for critical thinking or to test a student's understanding of the content.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is broken down into logical modules that would be easy to teach as a stand alone lesson. The text also seems to have the right amount of diagrams and pictures associated with the module topic to enhance learning.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of the material is well thought out with good flow through the modules. I would like to see those thought provoking questions and self-test questions included though.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I experienced no interface issues. Someone commented on another text that it was easily accessible on their phone which might be due to lack of pictures and diagrams. I did not test this text on a phone and do not know if the images would slow downloading.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"Overall grammar is correct. It is an informal writing style that I think my students will enjoy.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"I do not see the text as being culturally insensitive, at the same time there could be more information about how race and ethnicity played a role in history. There is some information about the roles and treatment of women in the cultures, but having more information would be beneficial. The goal was to be concise, but I think this area could use some more information.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I like the text and plan on using it in my classes. I will supplement with more information about how different races, ethnicity, and sexes were treated. I think more on slavery throughout history would be beneficial. I see some mention in the section about Sparta but not much else where. I think it is important to know who was being enslaved and how the slaves were treated in various cultures. I acknowledge that the goal was to be concise, and I will supplement in areas I want to cover in more detail.","created_at":"2021-06-29T18:03:50.000-05:00","updated_at":"2021-06-29T18:03:50.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/western-civilization-a-concise-history-volume-1","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:17:18.000-06:00"},{"id":699,"title":"Western Civilization: A Concise History","edition_statement":null,"volume":"Volume 2","copyright_year":2024,"isbn10":null,"isbn13":null,"license":"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike","language":"eng","accessibility_statement":null,"accessibility_features":["unknown"],"description":"Western Civilization: A Concise History is an Open Educational Resource textbook covering the history of Western Civilization from approximately 8000 BCE to the recent past. The textbook is divided into three volumes. The core narrative of the textbook is a political history of the greater Mediterranean region in the ancient period in Volume 1, Europe and European empires in the medieval and early modern periods in Volume 2, and both European and world history in the modern period in Volume 3. Elements of intellectual, cultural, social, and religious history are present throughout, but the main focus of the text is politics over time.","contributors":[{"id":4838,"contribution":"Author","primary":false,"corporate":false,"title":"Dr.","first_name":"Christopher","middle_name":null,"last_name":"Brooks","location":"Portland Community College","background_text":""}],"subjects":[{"id":30,"name":"History","parent_subject_id":6,"call_number":"D20","visible_textbooks_count":52,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history"},{"id":6,"name":"Humanities","parent_subject_id":null,"call_number":null,"visible_textbooks_count":418,"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/humanities"}],"publishers":[{"id":677,"url":"https://www.pcc.edu/","year":2024,"created_at":"2019-05-04T14:25:17.000-05:00","updated_at":"2024-05-09T14:48:02.000-05:00","name":"Portland Community College"}],"formats":[{"id":1416,"type":"Google Doc","url":"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kO1De-Ou5sB71y9qT-L9XM-lXZRacYHWFIT91Phg3NE/edit","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null},{"id":1208,"type":"PDF","url":"https://www.pcc.edu/staff/christopher-brooks3/","price":{"cents":0,"currency_iso":"USD"},"isbn":null}],"rating":"4","textbook_reviews_count":5,"reviews":[{"id":3189,"first_name":"Daniel","last_name":"Franke","position":"Assisant Professor","institution_name":"Richard Bland College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The text is comprehensive and manages to cover in at least some detail all the topics one would expect in a Western Civ survey—partly this is achieved through the three-volume format. ","accuracy_rating":2,"accuracy_review":"The accuracy of the text is a two-fold issue. On the issue of basic facts as part of a story within the larger chapter, say the discussion of Urban II’s preaching of what became the First Crusade in 1095 (volume 2, chapter 1), the text is generally accurate.