Access to History for the IB Diploma: United States Civil War: causes, course and effects 1840-77 Paperback – Illustrated, May 25, 2012

Easy to read with guidance for the IB exam.

Excellent resource

good

My son is using this book for 11th grade IB. It is full of completely unsourced assertions written from a popularized pseudo-historical perspective. Take for instance a ridiculous comparison of the "benign view" of slavery vs. the "harsh view". The benign view states in bullet 2: "Floggings were rare." Bullet 2 of the harsh view states: "Floggings, branding and mutilations were common." Neither statement is substantiated. They are simply assertions. Nothing is sourced, from charts of numbers to statements Farmer makes. Take, for example, p22, which says, "Slaves seem to have had more legal protection in Spanish and Portuguese law..." Seem to have? Could this have been researched to determine if it is fact rather than appearance? Farmer didn't bother. Where he does source anything, it is from other historians, not original documents. This is an absolute disgrace as a source of education. There is an alternative I highly recommend by Harcourt Brace called The National Experience. If you cannot get it in a current edition, seek an old one.