Gr 6-9-These brief, shallow treatments of three forms of government are clearly meant to distinguish them from the American system. The subtitle implies that it will analyze some primary documents in relation to the events that generated them, but the texts are mostly background information. Much of the discussion is quite oversimplified, e.g., blaming communist countries' impoverished economies on poor relations with democratic nations. While some primary sources, like The Palette of Narmer in Monarchy, are briefly analyzed, many are mentioned too briefly to attract interest (such as Marcus Aurelius's literary works). Each volume has transcriptions from three primary documents in an appendix, and appropriate references to them appear in the text. To their credit, the books point out that many cultural objects can be primary sources: paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and architecture (like Hadrian's Wall). These volumes have excellent illustrations, mostly in color, and are well organized. Some competing books do a better job of attracting readers: Richard Tames's Monarchy and David Downing's Communism (both Heinemann, 2002) and Nigel Ritchie's Communism (Raintree, 2001) offer a higher level of detail. Ritchie, in particular, provides a more objective view of his subject. Additional titles for active history collections.-Jonathan Betz-Zall, City University Library, Everett, WA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.