Dwight Jon ZimmermanRecensioni

11/14/22

This wonderfully written and beauti - fully illustrated story describes how Joe Louis brought America together in a time of war and ex - treme racism.

With selections from Brown’s ground - breaking book, Zimmerman adds new text, maps, and photographs to create a stunning portrayal of the Sioux, from their 1862 Minnesota exile to the Wounded Knee massa - cre in 1890.

American history/graphic format. Comprehensive overview of the decades of US involvement in Vietnam. Does not go into Vietnamese perspectives - for more insight on that, see GB Tran's graphic family history, Vietnamerica.

This was an amazing book with fabulous images and a great history lesson in addition to the science lessons about volcanoes and earthquakes. This book tells the story of the 1883 eruption of the volcano at Krakatau, once one large island between Sumatra and Java in Southeast Asia. The island's volcano erupted and formed several small islands today. Many lives were lost due to no warning system at the time. The area's volcanoes are still active today and the author gives the reader a look at how the new islands were formed by the erupting volcano. The book begins with an explanation of volcanoes and tectonic plate movement. It details the history and culture of the islands of Java and Sumatra and the spice trade of the Dutch East Indies company. Many lives were lost due to tsunamis created by the earthshaking volcanic eruptions. The book includes beautiful photographs of famous volcanoes, maps, historical photographs, drawings and paintings. The history of Java and Indonesia are given as well as accounts of what happened prior to and after the 1883 eruption. The author gives a glossary of terms and suggested volcano websites. I was disappointed that Wikipedia was listed as a reliable resource about volcanos in addition to two university websites and the U.S. Geological Survey website. The author worked as a geologist before becoming a journalist so information should be accurate; however, lots of historical information is given in the book and resources are not listed for the history of Java and Sumatra. The suggested reading list included approximately twenty books about volcanoes. I liked the idea of using this book as a cross curricula study of history of the 1800's and study of volcanoes and technology changes in science.½

In her song "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," Buffy Saint Marie sings "our history gets written in a liars scrawl." In the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, author Dee Brown presented the first mainstream American Indian history presented from the perspective of Native Americans, finally bringing a sorely needed perspective to a broad audience. Saga of the Sioux is a YA adaptation of Brown's seminal work.

Saga of the Sioux narrows the scope of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee to only tell the story of the Sioux, which is compelling, multifaceted, and illustrative of the violence and indignities suffered by the first nations during westward expansion. Author Dwight Jon Zimmerman does an excellent job of reworking Brown's original content into a streamlined delivery perfect for middle school students and young high school students.

This chapter book includes maps, photos, a table of contents, sparingly used sidebars, a timeline, a glossary, information on the Sioux calendar, a resource list, and an index.

Saga of the Sioux would be an excellent addition to any classroom library, but beyond that would be a welcomed addition to any social studies curriculum. Native history is under taught and oft ignored, but should be a vital component of any American history curriculum. Because of the span of time covered by the book, it would fit seamlessly with a western expansion/manifest destiny unit. Highly recommend.

I don't think this has any actual association with Marvel, outside of having to be officially licensed to use names and artwork, just one of several books released during the early '90s to cash in on the Mutant Hysteria of the day. And, as a teen right in the middle of that Mutant Hysteria, this seemed like a good purchase.

Not to say that it's a bad book, just very simple. It includes the origins of the X-Men, grossly simplified, as well as the various teams and group members with short histories, also simplified. Reading through this, it's also very clear how much has changed or come out about the characters and the X-Men since the release of X-Men #1 (which this book was written to coincide with). In fact, with that particular X-Men series, much of the information shared about certain characters was incorrect or just grossly out of date within six months of its release. But, that's the problem of keeping tabs on comic chronologies... they're always changing.

Still, a fun read for its time, and something a younger comic book fan might enjoy. I'll be dropping this one in my Little Free Library for someone else to find.

