Modern History -- dilemma... and resources??

[Lori D.]

Okay, so the dilemma is that this year (with a 9th and an 8th grader), we've done ancient history, and really enjoyed doing WTM Great Books approach with several ancient classics. My plan: to move on next year and do medieval history along with British lit. in a similar fashion.

However, my older son esp. is interested in Modern History -- the World Wars, the Hippie Movement (specific example from him), Civil Rights, communism/fall of the Wall, Persian Gulf War/current war/terrorism, etc.

So, my thought is to continue along with our history and lit. as I had planned -- BUT, I'd really like some good documentary resources and a possible textbook on modern events so I can be honoring his request as well. Any specific video resources such as PBS or Teaching Company or the Military Channel documentaries? Books? Other ideas?

Thanks so much in advance! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Linda in NM]

We decided to jump over the 19th century (have studied it extensively in the past) and move into the 20th century for my 13 yos...I've bought some of the PBS videos (World at War, for example)...

[Kareni]

Hello Lori,

Here are some of the resources we used when studying the 20th century:

Books:

Mao Tse-Tung and His China (Albert Marrin)
The Depression and New Deal (Robert McElvaine)
Surviving Hitler (Andrea Warren)
North to Freedom (Anne Holm)
Maus I, II
Vietnam War (Marilyn Young et al.)
Fax from Sarajevo
A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich
All Quiet on the Western Front
Pygmalion
Diary of Anne Frank
Animal Farm (Orwell)
The Mouse that Roared
W;t (Edson)
Material World
Persepolis

Videos:

Battleship Potemkin (1904)
The Sinking of the Lusitania (Winsor McCay)
Influenza 1918
The Best Arbuckle Keaton Collection
Inherit the Wind
All Quiet on the Western Front
Cabaret
Rabbit Proof Fence (1930s)
1940's house
Shane
Atomic Cafe
Ed Sullivan
Evita
All the President's Men
Forrest Gump
Hair
Good Morning, Vietnam
The Mouse that Roared
Wit

Poetry:

"In Flander's Field" by John McCrae (WWI)

Speech:

"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)

Musicals:

Evita
Miss Saigon

I hope you'll find something of interest here!
Regards,
Kareni

[Chris in VA]

We've enjoyed the large book, DK's 20th Century Day by Day. Sonlight used to use it, but went to the software instead. While I'm not crazy about Sonlight 300, I really do enjoy going thru the book.

Watch Band of Brothers, too. It's such a wonderful series.
Oh, and for a much less violent film, watch The Scarlet and the Black. GREAT movie.

[Lori D.]

nt

[Eliana]

This post (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14606&highlight=Eliana) might be of interest.

The Queen is very nicely done

The World at War (http://www.amazon.com/World-War-30th-Anniversary/dp/B0002F6AH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206603197&sr=1-1)has a wonderful reputation (I've only just started previewing it, so I can't give my own opinions yet...)

Longitude (http://www.amazon.com/Longitude-Jonathan-Coy/dp/B00004U2K1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206603549&sr=1-1) goes back and forth between WWI period and the 1700's - an *incredible* film.

Incident at Ogalala (http://www.amazon.com/Incident-Oglala-Leonard-Peltier-Story/dp/B0001FVDI2/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606247&sr=8-1) - Redford documentary about Peltier


You've probably already thought of Gandhi (http://www.amazon.com/Gandhi-Widescreen-Two-Disc-Special-Kingsley/dp/B000KX0IOA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206603636&sr=1-1) - very hard to watch in places, especially for sensitive kids, but an amazing film. I saw it on the big screen when it came out... I was too young for it probably, but parts of it were seared into my heart.

Another film I saw on the big screen (but I haven't rewatched this one, so I don't know if I would like it now :) ) The Last Emperor (http://www.amazon.com/Last-Emperor-Directors-Cut/dp/6305261032/ref=pd_sim_d_title_12)

Some Westerns are wonderful discussion starters...
you can see the implied progression of law and order in :
Stagecoach (http://www.amazon.com/Stagecoach-Claire-Trevor/dp/B000O59A02/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606909&sr=8-1)
High Noon (http://www.amazon.com/High-Noon-Collectors-Gary-Cooper/dp/B00006JMRE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606927&sr=8-1) (this is such a central piece of American mythology, and tightly made film)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Shot-Liberty-Valance/dp/B00005ASGG/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606937&sr=8-1) (the West on the brink of statehood...)

Post civil war in the west:
Fort Apache (http://www.amazon.com/Fort-Apache-John-Wayne/dp/B000O599NA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606962&sr=8-1) (some definite Custer's last stand resonance here)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (http://www.amazon.com/Wore-Yellow-Ribbon-John-Wayne/dp/B000O599NK/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606962&sr=8-2)


I had never seen a Western before it was suggested to me that they might be interesting springboards - and I found the above very educational, on a number of levels... though certainly not as straight history!!

