Though part of a series called Snapshots in History, this entry provides more than just a "snapshot" of China's violent Cultural Revolution, with details about how young people rallied in Tiananmen Square, joined the Red Guard, and took to the streets throughout the country. The inviting layout has a photo and boxed data on almost every double-page spread, and the main account is buoyed by extensive back matter, including chapter notes for quotations. Suggest this to teens whose interest may have been spurred by autobiographical accounts of the period, such as Ji-li Jiang's Red Scarf Girl (1997).

LANGLEY, Andrew . The Cultural Revolution: Years of Chaos in China . ISBN 978-0-7565-3483-7 . LC 2007032699. ea vol: 96p. (Snapshots in History Series). maps. photos. reprods. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. notes. Web sites. CIP. Compass Point . 2008. PLB $33.26. Gr 6 Up Opening with an overview of November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht goes on to provide background on anti-Semitism, the rise of the Nazis, the impact of Herschel Grynszpan's shooting of Ernst vom Rath (which the Nazis used as an excuse for the rampage), the pogrom itself, and its aftermath. Revolution begins with the Red Guard rally in Tiananmen Square on August 18, 1966. It then covers the creation of the People's Republic of China in 1949; the 1966 Cultural Revolution; the "Red Terror" of 1966-1967; the restoration of order; and China in the 1970s. In both books, sidebars illuminate potentially unfamiliar topics (pogroms, the St. Louis , the Kindertransport, and ghettos in Kristallnacht , and China's relations with the Soviet Union and the 16 Points in Revolution ). Abundant archival photographs (some full color), quotes from eyewitnesses, and accessible maps enhance chapter content. An excellent time line and information on related historic sites further enrich the works. Fitzgerald and Langley excel at presenting complex events in a straightforward but not oversimplified manner, though some of the atrocities of the time periods are glossed over. These books will ease students into more in-depth materials, such as the "At Issue in History" series (Gale). Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA