Editorial Review

This new series gives a colorful and more politically correct introduction to the history of the early colonies than books published some years ago. Each entry contains a timeline, short glossary, brief list of the colony’s founding fathers, page of Web sites, index, and books and other places to visit or contact for more information. In each case 29 pages of liberally illustrated text precede these items. The illustrations are a well-chosen mix of prints of early American art, b&w engravings or line drawings, maps, and color photos. The first chapter of each book contains information about prehistoric men and then describes the indigenous peoples of the area, including the devastating effects of contact with the Europeans. Subsequent chapters outline the historical contributions of each colony to the development of our federal government. The print is large, layouts are varied, and sentences and paragraphs are short and concise. Modern research has added interesting new information to traditional literature on this subject, especially in the chapters on Native Americans and early explorers.