ncrabb 's review for:

A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror by Larry Schweikart, Michael Allen

4.0

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Highly readable; a book that will hold your interest. That's how I would describe this book if I had only a few words or a short time to do it. I loved the perspective the authors take. They portray people in U.S. history as flawed but not perennial and perpetual racists and oppressors. There's a kind of boldness about this book, too. Some histories conjecture and obfuscate. Not so this book. From rehabilitating the recently tarnished image of Columbus to programs that destroyed the family foundation of urban black Americans, the book offers a decidedly different take from other histories that lean a different direction. The other bonus is this wasn't written for the history-professor echo chamber. It is a comprehensive history that anyone can read and from which they can gain much. I first heard this author interviewed some years ago on a radio program to which I listen. When I saw the length of the book, I was initially intimidated. But it's well worth the time spent.

All histories have to end sometime or they would never be published. I wish somehow the authors could have expanded this to our day and time. Their highly readable style combined with our most recent history would make for a riveting expansion.