Raymond Bial attempts a monumental task- tracing the history of ghost towns in a children's book. He does not succeed. The book is populated with some lovely color photography of a couple of ghost towns in the American west. The text is easy to read, better for children eight and up. Quoting Mark Twain is always a surefire way to endear an author to this reader, and Bial does this on a couple of occasions. According to the book, Twain once wrote of Virginia City, Nevada: "If a man wanted a fight on his hands without any annoying delay, all he had to do was to appear in public in a white shirt or stove-pipe hat, and he would be accomodated." The book fails in its one main objective- a history of ghost towns. Bial uses so many generalities, but few examples, that some kids might feel like they are being talked down to, especially considering the book's bold title. Bial also glosses over the violence of the west, sugar coating Billy the Kid, and the gunfight at the OK Corral. Instead, Bial writes of phantoms roaming the abandoned sites, as if everyone should take the term "ghost town" literally, and murder and mayhem is swept under the rug. No, I do not think your kids need to see crime scene photos, but ignoring the violent past would give children a false sense of what many people went through back then. We do learn life was rough, and death comes quickly, but I found the book to be just as dry and empty as the towns Bial attempts to describe. The photographs are nice, until further reading in the credits indicate that only a couple of places were photographed, ghost towns that are now tourist destinations. The book is under fifty pages, maybe Bial should have concentrated his subject to in-depth profiles of a couple of ghost towns, instead of jumping from the Gold Rush of 1849 to George Custer to Wild Bill Hickok, without any chance to put these historical events and figures in context. Women and children are mentioned, but kids may have been able to associate more with the book if children's lives in these towns one hundred years ago had been explored. Bial claims there are tens of thousands of ghost towns spread across all fifty states, yet he only mentions a few in passing. "Ghost Towns of the American West" is a very average children's book. Kids interested in history or cowboys might be better off finding another source. Raymond Bial tries to put too much in, not realizing he never comes up with enough. Ghost Towns of the American West (Historical and Old West)
"Ghost Towns of the American West" is an introduction to the ghost town experience. Raymond Bial effectively communicates the history and mystique of these testaments to American tenacity. He explains how many of these towns are remnants of the boom and bust economics of the early West. Like Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, some of the famous Western characters are discussed. The violence of such towns is well documented. Without being melodramatic, the eerie quality of the ghost town is described. As would be expected from a book for young readers, brothels are omitted. It is the illustrations that make this book stand out. The poetic photographs are eye candy. A couple of historical images are shown, but most of the photos portray modern day ghost towns through a nostalgic filter. The verso indicates that most of the shots are from Arizona's Goldfield, Apacheland and Old Tuscon ghost towns. The text is good for readers of at least a fourth grade reading level. While "Ghost Towns" has fifty pages, the text is relatively brief given the large and lush use of photographs. With humor, drama and historical authenticity, Raymond Bail effectively captured the essence of the American ghost town.'
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