Guts & Glory: The American Civil War (Guts & Glory, 1)

I really enjoy these books. Well written, accessible language, fantastic descriptions and well organized.I think these books are great for all ages honestly.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it has tremendous young reader appeal but on the other hand there were a few statements that I felt were misleading though not technically wrong. On the one hand the list of resources the author read and used at the end was tremendous, some specific references on certain information would have been nice. And while I enjoyed the author's rather snarky, sarcastic tone, I wonder if all children will pick up on it, especially the references to things that did not exist during the Civil War, which could easily confuse some child readers.The author has done a nice job of choosing topics and events that carry a lot of interest. I found myself compelled to keep reading to find out what else the author had to say. I even learned some things, which for a Civil War reader like myself says a lot. The numerous sidebars provide information about topics related to each chapter giving additional information and background. For each major battle, statistics related to the number of soldiers involved and the casualties inflicted as well as who is considered to have 'won' the battle are included.While I didn't read anything that was technically incorrect (at least as far as I know) there were several places (at least three that I counted) where things were phrased in such a way as to be misleading. For example, on page 55 the author says, "On November 7, 1917, Communist supporters of Vladimir Lenin stormed the palace of Tsar Nicholas II, killing the Russian emperor and his entire family and beginning a civil war that would spread across the country." While technically that is correct, the Russian emperor and his family were at the SUMMER PALACE when the revolution first began, and while they were killed it wasn't until months later. So, technically correct but misleading. A reference to 'Mormon separatists' on page 41 is also misleading in that the Mormons moved to what later became the state of Utah in order to avoid ongoing religious persecution and not to establish a separate country makes this misleading.The illustrations add a nice touch but like most illustrations of battles they involve a good deal of supposition on the part of the illustrator because we have few if any actual battle photographs from the Civil War, though quite a few of the aftermath. But the pictures definitely add to the appeal of the book.Overall, an engaging book that child readers fascinated by the Civil War are bound to enjoy, but I recommend it with reservations.

I bought this for my grandson, and he devoured it in a couple of days. A great book for getting kids to read, and learn about the history of our country.

This is the perfect next step for fans of Nathan Hale's Hazerdous tales. It's not graphic novel format but has just enough illustrations to get your kid interested and bam, they are reading more words on a page then ants under my kitchen table. My son is a big history fan and he said they were great. I got a lot of "Did you knows... ?" while he was reading them. He wants more.

My kids and I love these books! The audible versions are really nice and we have listened to all of them, but we have also purchased the books so that we could look through them and work on writing projects. My children and I first listened to the Vikings last year when they were in grades, 4, 3, and 2. This year we have used the Revolutionary war book and are now moving onto the Civil War book. We have just started listening to it and we already love it!

I love history and have read many history books. This book is written mainly for the person that doesn't normally read history. It makes the history enjoyable to read. I found that I also enjoyed reading this book also and could not put it down. I would recommend this for anyone who has an interest in the civil war.

Ben Thompson is a funny man who know how to write about history without it being boring for anyone. I love history to begin with but the history combined with his phrasing makes it somehow seem like it happened just a short time ago, you forget the years and get to step into history. Granted the phrasing he uses may not work on generations that did not grow up with the internet, but if you have it is a great way to experience history.

As a former history teacher, I love the way in which the author interjects humor along with the historic information. This book makes history appealing and learning fun...

Texto de leitura fácil para quem quer saber mais sobre a guerra civil americana.