\r\n\r\nRegarding the details and sometimes the basic features of institutions, systems, and peoples, the results are more mixed. Volume 1 chapter 12, “The Fall of Rome,” makes liberal use of the terms “Germans” and “Celts” even though historians have been agreed for some decades now that these are inventions and misunderstandings of 19th-century historians. \r\n\r\nIn volume 1 chapter 15 “Early Medieval Europe,” the seven sacraments of Catholicism are presented in a straightforward manner, except for the fact that marriage in early medieval Europe was not yet considered a sacrament. The “feudal system” is presented as a messy, though still very real, thing (this is not so much of an issue as historians remain divided on the usefulness of the term, English-language historians often discarding it completely while German historians tend to grudgingly accept it). \r\n\r\nVolume 2, chapter 11 “Trade Empires and Early Capitalism,” presents a straightforward description of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, and crucially points out that slavery is often misunderstood in North America because most slaves were sent to the Caribbean (pg. 165). Further on the text discusses the uniquely racial character of Trans Atlantic Slavery, and argues that racial theories were created to justify the trade, and that ‘the whole idea of human “race” is largely derived from the Slave Trade—biologically, “race” is nothing more than a handful of unimportant cosmetic differences between people, but thanks to the history of the enslavement of Africas, Europeans…led the charge in describing “race” as some kind of fundamental human category…” (pp. 167-168). Current scholarship, such as that by Geraldine Heng, has strongly argued, not always uncontroversially, that “race” was largely invented in the Middle Ages and that racial theory was created before the TransAtlantic Slave Trade began. \r\n\r\nPerhaps one of the most problematic chapters, particularly from the point of view of a medieval historian (as the reviewer is), is the volume 2 chapter 12, “The Scientific Revolution.” Statements such as “Medieval and early-modern Europeans had never developed an empirical scientific culture because the point of science had never been to discover the truth, but to describe it” (p. 172) are simply incorrect and present students and teachers with a very shaky foundation on which to study the period. Further on, there are statements such as that Francis Bacon invented the scientific method and “took the radical step of breaking even with the Renaissance obsession with ancient scholarship by arguing that ancient knowledge of the natural world was all but worthless and that scholars in the present should instead reconstruct their knowledge of the world based on empirical observation” (p. 174). This is inaccurate at virtually every level, beginning with the twin facts that the ‘scientific method’ was, as far as we know, “invented” by Ibn al-Haytham in the 11th century and either discovered or rediscovered by Roger Bacon in the 13th century. The first revision of ancient science had actually come during the Abbasid period, and Muslim, Christian, and Jewish medieval scientists had pushed far past the boundaries of ancient science by the early 1300s. \r\n","relevance_rating":3,"relevance_review":"The relevance of the text is a complicated issue. As far as statements of fact, the text is solid, and in the frequent instances where, as a survey text must, complex movements are interpreted, students are given a point of view to explore or, depending on the instructor’s inclination, to challenge. In many chapters, however, there is relatively little to suggest the last fifteen years of scholarship on the issues, and little to suggest to students that the study of history is one of motion, one that is constantly in a state of tension, revision, and re-revision of interpretations over contested historical facts.  ","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Clarity is not an issue—the writing style is both engaging and largely free from jargon, with terms being explained in the text.","consistency_rating":4,"consistency_review":"The text is internally consistent—there is a single authorial voice and point of view throughout both volumes that translates into a unified whole. Repeating the introduction in each volume of the series helps to reinforce this single vision.","modularity_rating":4,"modularity_review":"Although the text is arranged in PDFs across three parts, rather than two as is more common in Western Civ courses, nothing prevents picking and choosing different chapters as needed for the course. The chapters themselves all contain several sections indicated by subheadings. For example, volume 2 Chapter 1 “The Crusades and the High Middle Ages,” contains subheadings “The Crusades,” “The First Four Crusades,” “Consequences of the Crusades,” “The Northern Crusades and the Teutonic Knights,” “The Emergence of the High Middle Ages,” and so on, up to a total of fourteen subheadings across 20 pages. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The text’s organization is a straightforward chronology, within which there is some room for topical discussions. In volume 2 Chapter 11, for example, the chapter is situated within a broader chronology, but the topics themselves—“The Dutch” and “Britain and the Slave Trade” for example, are logical and keep the text moving.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The interface is clean, with no observable distortion of images or text in the entire document.  There are on average 4-5 maps and images per chapter, drawn from open sources. ","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"There were no grammatical errors that this reviewer could see. ","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"The text seems to avoid problematic terminology for the most part. The discussion of, say the Indigenous Peoples in volume 2 chapter 6 “European Exploration and Conquest”, is largely from a “satellite” level. That is, the text largely remains descriptive rather than necessarily analytical, and generally maintains a European perspective. It would be up to the individual instructors who use this textbook to assemble primary sources that give a diverse set of perspectives and experiences. The introduction, which discusses the term \"Western Civilization,\" its history and the author's approach, lays out problems and possibilities in a manner perhaps more restrained than is warranted, since the positive aspects of thinking on Western Civ were often, if not always, entwined with a white supremacist outlook and advocacy, and it would be good to discuss these moral and philosophical tensions in the introduction as well.