As stated in the title, this is an adaptation of the 1971 book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and it is one intended for younger audiences. This book is valuable in that, like its predecessor, this book tells the tale of the Sioux, or rather its final years as American encroachment threatened their way of life, and does so from their perspective rather than that of their conquerors. What is also important about this book is that it makes a conscious effort to distance itself from the old, cliched, trope of the "noble savage." By this I mean that rather than portraying the American Indians as a passive people living in harmony with nature, the author demonstrated agency and an actualized capacity for active resistance against the American invaders.
I would recommend this for High School students½

Large format book w/ numerous illustrations. As usual with Winchester's books, situates the event in its larger context. A companion to a book about the explosion intended for adults.½

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started reading Area 51. Was it going to be another UFO conspiracy piece, disguised as the "actual" story of the governments secret facility near Groom Lake, Nevada? Was it going to be something chock full of misinformation and deflection to keep everyone still guessing about the actual nature of the installation? Was it going to be full blown, open the doors, no holds-barred here are all the secrets? It was none of the above -- but it was still a fantastic read.

Avoiding just about all mention of conspiracy and UFOs, and everything else that surrounds most stories of the facility known as Area 51, this graphic novel sticks to basic facts about the United States spy and experimental air craft programs from 1947-2013. Working with recently declassified documents, Zimmerman and Scott create a blow-by-blow breakdown of just about every spy plane, reconnaissance craft, stealth vessel, and drone that the US military has worked on and produced since the dawn of the Cold War. All of these were either built, or extensively tested at Area 51 and many gave rise to the popular waves of UFO sightings and conspiracies surrounding secrecy on the base. Ostensibly, this secrecy is solely due to the fact that the government was hiding technological secrets about our intelligence gathering technology from our enemies, namely the Soviets and the Chinese, rather than hiding extraterrestrials.

Short, sweet, and to the point, Area 51 checks in at a hair under 100 pages, but it packs a good punch for the history buff or student. Seeing as by being a graphic novel history, this book will most likely be read more by young adults, it works perfectly in providing a history of Cold War spy technology. In some areas, actions and projects became seemingly oversimplified, and I am not sure if this is a part of the writing, or simply the lack of information in the declassified source material. There were not enough of these instances to detract from the overall impact of the history, however. It's very interesting to see how our technologies at this time evolved, and frankly, how long ago some such as the stealth technologies and predator drones were devised!

I would highly recommend this to anyone interested more in aviation and Cold War history than I would the Area 51 UFO seeker. For most of the time I spent reading this, I completely forgot that Area 51 was the focal point, as the planes and technology took center stage more than the facility itself. I will definitely be looking to add a physical copy to my own and my school library collection soon!

Lincoln’s Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever Bill O’Reilly
adaptation of the adult book Killing Lincoln
After Bill O’Reilly wrote Killing Lincoln, he set out to create a younger version. Thus, Lincoln’s Last Days, was born.
The book has four parts which makes it a little daunting for young readers, particularly those who are reluctant readers. But the author breaks the book down into four sections to invite readers in a little more. It starts with the end of the Civil War through John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices’ planning of the president’s death and the search to find his assassinators.

Maps, original pictures and drawings add to the understanding of the events surrounding Lincoln’s death.

The book ends with additional information including the “afterword” which gives details about Lincoln’s family. The “interesting facts” presents period information about medicine, flags and weapons of the Civil War, transportation, a timeline, a glossary of military terms and a list of books and websites recommended by the author for further reading.

An excellent book for the scholastic reader, accurate, detailed, and well illustrated.

Good dual biography for an introduction but a more interesting and more detailed book on the same subject is Russell Freedman's Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship.

To illustrate the development of the U.S. Special Forces, the authors tells us about seven missions that eventually confirmed that creating and funding such forces was necessary in the changing world of military conflict. The missions include Son Tay (attempted rescue of POW's in Vietnam), Rescue of BAT 21 (downed pilot in Vietnam), Operation Eagle Claw (disastrous attempt to rescue the American hostages in Tehran), rescue of Scott O'Grady (downed pilot in Serbia), and two behind the lines missions in Iraq.
The authors describe the background for the mission, weapons involved, the planning, the mission itself and finally the consequences for the development of special forces. There was much resistance to special forces in the military hierarchy and this had to be over come by convincing the leaders that this was how military campaigns of the future will be fought.
Very readable; in fact, one could be convinced one was reading fiction except this reader remembers the headlines. I have also read other accounts of most of these events.

