Overview

Step up to the plate and separate fact from fiction in baseball's origins! Did Abner Doubleday really create America's favorite pastime, or does this story strike out? Learn all you can about baseball's beginnings with infographics, primary sources, and expertly leveled text.

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9781496695369

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"The Fact vs. Fiction in U.S. History series looks at frequently repeated but dubious information about our nation's past. Each volume considers one topic, reviewing the origins of questionable stories, the elements challenged by historical records, and their pathways into the history books. Concise, engaging, and logical, the writing shows that primary sources might support one part of a story while discrediting others. In Abner Doubleday, Yomtov builds a strong case that Doubleday did not invent the game and refutes the validity of a document claiming that he did. Abraham Lincoln relies on primary sources to refute several unreliable stories, including the myth that Lincoln wrote his speech while travelling by train to the cemetery's dedication ceremony. After presenting evidence on both sides, Betsy Ross makes a strong case that anecdotes about Ross represent an embroidered family story that made its way into the history books. Paul Revere looks at how Longfellow's dramatic poem made Revere an American hero, while clouding our collective memory of actual events that night. The books' illustrations include color photos of sites and reproductions of period portraits, paintings, and prints. Back matter pairs specific, commonly believed fictions with related, verifiable facts. While separating fact from fiction, this enjoyable series encourages clear thinking when examining the origins of historical information.--Carolyn Phelan ""Booklist"""

Author Information

Nel Yomtov is an award-winning author of children's nonfiction books and graphic novels. He specializes in writing about history, current events, biography, architecture, and military history. He has written numerous graphic novels for Capstone, including the recent School Strike for Climate, Journeying to New Worlds: A Max Axiom Super Scientist Adventure, and Cher Ami: Heroic Carrier Pigeon of World War I. In 2020 he self-published Baseball 100, an illustrated book featuring the 100 greatest players in baseball history. Nel lives in the New York City area.

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