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No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II 124 reviews
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Simon & Schuster, 1995
One of my favorite books
I love this book so much (and admire the author Doris Kearns Goodwin enormously) that I have bought this inside story of America and the Roosevelts during WWII for many of my friends and family members and they all make sure to thank me for introducing them to it...A MUST READ in my humble opinon
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From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776 (Oxford History of the United States)39 reviews
George C. Herring
Oxford University Press, USA, 2008
"Comprehensive Exploration of US Foreign Relations"
How did we get from a disparate group of colonies to become the world's superpower (some might argue "American Empire")? University of Kentucky Professor of History (Emeritus) George C. Herring, respected scholar, lecturer and author of numerous books (most famously, AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR: THE UNITED STATES AND VIETNAM, 1950-1975), offers the latest entry of "The Oxford History of the United ...
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Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression 16 reviews
Studs Terkel
W. W. Norton & Company, 2000
gives voices to those who lived through the Depression
As a former grad student in History, I found this book fascinating. Author Studs Terkel interviews people who lived through the Depression and gets their takes on that difficult period. We hear the experiences and memories of those who lived through it from multiple points of view. The book was published in 1970 and much of the research was accordingly done during the second half of the '60s ...
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Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving9 reviews
Ann Mcgovern
Scholastic Paperbacks, 1993
My opinion doesn't matter - the kids love it
While I can appreciate the criticism some readers have offered on this book, I say the bottom line matters: my children love it. The simple text and nice pictures make the subject accessible for young ones. They take it off the shelf even when Thanksgiving is months away. Many questions follow: why could they not pray the way they wanted? Why did Indians kill deer to survive? Why did women ...
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The Wordy Shipmates51 reviews
Sarah Vowell
Riverhead Hardcover, 2008
Worth the effort to see where the roots of American Puritanism were laid and how far modern religious leaders have drifted
Sarah Vowell, like many of us, was likely introduced to "the shining city on the hill" by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan used the metaphor to describe the America people longed for, an admirable and special place that other nations could emulate. "In my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in ...
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The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family 11 reviews
Annette Gordon-Reed
W.W. Norton & Co., 2008
A Pleasant Surprise
There are some questions that can never be resolved in history, and they can drive you nutty. For example, did George Mallory ("the finest climber of his generation") make the summit of Everest in 1924 before he died on the mountain. Unless his camera or other physical evidence is found at the summit, we will never know for sure. Similar is the dispute over whether Thomas Jefferson fathered ...
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We the People: The Story of Our Constitution25 reviews
Lynne Cheney
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008
Well written
Although written for an elementary level, the story of the constitution by Mrs. Cheney was interesting and well written for all ages. A good picture of the struggles and authenticity of the writers of the constitution. Recommended for any age reader.
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John Adams778 reviews
David McCullough
Simon & Schuster, 2008
Fascinating and in depth...
Like another reviewer, my larger introduction to John Adams was through the 1970s musical "1776". I became aware of David McCullough after purchasing his (unrelated) book, also called "1776". When I saw "John Adams" on a bookstore shelf, I cracked it open and was immediately intrigued.
McCullough keeps the story moving, without dismissing details that help fill in a sense of time, place and ...
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Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief21 reviews
James M. McPherson
Penguin Press HC, The, 2008
Tried by War
A very good book, not as good as the Battle Cry of Freedom, but still very readable.
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The Great Crash of 192948 reviews
John Kenneth Galbraith
Mariner Books, 1997
Relevant Again - and Readable as Always
Galbraith wrote The Great Crash in 1954 and he notes in his introduction that every time it was about to go out-of-print a new speculative mania would come along and a new printing would issue. One expects that the 2008 version must be in the works.
Galbraith writes for the general audience, which means he not only leaves out most of the arcane details, but he also writes in an engaging ...
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1776654 reviews
David McCullough
Simon & Schuster, 2006
The Struggle of an Infant Nation
David McCullough takes the reader back to the very first year of our Republic in 1776 which indeed is the seminal year of the existence of the United States.
