Joy Hakim

Joy Hakim tells history like a story, with lots of interesting facts and background information, and plenty of snark. I've enjoyed reading this to my 3rd & 5th grade boys. We've had some really good discussions and have done additional research about topics that sparked our curiosity. I can see how the stereotypical conservative Christian homeschooler might not like this series (which dares to question the infallibility of the founding fathers), but it's perfect for my secular approach. show more

(Recommended by a member of a secular homeschooling group) show less

Marvelous. I only read the first half, as the era between the Wars is the one I'm least familiar with, and this is aimed at children, but I still learned a lot. Did you know that during the Depression General Douglas MacArthur used tear gas and billy clubs on veterans and their families who set up a Bonus Camp" in Washington, looking for their military bonus so they wouldn't starve? I sure didn't.

Absolutely perfect for any student, especially for those being home-schooled."

This year my elder daughter's history textbook is an eleven volume series called A History of US. Like The Story of the World series, it adds some life and character to the dull old facts and figures of your old fashioned history texts. What's even better is that I get to read it along with the Sonlight curriculum, which offers its own rebuttals to various statements in the text. Not that one really needs the extra commentary. Ms. Hakim does a rather nice job of pointing out that there are show more two sides to every history. Take this volume, for example. As you might infer from the title, the book talks about the native American population that preceded and encountered Columbus and his followers. Now when I was growing up, Native Americans were pretty much just supporting characters in my history texts. Some twenty years later, the pendulum had swung the other way, and they were the sublime innocents who were invaded by the rapacious white fortune hunters. In The First Americans, Ms. Hakim briefly covers the American civilizations that the Europeans found, pointing out their glories and their warts. Likewise, Columbus and the boys are presented as brave, idealistic, cruel and greedy. In A History of US, nobody's perfect... but we are rather interesting.
--J. show less

There are a few good things about this book and several bad. To start with the good things. First, it is quite handsomely manufactured. Second, it has rather well-chosen illustrations. Third, it gives prominence to certain people, events, and topics that are often undeservedly overlooked. Fourth, it is nice to look at.

Proceeding to the bad, though. First, it uses the present tense for the past, and ends up using the future for the past as well. This is, no doubt, to give the book a sense of show more immediacy for younger readers, but it is annoying. Second, some of the captions are mistaken, and this should not have happened. On page 2, there is a carving of Gilgamesh and Enkidu slaying Humbaba which is described as "Stone Age". The Stone Age was well over by the time that carving was made. Third, in the introduction, in the second paragraph there is a quotation from a book by Karen Armstrong, who according to the book's description of her, is a Catholic who writes theology or is a person who writes Catholic theology. It is very strange to call out this person by name, when the quotation is used to make a minor point, in the very second paragraph of the introduction, no less. Something is up, but what? show less