Citation:  Ain't Nothing But a Man:  My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson.  Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2008.

One of my Top 10 selections

ISBN: 978-1-4263-0000-4

Annotation: Nelson traces his journey to discover the origins of the real John Henry. Nelson’s fascinating description of his research process has all the twists and turns of a good detective story.

Media: Archival photos, painting, excerpts from songs, and maps

Personal Rating: 5Q/5P

Curricular Connections:  This is an excellent book for a History class because it explains how Historians do their research and use primary sources to put together the pieces of a puzzle. Nelson with help from Aronson explain all the false starts that led Nelson to finally discover who the real John Henry was. What makes this book fascinating is that the pictures and text work perfectly together. He uses archival photos of railway workers, paintings of John Henry, excerpts from the songs of John Henry, and Historical maps to support his text. Students will learn as much from the pictures as from the text. His explanation of how to interpret primary sources would make for a great History lesson on how to use primary sources. Students could also research John Henry and the building of the American Railroad.  The Appendices are excellent because Nelson encourages students to keep researching by looking at more primary sources, versions of the songs, and by using secondary sources. Aronson provides an excellent essay for students on how to be a Historian that any teacher would find invaluable. There is an extensive list of further reading and a good source note for students to see. This is the best History book I have come across in a long time. It would also be a good tool to teach about African-American history as well.

Grade Level or Age Range: Grades 6-High School

By: Joanne Maher July 24th, 2009

Ain't nothing but a man: My quest to find the real John Henry, by Scott Reynolds Nelson and Marc Aronson.  Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2008.

ISBN: 978-1426300004

Annotation: A gripping account of the author’s search to uncover who John Henry really was; readers will be drawn in by the first-person narrative style which reads like a detective story.

Illustrations: photographs; historical illustrations

Curricular Use: 9^th grade and up; History/Social Studies, Language Arts

5Q/4P

DM 7/13/09