Not Written in Stone

Book excerpt: Kyle Ward's celebrated History in the Making struck a chord among readers of popular history. ''Interesting and useful,'' according to Booklist, the book ''convincingly illustrates how texts change as social and political attitudes evolve.'' With excerpts from history textbooks that span two hundred years, History in the Making looks at the different ways textbooks from different eras present the same historical events. Not Written in Stone offers an abridged and annotated version of History in the Making specifically designed for classroom use. In each section, Ward provides an overview, questions for discussions and analysis, and then a fascinating chronological sampling of textbook excerpts which reveal the fascinating differences between different textbooks over time. An exciting new teaching tool, Not Written In Stone is destined to become a touchstone of classroom teaching about the American past.