Very recent:
United 93 (http://www.amazon.com/United-93-Widescreen-J-J-Johnson/dp/B000GH3CR0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206608031&sr=8-1)
World Trade Center (http://www.amazon.com/World-Trade-Center-Widescreen-Nicolas/dp/B000JLTRKE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206608053&sr=8-1)

Lucent books (written really for an upper middle school audience) has a number of titles covering more modern history. Here's The Roaring Twenties (http://www.amazon.com/Roaring-Twenties-World-History/dp/1560063092/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206603902&sr=1-9).

My girls really appreciated the Decades of the 20th Century (http://www.amazon.com/1910s-World-Ragtime-Decades-Century/dp/0766026310/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206604034&sr=1-4) series (Link goes to the 1910's book). These too are aimed at a younger audience, but they do give a quick overview of each decade so things which get covered in more depth are still seen in a larger context.

Red Scarf Girl (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Scarf-Girl-rpkg-Revolution/dp/0064462080/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206604334&sr=1-2) is an interesting memoir - my girls found it disturbing, but fascinating.

Farewell to Manzanar (http://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Manzanar-James-D-Houston/dp/0618216200/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206604414&sr=1-1)is also distressing...

As is my favorite Holocaust related book: Remember Who You Are (http://www.amazon.com/Remember-Who-You-Are-Stories/dp/082760694X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206604533&sr=1-2) - this one is so loving and life affirming overall - it's a loose collection of anecdotes, mostly about relatives by Esther Hautzig (not intended as a children's book, but most of the stories are ones I am willing to share with my children, fwiw), author of the also fabulous The Endless Steppe (http://www.amazon.com/Endless-Steppe-rack-Growing-Siberia/dp/006447027X/ref=ed_oe_p).

The rest of my suggestions are all adult books - and most of them ones I would not hand my children yet, if you have specific content concerns, ask me and I can share my impressions.

Let the Sea Make a Noise (http://www.amazon.com/Incident-Oglala-Leonard-Peltier-Story/dp/B0001FVDI2/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606247&sr=8-1) - a fascinating masterpiece of a book

The Path Between the Seas (http://www.amazon.com/Path-Between-Seas-Creation-1870-1914/dp/0671244094/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606573&sr=1-2) (and other McCullough books!)

All the President's Men (http://www.amazon.com/All-Presidents-Men-Bob-Woodward/dp/1416522913/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606644&sr=8-3) (and/or the film version (http://www.amazon.com/All-Presidents-Men-Two-Disc-Special/dp/B000CEXEWA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606644&sr=8-1))

The Great Influenza (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Plague-History/dp/B0007XWMZQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206605421&sr=1-1)

Beyond the Last Village (http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Last-Village-Discovery-Wilderness/dp/1559638001/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206605444&sr=1-1)

The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia (http://www.amazon.com/Emergence-Modern-Southeast-Asia-History/dp/0824828909/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206605465&sr=1-1) (it's often used as a textbook, but I am very fond of it.)

The Guns of August (http://www.amazon.com/Wore-Yellow-Ribbon-John-Wayne/dp/B000O599NK/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1206606962&sr=8-2)

To get a feeling for early-modern Egypt, Mahfouz's intricate novels are very effective - I started with Palace Walk (http://www.amazon.com/Palace-Cairo-Trilogy-Naguib-Mahfouz/dp/0385264666/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206605396&sr=1-1).

The premier Indonesian novel (that I know of...) is This Earth of Mankind (http://www.amazon.com/This-Earth-Mankind-Buru-Quartet/dp/0140256350/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206605371&sr=1-1)

Very adult, but a haunting novel: The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam.
(http://www.amazon.com/Sorrow-War-Bao-Ninh/dp/1573225436/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206605339&sr=1-1)
Things Fall Apart (http://www.amazon.com/Things-Fall-Apart-Chinua-Achebe/dp/0385474547/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606012&sr=1-2)

Cry the Beloved Country (http://www.amazon.com/Beloved-Country-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0743262174/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606019&sr=1-2)

The Gulag Archipelago (http://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Abridged-Investigation/dp/0061253804/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606083&sr=1-3)

An Act of Terror (http://www.amazon.com/Act-Terror-Andre-Brink/dp/B000NUPFH0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606110&sr=1-7)

A Suitable Boy (http://www.amazon.com/Suitable-Boy-Novel-Perennial-Classics/dp/0060786523/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606169&sr=1-2)

Travels with Charlie (http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Charley-Search-America-Centennial/dp/0142000701/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606219&sr=1-1)

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (http://www.amazon.com/Bury-My-Heart-Wounded-Knee/dp/0805066691/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206606029&sr=1-1)

Whoops - overran the length limit - will cut and paste the rest into another reply...

[vmsurbat]

We've not studied the 20th Century in depth at a high school level, but one book I will *always* include is No Picnic on Mount Kenya. This is the true story of an Italian POW (in a British concentration camp) and how he and two others escape to climb Mr. Kenya, knowing that they would have to go back to the camp after their feat. A very interesting look at the realities of life when reduced to nothing but a number. I think it offers an excellent but differing POV worth contrasting with Nazi concentration camps.

HTH,