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I have read Ms. Bauer's four-volume world history for children and it's excellent. I gave her book on the middle ages five stars. I expected to love this book also, but I hit a wall. Ms. Bauer relates the events described in the book of Exodus as though they are grounded in historical facts. I am no authority on the subject and don't intend to become one, but here is my layman's grasp of our state of knowledge regarding Exodus: These earth-shattering events are claimed to have happened in the 15th Century B.C. 1000 years later an oral story was refined among the Jews while they endured the Babylonian Exile [an event for which we have good evidence]. The oldest surviving writing of the Exodus story is dated 200 B.C. - 100 A.D. I could not find any external historical or archaeological evidence for any event in this story. The histories of Egypt and of other contemporary empires fail to confirm any part. No nation of Israel in Egypt, no slavery, no plagues, no escape, no wandering masses between Egypt and Canaan. Bauer, writes the following in Chapter 32 of this book: "The Exodus [events] . . . show up nowhere in Egyptian chronicles. This is hardly surprising. . . These are not the kinds of events that appear in the celebratory inscriptions of any pharaoh." That's a convenient attitude, given the circumstances. Egyptian historian Manetho [writing later] records Egypt's subjugation to the Hyksos. I have read that a new Pharaoh loved to publish the defeats of his predecessor. Nearly every event in history reflects badly on someone, who'd rather not hear about it. Why didn't all similar events disappear from history? What about Egypt's neighboring countries and rival empires? Did they not notice the Nile turning to blood, the darkness at midday, or hundreds of thousands of Hebrews infiltrating their territory? She continues: "A whole range of possibilities exists around [the dating of the Exodus], with a subsection of historians suggesting that the Exodus was more of a gradual seeping out of Egypt back up into the land of the Western Semites, and a smaller subsection suggesting there was no Exodus at all." Bauer implies that only a minority of historians think Exodus is largely fiction. Is that accurate? Correct me if you can; my results were opposite. I was not able to find any historian or archaeologist who gave any credence to Exodus, saving a small minority, who identify themselves primarily as apologists for Judaism or Christianity. To her credit, Ms. Bauer was careful to distinguish between myth and historical record in her children's series. The myths were indented and introduced as strictly stories. If she had been equally careful in this book, it would retain credibility. Since I'm not any kind of expert on history, I won't continue reading this book. I can't independently judge when the author is relaying established facts and when not. I welcome other thoughts on the subject, especially if anyone has evidence for Exodus.