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Booklist Review

Gr. 9-12. Three volumes in the new America's Wars series focus on two recent conflicts and the fight for land between native Americans and settlers.The Indian Wars summarizes 400 years of conflict over land and deals with the Euro-American belief that Indians must be civilized or eliminated; The Vietnam War is a thoughtful, balanced view of America's military involvement in Southeast Asia; and The Persian Gulf War is an enthusiastic account of America's most recent conflict. Introduced by a common foreword, the works are generally well written and provide manageable introductions to America's involvement, including insight into events that preceded the actual fighting, a chronology of military action, and discussion of the immediate and far-reaching effects of the conflicts. With the exception of The Persian Gulf War, the books benefit from hindsight, with some of the texts' most interesting passages providing perspective and interpretation.The boxed inserts and full-page asides are somewhat distracting, and few maps are used, but numerous black-and-white photos and drawings are included. (It seems absurd, however, to include a photo identified as Crazy Horse when, as the caption notes, it "cannot be verified. . . . It is not known whether Crazy Horse was ever photographed.") A chronology, a glossary, and lists of further readings and works consulted are appended. For The Spanish-American War, see Bachrack [BKL Mr 1 92]; other titles in the 12-volume series are listed in the Series Roundup of this issue. ~--Karen Hutt