Boomtowns of the West

Brenda Reed is a public services librarian in the Education Library at
Queen’s University.

The latest volumes in Crabtree’s Life in the Old West series (other
titles include Life on the Trail, Life on the Ranch, Homes of the West,
The Wagon Train, The Life of a Miner, The Gold Rush, and Women of the
West) introduce middle-school readers to the history of western North
America with an emphasis on the 19th century.

The books are solidly bound and feature plasticized covers that will
stand up to a high level of use. The covers are colorful and attractive
(recalling 19th-century magazine covers), and the material between those
covers is well organized and presented in a reader-friendly format. In
addition to a short subject index, each book includes a glossary that
offers brief explanations of unusual words that appear in the text.

Illustrations dominate the pages of this series, capturing everything
from styles of dress (exemplified by the cowboy’s attire depicted in
Bandannas, Chaps, and Ten-Gallon Hats) to types of trains. The written
text and the photographs complement and reinforce one another very
effectively. With respect to content, an effort has been made in each of
these books to include both American and Canadian information. The
coverage of such topics as the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Mounted
Police supplies enough Canadian content to make this attractive history
series useful in Canadian schools and libraries. Highly recommended.