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"On the whole this three-volume series is a tremendous improvement on previous OER Western Civ textbooks. However, given the limitations described above, as well as the fact that it comes with no timelines, key terms, indices, glossaries, story lines, or primary sources, and few links to further resources, instructors will still have to do a tremendous amount of work to build a course around this textbook.","created_at":"2019-10-17T11:28:27.000-05:00","updated_at":"2019-10-17T11:28:27.000-05:00"},{"id":3470,"first_name":"Amy","last_name":"Smith","position":"Adjunct Professor ","institution_name":"Treasure Valley Community College","comprehensiveness_rating":3,"comprehensiveness_review":"While the text covers a significant span of time it does not give critical depth and context to significant events. One example is the lack of focus on the political background prior to and during the Reformation. This is a significant omission and one that robs the historical record of depth and accuracy. Additionally, the text does not contain an index or glossary, making it difficult to reference specific locations.","accuracy_rating":3,"accuracy_review":"The content of this text is somewhat accurate. Accuracy suffers when broad, general statements are made in place of specific details regarding individuals or events. For example, a statement in chapter 7 regarding Martin Luther states, “He suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety that led him to become monk, the traditional solution to an identity crisis as of the early modern period.” This statement is not a completely accurate portrayal of Luther’s experiences as a young man and no further information is given. Statements such as this are frequently made throughout the text and do not adequately provide the information necessary to understand the individuals or events presented.  ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The text is easily edited and updated. ","clarity_rating":4,"clarity_review":"Although the author states his intention to provide a text for history students with little to no prior history coursework, there are historical references that are not generally known and for which no context or explanation are provided. ","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text is consistent in structure and terminology.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"The text is easily divisible by chapters and subheadings within chapters. ","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The material in the text is not presented in the most logical order. Essential background information is given near the end of the section and would have been valuable to understanding the events presented at the beginning of the section.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"The text is easily downloaded as a PDF. ","grammatical_rating":3,"grammatical_review":"The text contains frequent punctuation errors and occasional grammar errors. These errors disrupt and confuse the flow of narrative.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"The text is culturally appropriate and respectful.","overall_rating":8,"overall_review":"This text provides a basic framework for a Western Civilization course, but an instructor would need to address its grammar and content issues, as well as other issues mentioned above, before assigning chapters to students.  ","created_at":"2020-01-05T19:45:51.000-06:00","updated_at":"2020-01-05T19:45:51.000-06:00"},{"id":3809,"first_name":"Ashley","last_name":"Elrod","position":"Assistant Professor","institution_name":"Northeastern Illinois University","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"The author justifiably states in the series introduction that for any survey of a 10,000 year history, “‘balance’ is in the eye of the reader,” leaving any author of such a work open to criticism from reviewers. Overall, I found that the text satisfactorily covers major themes and events in western history that typically appear in current textbooks on the West, with the welcome addition of additional underrepresented topics and regions. \r\n\r\nMany current textbooks on this subject begin with a critical self-reflection on the very concept of “Western Civilization,” a necessary exercise to prevent anachronism and to guide students through a critical assessment of inherited assumptions and stereotypes. Brooks’ series introduction provides a clear explanation of the historiographic issues to the concept of “the West.” His chapters build on this critique by de-centering western Europe from the historical narrative. One passage from the chapter on European expansion is a fitting example: “Europe was not a particularly important place, in the context of global empires…” (98). Like other competing titles such as \"The West in the World,\" \"The World and the West,\" or \"The West in the Wider World,\" Brooks’ volume revises narrow definitions of \"the West\" to include underrepresented civilizations in the Baltic, Middle East, and Central Asia. These sections contain clear explanations of why these regions are essential to the story of “western” history (see e.g., chapters on the high and late Middle Ages, Renaissance, and era of European conquest). Each of these sections usually also include commentary on revisionist debates, providing a welcome opportunity to engage students in discussions of historiography.