Seymour Morris Jr.

I think this would make a better history book than most of what I remember. I think a curriculum designed around this book, with a standard history textbook as a back up would be a good way to teach history.
For one thing, in this book each event is chosen because it's interesting and would probably get the attention of the high school teens down who's throats we are trying to cram enough information for them to be able to function; for another contextualizes each event and makes it pertinent to modern life. It powerfully illustrates the point that we keep making the same mistakes, and explores how we make them.
I have to admit, that I didn't find events like Teapot Dome and the Dustbowl interesting when I was a kid, heck even the Grapes of Wrath didn't appeal. But the way that these events are compared to modern ones makes them more interesting. I'll admit that sometimes the way Morris often describes what happened in a way that makes it seem like what we've seen recently (until at the very end of the story identify the actual names and dates) irritated me. I often skipped to the end to figure out what he was talking about then went back to finish reading. Perhaps this is because I read "visually", and I need to be able to picture what the clothing, setting, and faces are in order to understand. Perhaps others do to- which is why too many "look at the pictures and turn the pages". But this is a book I could recommend to almost anyone.… (altro)