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threegoodrats's review against another edition
4.0
In her one-volume history of the United States, Jill Lepore attempts to answer the question of whether or not our country has lived up to the truths which were supposed to be so self-evident: equality, natural rights, and sovereignty of the people. It begins with Christopher Columbus's arrival to the Americas and continues until the Trump presidency.
The history I've read before and that I was taught in school is the history of governments, leaders, laws, and wars. Here, Lepore covers those things but she also delves into people and society and culture, which I appreciate a lot and which makes the book much more readable to me. She spends more time on slavery and its aftermath than other histories, which is relevant to her overarching questions about rights and equality.
Most of this book was super interesting and made me want to delve more into certain aspects, events, and people from our history. For the most part it was more readable for me than other works of history.
The end was disappointing. In one chapter she covers the last 20 years of history in a mad rush of passionate melodrama. In the epilogue, "The Question Addressed" I thought she'd attempt to answer her original question but it was just a few pages long and ended in an allegory about liberals and conservatives on a ship with the sails in tatters and someone would need to build a new mast - I don't know, I don't understand allegories and they have no place in this book. The last chapter and the epilogue have a distinctly different feel from the rest of the book.
Still, through most of it I was very glad to be reading it and would recommend it. Maybe just stop earlier than I did.
The history I've read before and that I was taught in school is the history of governments, leaders, laws, and wars. Here, Lepore covers those things but she also delves into people and society and culture, which I appreciate a lot and which makes the book much more readable to me. She spends more time on slavery and its aftermath than other histories, which is relevant to her overarching questions about rights and equality.
Most of this book was super interesting and made me want to delve more into certain aspects, events, and people from our history. For the most part it was more readable for me than other works of history.
The end was disappointing. In one chapter she covers the last 20 years of history in a mad rush of passionate melodrama. In the epilogue, "The Question Addressed" I thought she'd attempt to answer her original question but it was just a few pages long and ended in an allegory about liberals and conservatives on a ship with the sails in tatters and someone would need to build a new mast - I don't know, I don't understand allegories and they have no place in this book. The last chapter and the epilogue have a distinctly different feel from the rest of the book.
Still, through most of it I was very glad to be reading it and would recommend it. Maybe just stop earlier than I did.
sabrinaliterary's review against another edition
4.0
A book about US history that explores the question "but what if democracy actually sucks though?" I am into it. Loved the parts about Campaigns Inc. (which fans of Lepore's work will recognize from her New Yorker article "The Lie Factory"). I will not be satisfied until there is both a Netflix series AND an opera about Baxter and Whitaker.
jordyreading's review against another edition
Might pick it back up later, not interested enough to get through it at the moment.
sam2085's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic overview of American history. Identifies common themes and period-specific idiosyncrasies that paint a neatly complete and usually persuasive view of the United States.
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
Heard about on the Fully Booked Podcast at https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Jill-Lepore also it was the highest rated book on my TBR. It might take me a while to finish since it’s close to 1,000 pages.
It took me almost 40 hours to read this book in which I learned more American history than I had in 40 years. LePore covered so much territory that I can’t remember if I never learned it or if I’ve just forgotten it. In any event, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants to get a better grasp of what America stands for and what it took to get to where we are today. America is made of people and people are not perfect but I believe that our system government will sustain well into the future.
It took me almost 40 hours to read this book in which I learned more American history than I had in 40 years. LePore covered so much territory that I can’t remember if I never learned it or if I’ve just forgotten it. In any event, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants to get a better grasp of what America stands for and what it took to get to where we are today. America is made of people and people are not perfect but I believe that our system government will sustain well into the future.