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The content in many ways reflects prevailing consensus within the field about historiographic debates. Comments throughout the chapters explicitly challenge persistent stereotypes, such as the claims of commercial and cultural stagnation during the “Dark Ages” or the “progress narrative” based on alleged inherent European superiority. The text’s interpretations reflect the contributions of social history, women’s and gender history, and cultural histories focused on Mediterranean religious coexistence. The chapter on the reformation (tellingly titled “Reformations,” plural), for example, completely eschews the title of the “Protestant Reformation,” and instead introduces students to historians’ nuanced portrayal of a multiplicity of reformations.","relevance_rating":4,"relevance_review":"As the previous sections indicate, Brooks’ text reflects current prevailing approaches towards western history. Given the enormous scope of the 3-volume text, however, instructors will undoubtedly find sections reflecting outdated research. The section on the Black Death, for example, claims that “historians still debate” what disease ultimately caused the pandemic, although the interdisciplinary field of Black Death studies has shown through decade-old biological and archaeological research that it was the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It should be noted that the author presents the text as a living resource, and the author invites corrections from readers.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The text is written in accessible prose. Since the author embraces a revisionist approach to western history, which largely rejects triumphal progress narratives, the text must depend on other devices to organize and drive the narrative. Chapters focus on key transitional periods (the crises of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformations), broken down into thematic concerns. The author’s prose is effective at logically linking together the sections to show cause and effect (e.g., patronage and Renaissance culture) or reveal underrepresented narratives (e.g., women in medieval Europe).","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"The text uses consistent terminology and is largely consistent in its stated aims in the series introduction.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"As the author acknowledges, history courses on this topic will vary in many respects. Some are structured on the quarter system instead of the semester system; some colleges break Western history down into two versus three courses, with great variation in the start and end dates of each period; and some universities may move farther away from the “western history” model entirely. The advantage of this free open resource three-volume text is that it can be easily assigned in smaller parts, depending on the individual circumstances of the class. \r\n\r\nIn addition to chronological divisions, the text is also broken down by historical era (e.g., the High Middle Ages) and thematic focus (e.g., the emergency of cities, medieval women, monasticism). In general, chapters do not overtly depend on previous chapters for the reader's full comprehension of the material.","organization_rating":4,"organization_review":"The organization of the text is generally logical and clear, following common divisions and periodization of other textbooks, with some exceptions. For example, one chapter in volume two is confusingly titled “Politics in the Renaissance Era,” despite coming on the heels of a chapter on the Renaissance that did address Italian politics. “Politics in the Renaissance Era” instead seems to be a grab bag gathering place for topics that perhaps did not fit well elsewhere, such as the so-called “gunpowder revolution,” seven hundred years of developments from the Holy Roman Empire, the emergency of Ottoman and Safavid empires, and the Middle Eastern economy.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"Each volume of the series contains the same series introduction. Each chapter includes a clear introduction section and a concluding summary that reiterates important themes. The chapters are broken down into many thematic sections (some only a few paragraphs long), each with a clearly visible heading and appropriate section titles. These should aid with easy navigation of the text, although a glossary and index are much needed. Visuals include maps (e.g., e.g., spread of Black Death; crusader routes; Mongol empire) and images (Joan of Arc, Cosimo Medici, Martin Luther).","grammatical_rating":4,"grammatical_review":"The introductions to the 3-volume series contains multiple grammatical errors that distract from the text. Other chapters of the volumes, however, seemed more thoroughly proofread for errors.