Not only did America sever its relations with England, it went to war with that Nation. In essence this is a story of George Washington's struggles and it tells of the making of his leadership skills. It also tells of a man who learns ...
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America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who ...22 reviews
Kenneth C. Davis
Collins, 2008
Amazing
If you're into history, this book will open your eyes to what the time was like during early America. Very enlightning and interesting.
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Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861 4 reviews
Harold Holzer
Simon & Schuster, 2008
Holzer's best effort
Harold Holzer is one of America's finest historians -- a man celebrated for both his vast knowledge of Civil War-era events, as well as his fluid and readable writing style. His latest effort, Lincoln, President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-61, is perhaps his finest work of recent vintage. He focuses on the crucial four-month period between the Election of 1860 and ...
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The Pillars of the Earth1300 reviews
Ken Follett
NAL Trade, 2002
Great choice by Oprah
After reading and loving Night by Elie Wiesel, I thought I'd try another of Oprah's book club picks. I had high expectations and was thoroughly satisfied with this book. It is a story that seems to go on endlessly as if you are reading a true history! Lots of accurate facts and descriptions to make you feels as if you are really there. At the end I was left with a feeling of sadness knowing ...
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Benjamin Franklin: An American Life205 reviews
Walter Isaacson
Simon & Schuster, 2004
Highly readable, non-academic treatment
Walter Isaacson's resume reads much like that of his subject; businessman, publisher, head of a non-profit society and author. One wonders where he has found the time to produce this book and the biographies of Henry Kissinger and most recently that of Albert Einstein. He is definitely not an Academic and has produced a highly readable book that is aimed at the general reader, not the academic ...
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American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic (Vintage)57 reviews
Joseph J. Ellis
Vintage, 2008
The Founding Fathers, Neither Jeckels nor Hydes
This is a great addition to the history books covering the founding of our nation. Ellis covers the facts and corrects the fictions have become lore, and does so in a manner that is interesting and revealing. The Founding Fathers were neither geniuses who walked on water with the foresight of gods; nor were they evil white men hell-bent on establishing a utopia for themselves only. Yes, they ...
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Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States)181 reviews
James M. McPherson
Oxford University Press, USA, 2003
A Feast of Facts and Intrigue
This hefty tome is comprehensive and cram-packed with details. But fear not. You know the basics. You know the outcome. You know many of the key events. And yet this book is a gripping, edge-of-the-seat page turner.
The amount of research done in preparation for this book is simply incredible. Readers need not doubt the facts presented. Extensive quotations make the sentiments from all ...
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Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America24 reviews
Steven Waldman
Random House, 2008
The Multifarious Founders and Their Religious Views
There are few questions that can get legal scholars, jurists, and ideologues as excited as the question of what the attitude of the American founders towards religion was. For the last fifty-or-so years, the issue has had no shortage of opinions written on the issue. Some feel that the founders advocated for complete seperation between religion and government. Others believe that the founders ...
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The Story of the Pilgrims (Pictureback(R))2 reviews
H.L. Ross
Random House Books for Young Readers, 1995
Kids don't even know they're learning history
I have been perusing children's books for historical events and people. This is a nice introduction to the Mayflower and the history of Thanksgiving. It gives enough detail that very young children will actually learn some history, yet it is short and to the point to keep their interest. The only fault is that I could not get a hardcover edition.
I like this one better than The Pilgrims' ...
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Samuel Adams: A Life3 reviews
Ira Stoll
Free Press, 2008
Even better than the beer.
This is a must-buy for anyone who loved McCullough's John Adams or Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin. Ira Stoll puts Sam Adams back where he belongs, front and center with the great founding fathers. But "Samuel Adams, A Life" is not merely a work of history, it is a powerful argument about the ideas that made America and still, to this day, shape the nation. Stoll demonstrates, through the life and ...
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