Monday, January 25, 2010

Nonfiction Monday: Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War by Thomas & Roger Allen

The North's advantages in the Civil War didn't just include factories, manpower, and having an infrastructure already in place and running. A major advantage was President Lincoln and his progressive mindset towards technology. Throughout the Civil War, Lincoln encouraged inventors and often tested their innovations himself or forced reluctant generals to use them.

National Geographic Kids does some really excellent history books and this is no exception. It details the many technological advances during the Civil War, from new inventions to new uses for old inventions, such as ballooning, telegraphs, railroads, ironclads, weaponry, and more. Not only does it explain the uses and construction of the various inventions in a clear, interesting manner, it also relates them to the progress of the war, arranging the book into chronological order and including multiple timelines that show the progress of the war and how the technology of the day played a part.

Verdict: Hand this to patrons - young and old - who are interested in technology, history, the Civil War, weapons, or inventions.

ISBN: 978-1426303791; Published January 2009 by National Geographic; Borrowed from the library


Playing by the book said...

This sounds really interesting Jennifer - and matches perfectly with my nonfiction post today - also about inventions!

Ms. Yingling said...

This one will be one that the boys will read. War, sports, and funny books, but man, are those hard to find. Glad that you are keeping the boys in mind. Very few people tend to.

Mama Librarian said...

Wow! This looks fantastic. I can't wait to hand it to my 4th grade student who's been asking for books on hotwiring all year! =)

Jennifer said...

Hotwiring, huh? You might also direct him to MAKE, we recently bought this magazine for our library (although I haven't actually seen it yet b/c it's quarterly) but they have an ultra-cool website