The 1980s from Ronald Reagan to MTV (Decades of the 20th Century in Color)

Grade 4-8-This series entry touches on everything from sports to politics in separate sections, illustrated with nondescript black-and-white photos. Each chapter highlights selected occurrences and people relative to the subject with very little commentary. In the chapter on arts and entertainment, the author claims that MTV is responsible for the increasing popularity of rap music without mentioning that it took seven years and threats of lawsuits to include a regular program featuring African-American music. Information in the captions, which in some cases is extensive, is not indexed. A list of books for further reading is included; most are out of print. Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster's The Century for Young People (Doubleday, 1999) includes in-depth discussions and personal accounts.