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Cultural relevance is a real strength of this text. As stated in previous sections, the text’s commitment to a revisionist narrative that de-centers western Europe comes through not just in the introduction, but throughout the individual chapters. This is evident, for example, in the text’s coverage of the crusades, its analysis of Muslim contributions to commercial and cultural renaissances in the Mideast and Europe, its attention to the political, cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity within Mediterranean and Middle Eastern societies, and through cultural comparisons between European states and other global empires.","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"I would recommend using this text in combination with supplemental texts that can deepen students' comprehension of individual regions, give voice to individual lives (outside the realm of political history), and target thematic issues specific to each instructor's syllabus.","created_at":"2020-05-07T18:05:46.000-05:00","updated_at":"2020-05-07T18:05:46.000-05:00"},{"id":34781,"first_name":"Jessalynn","last_name":"Bird","position":"Associate Professor","institution_name":"Saint Mary's College","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"I confess that if I were to use this volume in the classroom, it would be for the purposes of a High Medieval through Early Renaissance History course (taught in tandem with a literature course covering the same period). However, I have taught survey courses in the past covering the scope of the entire textbook. In the introduction to the first edition, I was pleased to see that the author signaled that they were going to break \"from the 'triumphalist' narrative that describes Western Civilization as the most successful, rational, and enlightened form of civilization in human history.\"  The first and second editions also focus much more on the incorporation of Islamicate cultures (at least those in the Mediterranean and Middle East) as truly part of this \"western\" civilization. The focus on political and intellectual history in the first edition is somewhat unsurprising, but could be better balanced by infusions of history from below highlighting the voices of individuals often excluded from the political realm writ large. The author has sought to redress that in the second edition by incorporating new material on social history, women and gender roles. This promise has been partly carried out by the inclusion of a section on medieval women, the incorporation of Christine de Pizan into the section on Renaissance thinkers, a section on women in the chapter on the Scientific Revolution, etc. There is no index or glossary for volume 2, the volume reviewed here.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The book has been carefully copy-edited and the writing is objective. The selection of images for the section on the Black Plague was somewhat confirming of popular stereotypes about the Middle Ages based on material from the early modern period (i.e., the images Dance of Death and the beaked masked doctor both come from much later periods, and the author acknowledges this in the captions, so why use them here?).","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"The author has admitted that this is a work in progress which will be revised and expanded in future editions. This is one of the benefits of OER editions--adaptability and responsiveness.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"The textbook tackles difficult subjects, such as the influence of learning in medieval Europe, Renaissance political thought, and the crusades in clear prose. Academic jargon is avoided and when specialist terms are used, they are translated into English and/or explained in the text.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Because the text was written by a single author, each section remains consistent in its prose style. There are different organizational arrangements in different chapters due to the nature of the material presented, but this does not detract from the usefulness of the text.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"I would be happy to recommend discrete chapters from this book as supplementary material for my later medieval/early Renaissance class. The modular nature of the book makes it easy to extract those sections needed by the adopting instructor. I am tempted to include, for example, the sections on the Ottoman and Safavid empires to counterbalance the western-weighted materials in the current textbooks we use for our medieval/Renaissance tandem.","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"This book flows logically if you are thinking in terms of political history (the predominant model for Western Civilization courses). Other Global History textbooks tend to be arranged by trends in social, economic, and cultural history.","interface_rating":4,"interface_review":"As a Google doc, this textbook has a robust format, but the full possibilities of it have not yet been explored (such as linking out to materials on the individuals, societies, or works of literature mentioned). I can understand why the author made this choice--having created courses and publications dependent on links, they need to be consistently checked and updated as materials become accessible (or inaccessible) online.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"The book is clearly and cleanly written.","cultural_rating":4,"cultural_review":"Albeit focused on western cultures' influence on the rest of the world, the author is careful to acknowledge that this influence was often not for the best, as in the case of the Crusades, the European invasion of the Americas (and the resultant Great Dying), the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, etc. It would be interesting to incorporate more material on other cultures' reactions to the westerners they encountered (this was hinted at in the sections on world trade and on trading empires, but could be expanded there and in the other sections mentioned).","overall_rating":9,"overall_review":"The inclusion of material on women and under-represented groups is most welcome, and for this reader it works best when it is incorporated into multiple chapter sections (as in the discussion of the age of Revolution), rather than into a discrete section.","created_at":"2023-12-10T07:10:33.000-06:00","updated_at":"2023-12-10T07:10:33.000-06:00"},{"id":35592,"first_name":"Mark","last_name":"Norris","position":"Professor of History","institution_name":"Grace College and Seminary","comprehensiveness_rating":4,"comprehensiveness_review":"For an early modern Western Civilization textbook, \"Western Civilization II: A Concise History,\" version 3.0 (2024), by Christopher Brooks, covers all areas of the subject matter appropriately from \"The High Middle Ages\" to \"The French Revolution.