A trailblazer and a game-changer? I am not referring to the protagonists in Dwight J. Zimmerman’s book The Hammer and The Anvil: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and the End of Slavery in America, I am speaking of the book itself.
Yes, the book is a duel biography of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln and the relationship they shared for a short while during Lincoln’s term in office. Yes, they are historically accurate, but quite brief. This can be understood knowing that dual biographies can be tough. Yes, they are blended quite well throughout the book. One storyline is quite evident from the next and more so when their experiences intertwine.
No, I am not speaking about any of that when I say it is a trailblazer or a game-changer. This title is a graphic novel. Graphic novels are somewhat of a rarity in the field of history, though not unheard of (an excellent example is Maus by Art Spiegelman). What is so fantastic about this is the quality of the scholarship, the flow of the story, the clarity of the narrative, the artwork and its use of colors. To the extent I have not yet seen or enjoyed.
The facts of the story had been reviewed by the eminent 19th century scholar Craig L. Symonds. The author went over each person’s story quickly, but not without the feel like they missed something. The work always seemed to cover enough to give the reader understanding. The narrative and conversations within the story were chosen well. The speech clouds and quotes that were known to be true or if need be, could be researched easily. The writing was kept short and was not too scholarly as to lose sight of who their audience was. The artwork was very nice, though I think Lincoln would be very flattered with his portrayal. He seems like he could have been quite the handsome man, which most of us know was not the case. They used color to indicate separate story lines. Douglass was a shade of blue-grey and Lincoln was a rust-pink. When their storylines interconnected, full color story panes were used. An effect that I thought made the book more arresting and original.
If I had an issue with the book, it would be with the long lasting effects they believed the relationship had on the future of society. I do not believe it was to the extent they imply, when writing history one must stick to fact based findings and not assumptions and cherry picking of historical incidents to support future events.
When all is said and done, I would recommend this title to all Abraham Lincoln fans, students of Fredrick Douglass, American history buffs and fans of graphic novels. If more history is written in graphic novel form, and I hope there is, one can look to the quality of The Hammer and The Anvil and and find a trail blazer.½

“Saga of the Sioux” is an adaptation by Dwight Jon Zimmerman of Dee Brown’s “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.” This brings a classic book of the Native American experience to the younger readers. In order to abridge this classic work, which I unfortunately had not heard of until picking up this book, Zimmerman focuses on the stories of the Sioux as a representative of the Native American story. I supposed this was an alternative to watering down Brown’s original work. The book covers the history of the Sioux nation from 1862 to 1890. The stories in the book are fascinating and often heartbreaking. In all, I consider this book to be engaging and informative. However, I do question Zimmerman’s choice to adapt a 1971 book rather than write a new work. He seems to be piggy-backing on a classic, and, as a result, there is no bibliography or much evidence to suggest he introduced new information to story. He loses some points with me for this reason.

Despite some weaknesses, I do appreciate that this is available as a resource. It is well-written, engaging, and informative. It does feel appropriate for the target age, which is likely middle school. The story of America’s native people is a tragic one, and it is too often glossed over. This book is would be useful in teaching students about history from the Native American perspective beyond the initial interactions they had with early settlers. It is very much from the Native American perspective and gives the reader an opportunity to empathize with their experience.

As a fan of both Dee Brown and Dwight Zimmerman, I was excited to hear about SAGA OF THE SIOUX based on the book BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE. Although I recently read Dee Brown's WONDROUS TIMES ON THE FRONTIER, it's been decades since I read BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.

SAGA OF THE SIOUX is an amazing book highlighting Brown's original work for a new generation, while showcasing Zimmerman's skills in presenting information for middle readers.

The text begins with a well-written "Note to the Reader" and "Introduction" that provides an essential historical and cultural context for readers. Zimmerman wisely chose to focus the book on the plight of the Sioux retelling the story in an easy-to-follow conversational style. Skillfully weaving together historical facts, stories, visuals, and quotes, Zimmerman is able to effectively convey the epic struggle of the Sioux people.

