Becoming America: The Making of an Extraordinary Nation

Writing books that make history interesting for middle school students can be difficult. But Robert Etheredge does a good job doing just that. He writes a concise, and thoroughly enjoyable, history book that can be enjoyed by both young students and new immigrants. Mr. Etheredge breaks down each section into short parts. While not going into much detail, as that is not his goal, he gives the reader the big picture and the important facts. He offers something that will help young students get an impression of American history without getting bogged down in facts. Think of it as a Cliff Notes version, but with several different sections, including ones for speeches, documents, and timelines. At the beginning of each section are brief introductory comments, followed by information, often maps, graphs, and pictures. This book is easy to follow, and for young students it does not bog them down with information. It provides the highlights of the important moments, people, and places. They will be able to get a lot of information in a short amount of time, and while it might not make them experts right away, it does provide a window into history.