The New Nation' traces the history of the United States from Washington's inauguration to the first quarter of the nineteenth century. 'Liberty' covers the period prior to the Civil War by depicting the lives of people both well known and obscure. 'War' tells the stories of men and women affected by the Civil War. Rambling chapters, hazy and sometimes gruesome black-and-white illustrations, a flippant style, and serious errors hamper the books' usefulness. Bib., ind.

``Now this is confusing, so pay attention.'' Deftly simplifying difficult issues, Hakim continues her vivacious tour in this fourth volume (of a projected ten) in the Oxford History of US. Covering the half century from Washington's inauguration to Taylor's election, she focuses less on the progression of events than on the play of ideas (e.g., how the Constitution's provisions for checks and balances were wrestled into a working system) and on sweeping trends such as the profound social changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution or the effects of having seven gifted leaders in a row as presidents, followed by five who were mediocre. Hakim hangs her narrative on the theme of leadership—not just that of Washington, Jefferson, et al., but also as provided by John Marshall, Tecumseh, Sequoyah, Samuel Slater, Frederick Douglass, and Daniel Webster, among many others. She firmly points out the paradox of a nation that was founded on the idea of equality but nevertheless condoned slavery and the forced removal of Native Americans. Though the blocks of diminutive type and plethora of small, dark period illustrations have an imposing look, readers young and old will find themselves amused, amazed, and engrossed by this searching, opinionated survey. Chronology; wide-ranging bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 10+)"

Gr 7 Up-This series entry is a more than adequate but stylistically flawed survey of the history of our country from the inauguration of Washington through the first part of the 19th century. Commendably, Hakim is not a slave to the presidential syndrome'' that seems to affect many writers of such surveys. To be sure, she does give information regarding the era's presidents in chronological order, but intersperses accounts of such topics as Lewis and Clark, the first census, transportation, and the growth of industry. The book demonstrates well the author's meticulous research and organizational skills. These features are reinforced by the inclusion of an excellent selection of reproductions of art, letters, posters, etc. accompanied by informative captions. Hakim also makes good use of illuminating sidebars and apt quotations from the period'smovers and shakers.'' Unfortunately, the narrative does not flow smoothly; it is largely made up of words with one or two syllables and sentences that are themselves short or made up of short clauses; these style features combine to create a choppy effect. This flaw is further amplified by the inclusion of too many pedantic questions for readers to think about. One is given the impression that this is intended to be a ``hi-lo'' book, but the prose style may actually discourage some readers.-David A. Lindsey, Lakewood Junior/Senior High School, WA