AMERICA: A HISTORY. Hux, Allan, et. al. Toronto, Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, 1987. 616pp, cloth, $24.95, ISBN 0-88996-144-1. CIP Grades 11 and up Reviewed by Adele M. Fasick Volume 16 Number 3 1988 May Writing a survey of 500 years of American history is an ambitious project. The authors of this textbook designed primarily for grades 11 and 12 have arranged the material in broad thematic units: for example, "Colonial Roots," "Western Development and Imperialism" and "The Domestic Scene since World War II." The book is well designed with numerous maps and illustrations to lighten and clarify the text. Short quotations in the margins add interest, as do longer exerpts from contemporary sources set off against a coloured background. Short biographies have been used to humanize the text. Thomas Hutchinson, Sam Adams, Phyllis Wheatly, Babe Ruth, Jeanette Rankin and Daniel Inouye are some of the figures singled out for this treatment. As this list indicates, an effort has been made to include men, women, members of minority groups, and representatives of varied careers. On the whole, the book gives a balanced and interesting account of the major developments in American history, although the brevity of the coverage can lead to distortion and mistakes. The four-page section on the women's movement of the 1970s declares that "consciousness raising" was "renamed 'networking,' " although the two processes differ in purpose and method; the author of Against Our Will (Bantam, 1975) is given as Susan Brown Miller, instead of Brownmiller. This survey text will give students a background that will help them to understand more in-depth coverage of the issues. Adele M. Fasick, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.