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Robert John Unstead (1915 to 1988) was an English author. His college degree was in history with an emphasis on teaching. He eventually became, while a teacher and then a headmaster, a prolific author of history books for children, some of which sold in the millions. Unstead’s books were not dull, dry textbooks but were full of wonderful text and illustrations that made history come alive for children. It is an awful thing to bore a child with history and so many textbook authors (and teachers!) are guilty of that sin. Children instead should be delighting in the great and adventurous achievements of ordinary and famous men and women of the past, upon which the present is built and the future planned. Knowing history better, and being excited by it, enables one to better see the hand of God, who is sovereign over history (His-story). The two books by Unstead reviewed below are the right type of book to accomplish these important purposes.
Looking at Ancient History does a very nice job of covering Egypt, Sumeria, Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Crete, Greece, and Rome at an upper elementary to middle school level. Simple, clear text is accompanied and amplified by black and white photos as well as wonderful pen and ink illustrations. Looking at Ancient History would be a great first book for introducing a child to classical ancient history and would serve as a foundation to a later classical Christian curriculum. In addition, many of these ancient peoples play important roles in the Bible, such as Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians, Cyrus of the Medo-Persians, Abraham’s home city of Ur in Sumeria, the conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel and the attempted conquest of the southern kingdom of Judah by the Assyrians, and the pervasive Greek culture of the Roman Empire in the New Testament. Therefore, Looking at Ancient History would also be useful as a supplement for a Bible course.
People in History: From Caractacus to Alexander Fleming is, I think, Unstead’s masterpiece. He traces British history from the days of the Roman Emperor Claudius’ invasion of Britannia in about 50 AD all the way to Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin in about 1928 and shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this discovery. Caractacus was a Celtic king who united several tribes to resist Claudius’ Roman conquest. His resistance ultimately failed but he was renowned for his character and great deeds. And so many people are portrayed in-between Caractacus and Fleming! Unstead traces 1900 years of British history by briefly describing the lives of the famous people whose lives made that history. The author devotes a chapter each to Alban, the first British Christian martyr, Patrick, who brought the gospel to Ireland, Columba, who brought the gospel from Ireland to Scotland, and three chapters on Alfred the Great, one of my heroes from history. And that is just the first quarter of the book! The illustrations are truly wonderful, with many in color. I am amazed by the text. How someone can keep his words clear and simple, easy enough for an upper elementary school student to follow and enjoy, yet still convey the excitement and drama of history, is a question “beyond my pay grade,” as the old saying goes. I really think a child who reads this book will have a tremendous, comprehensive foundation for British history, which of course, since it is where America came from, is clearly important for us today. What is more, he or she will have a cultural literacy to enable them to better enjoy the many British historical fiction books in the Plumfield library.