A History Of Us

A History of Us,
An Age of Extremes 1870-1917

A companion to Cadron Creek’s Where the Brook and River Meet

A History of US
By Joy Hakim

You’ll learn about economics in this book — a subject that is often a yawn, but not in these pages. Read about powerful Pierpont, Mother Jones, a teddy bear President, and two brothers who want to fly.

For the captains of industry — men like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, and Henry Ford — the Gilded Age was a time of big money. Technology boomed with the invention of trains, telephones, electric lights, harvesters, vacuum cleaners, and more. But for millions of immigrant workers, it is a time of big struggles, with adults and children alike working 12 to 14 hours a day under extreme, dangerous conditions. The disparity between the rich and the poor was dismaying, which prompted some people to action.

Joy Hakim is a former teacher, newspaper writer, and editor. She developed A History of Us in the classroom, using children as her editors. She didn’t expect to get letters from children about the books, but she has a file bulging with their letters — which she calls “an added bonus!”

David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize winner and
author of “John Adams”
“A big breath of fresh air and the best possible news for the youngsters who get to read them.”

Denver Post
“Magnificent.”