Five previously published historical surveys have been updated to include a few contemporary references (e.g., the War of 1812 is compared with the September 11 attacks), stronger bibliographies, and additional (if not always well reproduced) black-and-white illustrations. These books are incontestably thorough but, due to the authors' generally dry writing styles, somewhat unexciting. Glos., ind. [Review covers these America at War titles: Civil War, Spanish-American War, War of 1812, U.S.-Mexican War, and Revolutionary War.]

Gr 9 Up-Greenblatt's revision of War of 1812 (Facts On File, 1994) gives increased attention to the role of African Americans on both the British and American sides of the conflict while including the political agenda of removing Native Americans from the eastern states. The book shows the economic and political regional perspectives as well as the complex issue of states struggling against a burgeoning federal government. The author manages to impart pertinent social history of the period while describing an upstart country only just beginning to think about building armed forces and how to finance a nation. The updated edition of the Plains Indian Wars (Facts On File, 1996) reflects the recent changes in scholarship on the subject and includes a more balanced perspective of the Native American view of this period versus the traditional historical view of western expansion. Marker does an excellent job of detailing the cultural and social complexity of the many tribes of the Great Plains while offering both a political and social picture of the U.S. Army at this time. The work concludes with an excellent chapter on the history of the stereotypes of the Plains Indians from 19th-century journalism to present-day books and films. In both volumes, the content and visual appeal have been enhanced with boxed mini-essays and more maps and black-and-white period paintings or drawings taken from the Library of Congress and National Archives collections. Expanded bibliographies include an extensive list of sources designed for advanced high school students. High-quality writing allows each topic to unfold and, while the books could easily be included in reference because of their wealth of information and good organization, they are fine choices for circulating collections.-Courtney Lewis, Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, Kingston, PA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.