A longtime professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, Ronald Takaki was recognized as one of the foremost scholars of American ethnic history and diversity. When the first edition of
A
Different Mirror
was published in 1993,
Publishers Weekly
called it "a brilliant revisionist history of America that is likely to become a classic of multicultural studies" and named it one of the ten best books of the year. Now Rebecca Stefoff, who adapted Howard Zinn's best-selling
A People's History of the United States
for younger readers, turns the updated 2008 edition of Takaki's multicultural masterwork into
A Different Mirror for
Young People
.
Drawing on Takaki's vast array of primary sources, and staying true to his own words whenever possible,
Different Mirror for Young People
brings ethnic history alive through the words of people, including teenagers, who recorded their experiences in letters, diaries, and poems. Like Zinn's
A People's History
, Takaki's
offers a rich and rewarding "people's view" perspective on the American story.