Washington D.C

Alternative Assignment

Purpose:  The seniors who will be attending the Washington D.C. trip this year will be visiting various historical sites connected with our American heritage and will be doing assignments related to the trip. Because of the value of this experience, the CAM staff is providing the following assignment as an alternative to those who are unable to go on the D.C. trip.  This assignment is worth 100 points.  Seventy points will be given for the written work and thirty for the oral interview.

Assignment: Each of the books listed below deal with our American heritage or an issue facing the American policymakers.  This assignment represents a weeks worth of schoolwork.  Your assignment is as follows:

1. Choose and read one book from the list.
2. Write a two-page summary of the book, detailing significant understand/learning and a one-page reaction paper to the book.  Papers are to be turned Mr. Albers on__________________.
3. Each student will schedule an oral discussion with the appropriate teacher on ___________ when they hand in their paper.

4)  Meet with one of the three teachers, (Mrs. Bjur, Mr. Summers, or Mr. Albers) and discuss the book.  The oral discussion of you book will take about 10 minutes and needs to be completed by____________________.  

Any book not on the list can only be used with permission!!

Book List:

Discovery-Constitution

Hawaii by James Mitchner:  A historical fiction, which attempts to explain the history of

Hawaii.

Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara:  The story of the American Revolution beginning with the Boston Massacre, highlighting the creation of the Declaration of Independence and
concluding with the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Glorious Cause by Jeff Shaara:  The story of the Revolutionary War and leadership of George Washington.

Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis:  Six moments in the 1790’s that exemplifies the most

crucial issues facing a new America.

His Excellency by Joseph J. Ellis: A biography of George Washington.

Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:  The French Revolution as seen through the eyes of a British agent.

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose:  The story of the Lewis and Clark expedition.                 

Constitution- Civil War

Gone for Soldiers by Jeff Shaara: A story of a time when the Civil War's most familiar names are fighting for another cause; junior officers making a name for themselves in the Mexican-American War.

Nothing like It in the World by Stephen Ambrose:  The greatest engineering marvel of its day, the transcontinental railroad changed the country forever.

Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott:  The nineteenth-century classis tells the story of

the March girls growing up in Concord, Massachusetts in the years during and

after the Civil War.

Gods & Generals by Jeff Shaara:  The first book in the Civil War trilogy, that explores
the lives of Lee, Hancock, Jackson, and Chamberlain as Gettysburg approaches.

Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara:  The last installment of the Civil War trilogy, from
Gettysburg on.

Industrial Revolution – WWI

Hornsby Hit One Over My Head - A Fan’s Oral History of Baseball by David Cataneo: Fans share their memories of baseball's greatest moments and players, from the early 1900’s to the present.

Last Man Standing by Jeff Shaara:  Tells the story of the Red Barron and the fighter aces  

of WWI.

Depression - WWII

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw:  Personal stories from around the country of the Great Depression and World War II.

Behind the Urals by John Scott:  The story of young Communist who leaves America
during the height of the Great Depression to be part of the Communist
Revolution.

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose:  The story of a World War II regiment, from Normandy to the Eagles Nest.

D-Day by Stephen Ambrose:  June 6th, 1944 and the landing in Normandy.

Citizen Soldier by Stephen Ambrose:  The conclusion of WWII in Europe.

The Execution of Private Slovak by William Bradford Hie:  The story of the only

American soldier to be executed for desertion during World War II.

The Rising Tide by Jeff Shaara: The beginning of World War II in Africa for America to the D-Day invasion of France. (Part I of Shaara's WWII series)

The Steel Wave by Jeff Shaara: A historical fiction that tells the stories of the beaches of Normandy to the beginning of the invasion of Germany. (Part II of Shaara's WWII series)

No Less than Victory by Jeff Shaara:  The story of the final year of conflict in WWII on the European continent, detailing with the fall of Germany. (Part III of Shaara's WWII series) *

Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides: The story of survivors of the Bataan death march stranded in the Philippines and a daring rescue attempt.

Flyboys by James Bradley: Flyboys is the true story of young American airmen who were shot down over Chichi Jima.  This book provides a great deal of background information about Japanese ambition at the outset of WWII and the impact of the air war in the Pacific. *

Two Ocean War by Samuel Elliot Morrison:  A short history of U.S. naval warfare in
WWII, by someone who was there.

Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner:  The story of a German U-boat captain from the
beginning of WWII to the defeat of Germany.  Iron Coffins provides a unique
look at WWII.

Mig Pilot by John Barron:  The story Viktor Belenko, a Soviet fighter pilot who defected
to Japan in the 1970s in his top-secret Mig 25.  The story details why Viktor took
this gamble.

Civil Rights

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin: The story of a journalist who stains himself black to see what life in the South is like for a black man.

Vietnam

A Better War by Lewis Sorley-  Sorley uses newly available documents to explain how
America was winning on the battlefields of Vietnam and lost at home.

Triumph Forsaken:  The Vietnam War, 1954-1965 by Mark Moyar:  Moyar takes a fresh
look at the Vietnam War through newly released primary source documents to
analyze common beliefs about the Vietnam War.

War on Terror

Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell:  The story of a SEAL team caught behind enemy lines in Afghanistan with a decision to make. *

One Bullet Away by Nicholas Fick:  The story of an Ivy Leaguer who chooses the Marines over a six-figure income and ends up participating in the liberation of Iraq. *

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright:  The rise of Islamic terrorism from the streets of Egypt to 9/11.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali:  The story of Islamic woman who fleas the Netherlands in search of freedom.  In the book Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrestles with the clash between her faith and culture. *

The Son of Hamas by Mosab Yousef:  The story of an Islamic terrorist leader who converts to Christianity and becomes a double agent.

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah by Fancis J. West:  The story of American policy in Iraq as seen through the eyes of the Sunni insurgency in Fallujah. *

* Books with this marking require a note granting parent permission before reading! Many of the books are graphic as they depict scenes of war, but books with an asterisk have strong language, usually in the form of quotes, though used with discretion.