Divided into short chapters with an excellent index, the text lends itself to student reading assignments and research. Well-placed maps and images contribute to the power of the story and will keep reluctant readers engaged. The timeline, calendar, websites, and other added resources are also valuable educational resources. Students will enjoy the viewpoints of great chiefs and warriors as well as understanding the plight of the individual people impacted by events such as the Massacre of Wounded Knee.

Reading of nonfiction is a wonderful way to nurture curious young minds. There are a few nonfiction authors for middle readers such as Jim Murphy, Russell Freedman, and Candace Fleming that I follow closely. Dwight Zimmerman is also a leader in this field. I look forward to his next groundbreaking adaptation or graphic history.

I highly recommend SAGA OF THE SIOUX. I hope the committees remember this wonderful book at award time!

Brief elaborations on the acts of bravery by six members of the military. The stories are told with no attempt at lionizing the men. The stories just add some flesh and blood to the rather sterile citations. There is also a brief history about the award, explaining among other things, why there seems to be confusion between The Medal of Honor and The Congressional Medal of Honor: while most come out of the Executive Branch of our government, a small number have been awarded by the Congress. People who think members of the military do not earn their keep should read what these folks have done.

Great illustrations, nicely organized! I found this much more interesting than plowing through Winchester's original book on the same topic.

Dwight Zimmerman's The Book of Weapons is a sequel to the award-winning text, The Book of War. This time Zimmerman examines the "tools of war through the ages." Regardless of whether you're a fan of military history, you'll enjoy this book.

I was immediately struck by the variety of topics. Organized chronologically, the book begins with subjects such as knife, spear, boomerang, and bow. Key people are introduced such as Achimedes, Alfred Nobel, and John Moses Browning. From early biological warfare and propaganda to herbicides and suicide bombers, the book covers a wide range of other interesting tools. The descriptions of animals as tools of war was particularly fascinating. I knew about dogs and horses, but wasn't aware of the role of pigs and sea lions. These are the types of stories that attract young readers.

Although designed for a general audience, the book would be particularly effective with young readers interested in military history. Using a two-page layout, each topic includes a description and associated visual. The concise, topical overviews draw in readers and are likely to stimulate thinking and additional inquiry by readers of all ages.

Whether you're a fan of military history or just want to broaden your general knowledge of history, I encourage you to seek out this engaging examination of tools of war through the ages.

Dwight Zimmerman's The Book of War provides a fascinating look at the history of violent human conflict. Organized chronologically, each topic is presented on a two-page spread featuring engaging text and an associated visual. The topics include key events, people, and tools from cultures around the world.

Because the text is entertaining and easy-to-read, this reference is appropriate for all ages. The color and black/white images including drawings, sketches, paintings and photos bring the history of war alive for readers. Librarians will find it a useful reference, teachers may use it to jump start inquiry projects, and students of history will enjoy browsing the wide range of topics.

Zimmerman's knowledge of history and ability to convey captivating stories is impressive. I don't usually refer to history reference materials as "page-turners," however I'll make an exception in this case. Sitting in front of a warm fire in my favorite leather chair, the evening flew by as I soared through the history of human civilization.

Having received the Gold Medal Award from the Military Writer's Society of America, this book belongs in both personal and library collections. I highly recommend this book.

The Vietnam War: A Graphic History written by Dwight Zimmerman and illustrated by Wayne Vansant.

From the photo-enhanced work of nonfiction "10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War" to the collage illustrated picture book "Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam," a number of outstanding books for young people have recently focused on the Vietnam War. "The Vietnam War: A Graphic History" adds to this exciting trend in visually-rich literature for young people.

Nearly half a century after America's commitment to Vietnam began, people are just beginning to gain perspective on this complex time in American history. This comprehensive historical narrative sets the stage with a prologue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The first part of the book focuses on the commitment to Vietnam, followed by the increased deployment of troops, the events of 1968, the policy of Vietnamization, and the War's aftermath. A postscript explores the Domino Theory, Antiwar Movement, Civil Rights Movement, U.S. Military, and the War Powers Act.

