I found the work of Joy Hakin to be very interesting and easy to follow. The book is very different form the typical Social Studies texts I am used to seeing. The usual texts are just information explaining a time period. Joy gives you background and then includes inserts giving a different perspective or an event that occurred within. This varies the type of writing and helps relate the time period to actual events. I think this would benefit both left and right brained learners. It does follow a sequence but also jumps around with inserts, maps, quotes, and art.
The chapter headlines are more then just dates, the pictures are actual artwork from the time period, and the definitions explain the words relevant to the time period. This all makes an easier read, more interesting, and easy to follow. This is not a "read a few pages and answer questions text." It is something that students can enjoy and hopefully relate to, not something they will memorize and forget a week later.
