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Reviews
A Nation Without Borders: The United States and Its World, 1830-1910 by Steven Hahn, Eric Foner
wescovington's review against another edition
4.0
A much different survey of 19th Century America, Hahn looks at much different figures and themes than most other historians do. This is much more of a social than political history.
franklinroberts12's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best American History books I’ve read, probably the best that covers such a wide period. Incorporates quite a bit of recent work across disciplines to inform a globally-integrated history of the United States’ development into a nation, an imperial power, and a budding global hegemon. Highly recommend!
rgram's review
Excellent, just not in the mood to continue right now. Will definitely finish later.
mattrohn's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Great synthetic work. If you're an American history person with a focus in this era it helps put a lot of things in grand context. If you're not an American history person or if you have a large blindspot about the late 19th century this is one of the most useful single books you could read. Would happily teach from this book in a survey course on American history
imperfectcj's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I might have gotten more out of this one had I spent more time with the physical book rather than the audio (in which the narrator pronounced "antebellum" as "ant-eye-bellum" for the first 11 chapters and used sometimes unsettling accents) and if I had made a timeline and running list of characters, but even without those, I think I have a much better sense of the rhetoric and forces that shaped the US during the 19th century and how remarkable and almost accidental the stability of the 20th century was.
Of particular note is how adept the powerful/wealthy are at intentionally fooling the population that their needs are one and the same. I also learned that corporate personhood began in the 19th c. with the active assistance of a SCOTUS that was hesitant (at best) about the personhood of actual persons who weren't white and male. I also learned how easy it is for a popular movement to get derailed by infighting and how cobbled together our financial system is. I was hoping for some greater insights into the current climate in the US, and I did get some of those but unfortunately no ideas for how to proceed wisely (just lots of lessons on what not to do).
Of particular note is how adept the powerful/wealthy are at intentionally fooling the population that their needs are one and the same. I also learned that corporate personhood began in the 19th c. with the active assistance of a SCOTUS that was hesitant (at best) about the personhood of actual persons who weren't white and male. I also learned how easy it is for a popular movement to get derailed by infighting and how cobbled together our financial system is. I was hoping for some greater insights into the current climate in the US, and I did get some of those but unfortunately no ideas for how to proceed wisely (just lots of lessons on what not to do).
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