Zimmerman and Vansant have set a new standard for illustrated texts. As a Graphic History, their partnership provides an outstanding balance of concise text with rich visual elements that bring the Vietnam era to life for readers of all ages. Educators will be thrilled with the clarity of information presentation and the depth of historical content.

Vansant provides an effective balance of battlefield and home front images including close-ups of the key military and political figures. Young people new to the time period will enjoy comparing the line drawings with photographs of military weapons, planes, and ships, while experts will be impressed by the accuracy of the images. Maps woven throughout the narrative help the reader better understand the setting.

Although presented from an American viewpoint, the book provides effective glimpses of the North Vietnamese perspective along with the many perspectives of military and political leaders as well as everyday Americans. Zimmerman does an outstanding job making a long, complex war understandable to those unfamiliar with this era in American history. Although a basic glossary to military terms such as "DMZ" and "sorties" would be helpful, the book does an excellent job of defining important terms and events. Blocks of text are used to explain key ideas such as Johnson's Great Society plan, the draft, and student protest. Quotes by key players embedded throughout the book provide powerful statements about the people and times.

Although the primary focus is on the War itself, Zimmerman provides important context through his description of political and social events associated with the War. This broader examination of the historical setting will be particularly appealing to teachers and their students studying the 60s and 70s. For instance, the book discusses the long term impact of Agent Orange, the role of media reporting, the search for those missing in action, and the complex relationships between the political and military leaders.

Having grown up in the 60s and 70s, I experienced the war as a current event through newspapers, television, and school projects. However it wasn't until reading Zimmerman's compelling account that I really understood the complicated issues that continue to impact Americans today. Regardless of whether you're a military buff or a comic fan, you'll enjoy this outstanding new approach to history.

Annette Lamb, Ph.D., professor at Indiana University at Indianapolis and well-known educational consultant

Contains a lot more text than other graphic novels I've read, but is a wonderful introduction to a lot of topics related to Vietnam, as well as an overview of the war itself.

This is an adaptation of Simon Winchester's adult book Krakatoa. Winchester explores the history of Indonesia and Dutch colonization there as well as the technological advances that made Krakatoa the first major disaster that was reported on as it was happening. It's an odd choice for an illustrated adaptation since there aren't many photographs or drawings from that time included. There are many photographs of volcanoes behaving similarly to Krakatoa and there are many illustrations created for this book. Another weird thing is that the list of recommended resources contains (as far as I can tell) exclusively adult titles.

The Day the World Exploded has some interesting information about history and science (and the history of science). I'd hand it to middle graders and teens who like books like Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo. It would also be appropriate for reports on Indonesia or volcanoes.

The Day the World Exploded is an adaptation for children of Simon Winchester’s, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883. Although adapted for children, it is definitely for older kids, or children fascinated with the topic. The topic, surprisingly, is much broader than one would think. Trained as a reporter, Winchester pulls together all of the pieces that led to the literally earthshaking explosion that was heard over 3,000 miles away! More than just the story of the earthquake, Winchester places the story in its historical, political, scientific, and geographic proportion. The reader truly absorbs the impact of the explosion and resulting tsunamis when confronted by the science of the day (plate tectonics was a science in its infancy at the time of the eruption), the politics of colonialism (the Dutch East Indies Company was the world’s economic powerhouse at the time), the famous inventors integral to the story (Samuel Morse’s telegraph was invented and underground cables installed just in time to make Krakatoa’s eruption the first truly global event), and the enormity of the catastrophe (months after the explosion, New York fire fighters rushed to what they thought was a massive fire, only to find a blood red sky caused by volcanic ash that had drifted westward).

Extensive illustrations of all types accompany the story, period photos, recent photos of other volcanic activity, period etchings, graphic illustrations, maps and more. “News Briefs” are in the sidebar of many pages, “The crew of the British ship Bay of Naples claimed that when the ship was 120 miles from Java it encountered carcasses of numerous animals, including tigers, and about 150 human corpses as well as enormous tree trunks.” More lighthearted information is included also, including the story of a circus elephant that spent the night of the eruption in a posh Javanese hotel.

A beautiful book for historians and aficionados of natural disasters. The explosion of Krakatoa was truly the world’s first global natural disaster, highlighting the integral nature of nature.½