Shaping North America: From Exploration to the American Revolution

Seelye (history, Kent State at Stark; coeditor, Voices of the American Indian Experience) and Selby (history, Kent State at Stark) have compiled 300 articles by 56 contributors describing North American history from 1492 to 1789. The signed entries discuss events, people, social conditions, and institutions (slavery, the Sons of Liberty, the Declaration of Independence) in sufficient detail for undergraduate majors and nonmajors to begin research on a variety of topics. Entries end with further reading, and some offer relevant primary documents. Although the writing is not elegant, it is clear and direct. All three volumes contain an alphabetical list of all entries and a list of entries grouped by 11 broad topics to facilitate further exploration. Volume 1 further includes a chronology and an introduction that gives an overview of the period. A separate listing of primary documents would be of great interest, and some may wish that the publisher had featured the index in all volumes. The sparse illustrations add little. However, such minor deficiencies do not detract from the overall value of the work.