All the People: 1945-2001

A History of US #10

by Joy Hakim

From woman's suffrage to Babe Ruth's home runs, from Louis Armstrong's jazz to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's four presidential terms, from the finale of one world war to the dramatic close of the second, War, Peace, and All That Jazz presents the story of some of the most exciting years in U.S. history. With the end of World War I, many Americans decided to live it up, going to movies, driving cars, and cheering baseball games a plenty. But alongside this post-WWI spree was high unemployment, hard times for farmers, ever-present racism, and, finally, the Depression, the worst economic disaster in U.S. history, flip-flopping the nation from prosperity to scarcity. Along came one of our country's greatest leaders, F.D.R., who promised a New Deal, gave Americans hope, and then saw them through the horrors and victories of World War II. These three decades--full of optimism and despair, progress and Depression, and, of course, War, Peace, and All That Jazz --forever changed the United States.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, American History, Childrens, Read For School, Historical

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

I've just updated A HISTORY OF US to include some new stories, especially those on people who haven't had their full story told, like Native Americans and African Americans. I've been astounded by some of what I've learned, I think you will be too.


My husband and I live most of the year in Colorado. I grew up in Rutland, Vermont and graduated from Rutland High School. I earned a bachelor's degree in government at Smith College, a master's degree in education from Goucher College, as well as an honorary doctorate from Goucher.

I've been a teacher: in Syracuse, New York; Omaha, Nebraska; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. And I've taught in elementary school, middle school, high school, and in a community college.

I've also been a newspaper woman: a general reporter, a business reporter, and an associate editor and editorial writer at Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot.

We have three children and five grandchildren.

from: http://www.joyhakim.com/biography.html

Reviews

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so glad I'm done with this series!! The first couple of books were okay. But then she just goes down hill! This book was so boring!!! Certain things here and there were interesting. But most of it I was skimming through. And at the end I pretty much just skipped it. For someone who writes about History, she isn't very good at making it interesting. She's also very biased. One big problem I have with her is that she writes a bunch of stuff and doesn't give any facts to back it up! I like History. Most of it is very interesting to me. But Joy Hakim made it extremely boring!

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I had to read these for school. So happy that I finally finished all 10 😁

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the weakest of the series. I was able to give it three stars because it was still useful for our history class.

Unfortunately, it was also good for giving the kids examples of emotional statements, as opposed to factual statements, and logical disconnects in what were supposed to be persuasive arguments.

I also think that the book should be considered a history on the civil rights movement, with a couple of other things thrown in. At least half of the book was a very detailed account of the civil rights movement and the people involved. Of course, we planned to study that as we were studying the second half of the 20th century, but she only had a single chapter on the women's movement, and only two pages on the space program. I would have preferred lighter detail in the civil rights movement to make room for so many of the other details during the Cold War. It really felt like everything after the assassination of Martin Luther King was skimmed over and rushed, almost an afterthought.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This final volume is longer and for the first time some of her biases are clear. One interesting claim is that Thomas Jefferson considered a free press to be the virtual fourth branch of the government.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last book wraps up a two year study of American History. I can't recommend these books enough. They made history relevant and interesting. I learned so much along with my kids. And I would definitely use them again in the future!

[Kimberly Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely needs sone updating, but overall this has been an excellent middle school history series, written more like a scrapbook than a boring textbook. My daughter and I enjoyed the series together, discussing biases as we found them.

[Tom Romig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 4th edition (published 2010) of Volume 10 (the final volume) in this excellent history of the U.S. and its people. The thought provoking and always engaging series unflinchingly covers the triumphs and tragedies of our history.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of this series. Balanced and well constructed.

[Yma]

I skipped over some stuff, but ultimately very informative book.

[Lydia]

I FINALLY FINISHED THE SERIES. I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. It made me realize that all the comforts that I had taken for granted has been fought for with grit, determination, blood, and tears. That I should be more mindful in my thoughts and actions because of the sacrifices made from those who came before us. That I should honor them and be wary of how I may treat others unjustly versus how they may treat me. The history that comes before us affects who we are and helps us to be more mindful of why things are the way they are. History explains culture and history helps put your life in perspective. That way, you can act appropriately in honor to your ancestors and pave a more beautiful future for your children.

The stories of the various individuals, whether good or bad, help me to draw inspiration from the good and to shun the bad. I've also learned a lot of history that I didn't know except for a very surface level knowledge of events.

This book also encourages me to find out more about these various events that occurred from 1945 until now. And even before then. There are a lot stories and a lot of lives that have lived those stories. Through them I can make a better more informed decision in every facet of my life. So I will read the rest of the this series and I will look for better books to give me the detail and the nuance of history that I have so missed or forgotten.

[Jenevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this and all my other reviews at My Blog

Review from 2013:

Middle School US History covering 1945-2009. I learned a lot from this one. I've heard about the Vietnam War and Korean War but never had any inkling as to what they were really about. It's nice to at least have a basic understanding of them now and to have a better grasp on who the presidents were between Roosevelt and Kennedy and then Carter who is the first president I remember. It was even more interesting reading her take on the times of my childhood and now my adulthood. I thought that while fairly simplistic, she did a decent job of trying to present a rounded perspective. It's definitely been opening some dialog in my house and that is never a bad thing.

Yeah, it was a good refresher on those subjects. Made even more interesting because I was also reading high school American History this year and of course, this is really where they finally intercept and this one is much more in depth in a lot of ways.

[L L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the last books in a series called “A History of US”, books on American history written for children middle school age or younger. I’m not usually a history fan since I usually can never remember anything and it all ends up being facts and figures. However, this book related the past in terms of how it leads us to where we are today, offering a historical and narrative context to our situation today. In some ways, I felt like I was reading about America today, rather than the past. Hakim also does a great job of appealing to young readers (and old ones like me!) by making different events and historical figures seem really interesting and inviting the reader into imagining themselves into those times. It also poses a lot of critical questions towards our current day assumptions. And it has pictures! My only criticism would be that it tends to jump around episodically quite a bit and does not connect the events together as well.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Hakim books are the most biased writing of US history I've had the misfortune to read in a LONG time. Wow. I read the entire series because it was required reading for my kids' curriculum, and it was miserable. We spend a LOT of time talking about her biases, and her obvious hero worship of certain US presidents while she dismissed others as completely insignificant. It bordered on sickening. No, I take that back. My kids made faces at her clearly, unsubstantiated worship of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and many others. We have read many books about these presidents and they have some wonderful qualities, but to hear her tell it, they are perfect. Ack. I will say that her incomplete tellings gave us LOTS of room to research on our own and turned my kids into great critical readers.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read All The People, 1945-1999 with my son as part of his history curriculum. Joy Hakim does a good job generally of chunking US history into easily digestible pieces. However, as with any history textbook, the focus on certain events such as civil rights led to the neglect of other areas such as America's foreign interventions in Korea and Vietnam. Still a decent read.

[Cws]

JRef3#10

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good resource for children to learn about american history of exploration and contact with peoples and countries in the new world.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good as is the rest of the series.

[Evelynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as focused as the others.

[Katia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap! I don't like this! This author in my opinion is just plain old bad!!!!!!!!

[Judy]

very nice easy to read series on US history