A Patriot’s History of the United States
From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the War on Terror
Larry Schweikart, Michael Patrick Allen
From the subtitle, it would be easy to assume A Patriot’s History is a breezy treatment of our nation’s history. From the title, it
might also be assumed that this is a polemic tomb. Neither would be correct. To
accommodate five centuries of history in a single volume, each episode must be
tersely described, but terse does not necessarily mean unacademic. Schweikart
and Allen do a superb job of describing the essence of a historic moment
without being superficial. Although the authors freely admit to a belief in
conservative principles, the book is not a conservative rewriting of history through
creative description or omission. The authors do not gloss over some of our uncomfortable
past or whitewash occasional spells of truly bad behavior. All in all, this is
an excellent survey of American history.
These book reviews have focused on the Civil War and the
principal players in that conflict. A Patriot’s History covers much more
ground. I had read the book when it first came out and recently reread the two
chapters dealing with the Civil War. When lost in the trees, it’s helpful to get
a perspective on the forest This book reminded me to always keep an eye the big
picture.
I would recommend A Patriot’s History as a reference
book or to read cover to cover.
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