Analyze the History Essay
BOOK REVIEWS Thanh Ngo July 11th, 2011 1110 Colorado History Online Assignment 2 Metropolitan State College of Denver BOOK REVIEWS In this portion of the assignment, five book reviews will used to discuss and evaluate how well the reviews have been written. By using the reviews written by the reviewer, we can see whether the reviewer gave a reasonable indication of the book’s contents, comments and interests in reading the book. In this first book by Kathy T.
Hettinga, Grave Images: San Luis Valley, reviewed by Dana EchoHawk is a book about Hettinga’s exploration through the San Luis Valley where she discovered her revealed stories on the topic of mortality. In the review, the reviewer gave reasonable contents of the book. The reviewer shares with the reader the author’s personal story in the first part of the book on losing her husband and by grieving helped her realize the importance of life and death. Then, the reviewer starts to share how Hettinga begins to document her journey through the San Luis Valley with her camera.
By capturing images of landscape, fields at the base of Mount Blanca, and sunlit feathery seeds on vines, these images help create her vision and how she wants the reader to see through her eyes. She also comments about the photographs of cemeteries and graves in the San Luis Valley on how each image has a story behind it. Each comment was relevant towards the book to support the author and it’s content. With the help of the review, I would definitely be interested in reading the book. The second book by Inez Hunt and Wanetta W.
Draper, Lightning in His Hand: The Life Story of Nikola Tesla, reviewed by Steve Ruskin is a biography of Nikola Tesla and reprinted by Inez Hunt and Wanetta W. Draper which was first published in 1964. In this second book, the reviewer first introduced the book as a biography of Tesla’s life. He gave short information on where the person was born and the events that lead to his achievements in Colorado. The reviewer divided the book in several parts. The first part gave an insight on Tesla’s early life when he came to America.
The reviewer also reviewed his success and achievements in Colorado Springs where he built a power electrical plant to power Telluride’s Gold King Mine. Following his time in Colorado Springs, the reviewer commented and gave the reader information on Tesla’s hardships, career downward spiral and his weaknesses. He also commented and acknowledged the author’s way of describing Tesla’s life as “a man out of time. ” Clearly, this was a very descriptive and informative review. The reviewer gave great insight on the book and details regarding Tesla’s life.
By doing so, the reviewer made the book very interesting and an interest for me to read it. In this third book review, the book by Thomas J. Noel and Debra Faulkner, Mile High Tourism: Denver’s Convention and Visitor History, reviewed by Fran Pierson is a book about Denver as a tourist city it self. The reviewer gave details and comments on Denver struggling to be a tourist city. Some comments were positive while others were negative. The city has many attractions and historical sights to offer tourists, which many promoters have struggled to promote Denver as a tourist city.
The reviewer included information in the book on past attempts of making the city a tourist place. Other information was about the development of Denver through the years. The reviewer also included his insights on the photos portrayed in the book. Both new photos as well as old black and white stills gave the book great quality. In my opinion, on the basis of the review, I wouldn’t consider reading this book. The reviewer wasn’t as enthusiastic and excited about the book. This showed me that the book wouldn’t be as interesting as the title and boring in context.
In the fourth book by Harriet Freiberger and Ken Proper , Then & Now: A History of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, reviewed by Linda Collison is a book that compares Steamboat Springs in the late 1900s and today. The reviewer talks about the beginning parts and development of Steamboat Springs. She provides us with background history and the development of the town. She also provides comments to the reader on certain growth the community in Steamboat Springs has become. There are photographs of landscapes, landmarks, and architecture documenting social and cultural changes throughout the years in Steamboat Springs.
By comparing the past and present of Steamboat Springs, the reviewer does a good job on commenting both the text and photographs of the book. After reading the review, I would be interested in reading this book. The reviewer was able to provide details on the book, the history of Steamboat Springs along with the photographs as well. The final book by Steve Fisher, University Park and South Denver, reviewed by Dick Kreck is a book about the history and development of University Park and South Denver. The reviewer discusses the social and economic growth of Denver during that time.
He commented on the fact that many photographs in the book are of campus and students. The book takes the reader back when University Park and South Denver were developing communities during that time. Many other photographs are of parks, neighboring houses and mansions in the area. In addition, the review was not the best work I have seen and would not interest me in reading the book. Clearly, this assignment has taught me to read book reviews and consider which ones are relevant towards deciding on the book to read. This was a good tool that can be used in the future.
