Sean Price

Just from looking at the cover, it's clear that this book presents Cixi in a negative light. Much of the book's contents were historical fact (such as life in Beijing, the history of the Manchu takeover of China, etc etc) but the life of Cixi herself is under much speculation since there are comparatively few records of her personal life. Cixi is described as power-hungry, manipulative, and the like.

Yes, competition was fierce since there were many concubines and she would have to stand out show more and who's to say she didn't do SOME bad things? I certainly don't claim that Cixi was an angel or anything like that. But this book (and much of history) also blamed the fall of the Qing Dynasty on Cixi, when in fact she had little power if at all to be able to actually stand up to the Western invasion of China (which started before she was born and exacerbated greatly during her father-in-law and husband's reigns) as well as the natural disasters that befell her country.

She was surrounded by Manchu princes and courtiers who often hid things from her, and even before her death, she was used as a scapegoat because it was all too easy to just point fingers at her and make up crazy stories like how she killed her son and nephew. For a more factual and well-researched account of Cixi, read 'The Dragon Lady' by Sterling Seagrave, which explains her history and the history of the Qing Dynasty better. show less

I like the Wicked History biography series. The books are a decent length for upper elementary. The language gets as close to narration as it can without becoming historical fiction. There are lots of pictures, as well as a timeline at the end and a web of supporting characters at the beginning. The negative is obviously that all of the people in the series are the ones you can't admire. All of them served their own self interests and as a result innocent people died.

All of this pertains to show more the Hitler book as well. It gives just the right amount of detail for a kid to be knowledgable on the subject. The Holocaust is pure terror for those who lived it and it comes across in the book. You can't read about Hitler and not read about what went on in the concentration camps. For that reason, I would say that judgement should be used to decide when your child is old enough to tackle these dark people of the past. show less

I had no idea who Attila the Hun was until I read this book. I'd always heard the name, and knew he was barbaric, but that's about it. These Wicked History biographies are a quick way to get the story of some of history's most notorious bad guys.

Atilla reigned in the 400s in an area that is Germany/Austria/Hungary today. The more you read these wicked biographies, the more you will realize that world leaders back then only cared about money and grabbing more land. They were constantly at show more war. Attila promised to leave cities alone as long as they sent him gold. This extorted income allowed him to maintain an army. When funds ran low, he would set out across the land pillaging villages in a savage way. He was merciless. He would kill everyone in his path and take all of their food and belongings. His ultimate goal was to defeat both the western and eastern Roman empires. He tried but failed. His lasting legacy is savagery against innocent people who stood along his war route.

Even though these books are short and straight forward, probably only kids really interested in history would choose a book about Atilla. For the young history buffs, I highly recommend this series. show less

This book is all about World war two and how the Yanks (Americans) fought in it. They talked about the terrible ways they had to live and sleep the trenches. Also about the woman's part and " No Mans Land." They talked about the YMCA foundation and how it helped the soldiers. Lastly they talked about how the liveing soldiers came home and how they continued their life either in misery or normal. But celebrated to be back from war.
I think this book was okay, only because of how brutal it was. show more It was also disappointing on how the Germans signed a Peace Agreement but then comes World War two. I though this book was very interesting but a little sad on how all of the people died and how many died. But I wish it wasn't as sad. I did like how the Americans liked to write, read, and play games in their spear time. In the end I liked the book but wished it wasn't as brutal. show less