Giving students enough information to write a report or formulate an opinion about a variety of social and political situations encountered in contemporary society, volumes in this "Issues in Focus" series focus on topics such as the death penalty, global warming, and the human genome project in addition to these titles. The books all have colorful, eye-catching covers and follow roughly the same format. They are aimed at middle school and junior high school students but could also be used by high school students. The information presented is factual, concise, and accurate. The typical teen might not find any of these books exciting to read, however, with their boring layout and repetitious text. There are no color illustrations and little is done to break up the text. Sometimes, important information is lacking. One might expect a book on human rights to have a map of current problems, but there was none. There also was no map or chart of those nations experimenting with genetically modified food. The books also had physical problems: three of the five had bindings that audibly cracked when opened gently for the first time. Although these books are reasonably priced subject overviews, librarians would do better to choose material from the similar Opposing Viewpoints Digests series from Greenhaven, which is written for the same age range and includes study questions, more lively writing, and illustrations, such as political cartoons, and contemporary celebrities to brighten the text. Glossary. Index. Illus. Source Notes. Further Reading. VOYA CODES: 2Q 1P M J S (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; No YA will read unless forced to for assignments; Middle School,defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Enslow, 128p. PLB