Thinking Critically: Cell Phones ISBN 978-1-68282-335-4 / eBook: 978-1-68282-336-1
Thinking Critically: Gun Control ISBN 978-1-68282-337-8 / eBook: 978-1-68282-338-5
Thinking Critically: Performance-Enhancing Drugs ISBN 978-1-68282-339-2 / eBook: 978-1-68282-340-8
VOYA, June 1, 2018

Thinking Critically is a high-quality, easy-to-navigate series covering cultural issues affecting society. Each eighty-page volume is organized succinctly and contains the same foreward discussing why it is necessary for all citizens to have cultural literacy. All volumes have an overview section introducing the history of the topic, current challenges, and potential future uses. There are four chapters covering four topics for debate. Each chapter discusses the topic question “at a glance” followed by a short essay debating the topic’s pro or con side. Excellent graphs and charts highlighting supporting information are useful and provide visual summaries of the discussion in each essay. Each book ends with excellent backmatter. Each essay is preceded by a “Questions for Consideration” section to help stimulate critical thinking while reading the debate. Gun Control highlights many of the main points of view on gun control laws and gun rights. The book on performance-enhancing drugs provides historical examples and asks whether these drugs and the penalties for using them really work. Cell Phones will get readers thinking of both the negative and positive impacts smartphones have on our lives.
Overall, the series is a worthy purchase for public and school libraries, especially since quality print resources are limited.
— Karen Sykeny

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