\" This textbook does not include an index or a glossary. However, each chapter contains appropriate visual sources and the hyperlinks to these sources are given at the end of each chapter.","accuracy_rating":4,"accuracy_review":"The accuracy of the text is generally good, though sometimes its succinctness comes at the expense of nuance.  For example, Brooks, in his chapter  \"Reformations,\" mentions that \"... [King] Henry petitioned the pope for a divorce [from Catherine of Aragon] - a practice that was strictly forbidden. The pope refused, and in defiance in 1531 Henry, under the auspices of a compliant local Catholic leader, divorced Catherine and married Anne.\"  (p. 124). In fact, Henry asked the pope for an annulment. The pope refused. Reformers and allies in parliament successfully challenged papal authority and had Henry VIII declared \"Supreme Head of the Church of England.\" Then Henry persuaded his archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, to annul the marriage. Henry argued that the marriage was invalid because he had married his brother's (Arthur's) widow -- thus violating scripture. He maintained that this was especially true given that her previous marriage had probably been consummated. Another example is his handling of the Anabaptists. He gives them a passing reference under the subtitle of \"The Protestant Churches.\"  Here Brooks writes: \"'Protestant' came to mean all of the different groups that broke away from the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. These denominations included Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, and other (generally smaller and less historically significant at the time) denominations like Anabaptism.\"(p. 126) A main theme in this chapter, \"Reformations\" is the Internecine militarism of a divided Christendom. This is generally true. However, there were Christians on the fringes who problematize this theme.  Anabaptists such as Menno Simons, focused on a literal understanding of Christ's \"Sermon on the Mount,\" and they advocated for peaceful conflict resolution. At the same time, they were persecuted by just about all other Christian groups. They would have more of an influence later in Western Civilization. So, Brooks is generally correct, but he leaves out a good and important story.\r\n\r\n ","relevance_rating":5,"relevance_review":"This work continues to be successfully updated. This is the third edition -- published in 2024. Evidence of the inclusion of recent scholarship can be seen throughout. For example, the author uses the chapter heading of \"Reformations\" rather than \"Reformation\" to emphasize more recent scholarship providing evidence for a vibrant Catholic Reformation that now needs to be taught along with what we know of the Protestant Reformation. Also noted are the contributions that Roman Catholicism made to the rise in European literacy rates.","clarity_rating":5,"clarity_review":"Brooks is an excellent writer. His prose is lucid, accessible to first-year college history majors, and when he does use technical terms, he gives good and helpful context. This work flows naturally and is a fine read.","consistency_rating":5,"consistency_review":"Another strength of this work is that the chapters are set up logically and consistently. Also, there is a consistent use of terminology that gives a very natural flow to the narrative.","modularity_rating":5,"modularity_review":"Each chapter is divided into helpful subtopics. Any subtopic may be taken out and assigned at different parts of a taught course. The text can easily be reorganized and then realigned with other subunits of a course. ","organization_rating":5,"organization_review":"Brooks' text is presented with a logical and clear flow.","interface_rating":5,"interface_review":"I could not spot any navigation problems. The images, maps, and charts were clear and displayed promptly. They were presented in a helpful manner.","grammatical_rating":5,"grammatical_review":"I could not spot any grammatical errors or typos.","cultural_rating":5,"cultural_review":"Brooks is culturally sensitive and he includes multiple points of view.","overall_rating":10,"overall_review":"Brooks is a fine historian and writer. This is a good, concise textbook of Western Civilization from the 16th through the 18th centuries. This may be comfortably accompanied in the classroom with either a primary source reader or links to good digital written sources.","created_at":"2025-08-11T15:31:10.000-05:00","updated_at":"2025-08-11T15:31:10.000-05:00"}],"url":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/western-civilization-a-concise-history-volume-2","updated_at":"2025-12-15T02:17:19.000-06:00"}],"links":{"self":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history.json?page=1","total_pages":6,"total_count":56,"next":"https://staging.open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/history.json?page=2"}}