From School Library Journal
Grade 5-10-Blauer and Laure begin with a simple account of Nelson Mandela's release from prison and the hopes it engendered and emphasize life since majority rule. The chapter on history, however, is curiously old-fashioned, beginning only with the coming of Europeans. South Africa in Pictures (Lerner, 1996) better reveals the historical role of Africans and the resistance of 19th-century African kingdoms to the encroaching Europeans. Nonetheless, key themes emerge: the competition for land and resources among whites and between whites and blacks; the impact of racial discrimination; the struggle of black Africans for freedom; and the diversity of South African society. Foster's book opens with a fictional description of a Kuwaiti brother and sister during the Iraqi invasion and closes with their imagined present-day lives, which is problematic in a book offered as nonfiction. While there are some errors of fact, superficial analyses of Islam and the divisions between families, classes, and nationalities are more significant. Almost a fifth of the book is consumed by the Gulf War. Compared to earlier titles in the series, both books are easier to read, the maps are simpler, and more of the illustrations are in full color.Loretta Kreider Andrews, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MDCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Card catalog description
Describes the history, geography, economy, language, religion, sports, arts, and people of this oil-rich country located on the northwestern shore of the Persian Gulf.
Kuwait ANNOTATION
Describes the history, geography, economy, language, religion, sports, arts, and people of this oil-rich country located on the northwestern shore of the Persian Gulf.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Describes the history, geography, economy, language, religion, sports, arts, and people of this oil-rich country located on the northwestern shore of the Persian Gulf.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 5-10-Blauer and Laure begin with a simple account of Nelson Mandela's release from prison and the hopes it engendered and emphasize life since majority rule. The chapter on history, however, is curiously old-fashioned, beginning only with the coming of Europeans. South Africa in Pictures (Lerner, 1996) better reveals the historical role of Africans and the resistance of 19th-century African kingdoms to the encroaching Europeans. Nonetheless, key themes emerge: the competition for land and resources among whites and between whites and blacks; the impact of racial discrimination; the struggle of black Africans for freedom; and the diversity of South African society. Foster's book opens with a fictional description of a Kuwaiti brother and sister during the Iraqi invasion and closes with their imagined present-day lives, which is problematic in a book offered as nonfiction. While there are some errors of fact, superficial analyses of Islam and the divisions between families, classes, and nationalities are more significant. Almost a fifth of the book is consumed by the Gulf War. Compared to earlier titles in the series, both books are easier to read, the maps are simpler, and more of the illustrations are in full color.-Loretta Kreider Andrews, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD
Art & Photography
Book Info
