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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
As I am writing this review, CNN is reporting on the recent shooting in Las Vegas as well as the destruction in Puerto Rico. I live in a country where a president at the very least gives the impression of lacking basic geographic knowledge, human politeness, and empathy. A large segment of the population seems angry that brown people protest, peacefully protest, during a song but not as mad about the mass shooting of innocent concert attendees.
It’s hard not to crawl under the bed and read until the next election, isn’t it?
If you are going to do that, and even more so if you are not going to do so, you should read this collection of Foner’s essays that span is career.
Foner essays cover much, but at the heart of the work is the question of freedom, the right and need to debate as well as to a degree the need to challenge the status quo. He discusses the justification behind college admissions systems as well as the need to challenge the standard view on history. For instance, he discusses a show in the Smithsonian American Museum of Art that challenge the artistic view of the West, pointing out Remington’s view of minorities. There is also a good essay about the Sacco and Vanzetti case.
But perhaps the most important essays in this collection are those about the Civil War, the South, and Lincoln. Not only does Foner discuss the use of revisionist history designed to make slavery a secondary issue (as well as the issue of Texas textbooks). His direct analysis of those statues is also very important, pointing out the true reason for the erection of the statues.
This is a very timely and important collection.
Maybe HBO should give him a show.
As I am writing this review, CNN is reporting on the recent shooting in Las Vegas as well as the destruction in Puerto Rico. I live in a country where a president at the very least gives the impression of lacking basic geographic knowledge, human politeness, and empathy. A large segment of the population seems angry that brown people protest, peacefully protest, during a song but not as mad about the mass shooting of innocent concert attendees.
It’s hard not to crawl under the bed and read until the next election, isn’t it?
If you are going to do that, and even more so if you are not going to do so, you should read this collection of Foner’s essays that span is career.
Foner essays cover much, but at the heart of the work is the question of freedom, the right and need to debate as well as to a degree the need to challenge the status quo. He discusses the justification behind college admissions systems as well as the need to challenge the standard view on history. For instance, he discusses a show in the Smithsonian American Museum of Art that challenge the artistic view of the West, pointing out Remington’s view of minorities. There is also a good essay about the Sacco and Vanzetti case.
But perhaps the most important essays in this collection are those about the Civil War, the South, and Lincoln. Not only does Foner discuss the use of revisionist history designed to make slavery a secondary issue (as well as the issue of Texas textbooks). His direct analysis of those statues is also very important, pointing out the true reason for the erection of the statues.
This is a very timely and important collection.
Maybe HBO should give him a show.
skitch41's review against another edition
4.0
Over the past few years there has been an intense debate in America about monuments in the South to Confederate generals as well as the flying of the Confederate flag in many state capitals. Also, with Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign last year, there has been a debate about the values of democratic socialism, how they fit into the arc of American history, and whether or not America is ready to embrace such a radical agenda. Fortunately, uses and abuses of American history have been hotly debated over the decades and in this wonderful collection of essays, Prof. Foner not only reminds us of America's radical traditions, but also about the forgotten corners of our national history that need to be remembered along with everything else.
Starting with Prof. Foner's first essay in The Nation in 1977 and ending almost 40 years later at the end of Barack Obama's presidency. Prof. Foner frequently challenges the typical narrative of American history in these articles and reminds his readers that America has a radical tradition of social movements as embodied by socialists like Eugene V. Debs, abolitionists like Fredrick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, and the original Progressives of the early 20th century. He also reminds us that America has not always lived up to its own high ideals. However, by shining a light on these dark corners of American history, Prof. Foner lays the groundwork for future hope and idealism in American history and politics. Not all American's will agree with Prof. Foner's worldview and opinions (I am certainly don't share his same disappointment with Pres. Obama like a lot of Progressives share). However, Prof. Foner writes intelligently and I believe Americans should listen to him in these pages. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in exploring the topic of American history in public life from a non-traditional perspective.
Starting with Prof. Foner's first essay in The Nation in 1977 and ending almost 40 years later at the end of Barack Obama's presidency. Prof. Foner frequently challenges the typical narrative of American history in these articles and reminds his readers that America has a radical tradition of social movements as embodied by socialists like Eugene V. Debs, abolitionists like Fredrick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, and the original Progressives of the early 20th century. He also reminds us that America has not always lived up to its own high ideals. However, by shining a light on these dark corners of American history, Prof. Foner lays the groundwork for future hope and idealism in American history and politics. Not all American's will agree with Prof. Foner's worldview and opinions (I am certainly don't share his same disappointment with Pres. Obama like a lot of Progressives share). However, Prof. Foner writes intelligently and I believe Americans should listen to him in these pages. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in exploring the topic of American history in public life from a non-traditional perspective.
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