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Title: Booknotes: Stories from American History by Brian Lamb ISBN: 0-14-200249-6 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Great Book, Only One Criticism
Comment: Overall this is a great book -- engaging, insightful. The chapters are brief, easy to read, and the reader gets a wide range of viewpoints from the various authors feautred. The only criticism I have is that the last section, The Culture Wars, is deficient. It covers well the conservative end of things with chapters on neo-conservatives, Reagan & Bush. However, the book ignores Carter & Clinton. And except for race, the book ignores civil rights issues that have been so divisive in the "culture wars," such as feminism and gay rights.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Matrix of Perspectives on American History
Comment: What we have here are 79 condensations of one-hour interviews of eminent historians previously conducted by Lamb, founding CEO and host of the the C-SPAN "Booknotes" television series. ("My interview questions are omitted so that readers can focus on the author's words.") It is important to keep in mind that these are, literally, "stories from American history" rather than traditional academic briefs. That is to say, they are not dull and dry. On the contrary, their format, tone, and style are casual but at no time careless. Credit Lamb and his associates for a first-rate job of editing the material. Those interviewed are erudite raconteurs. Lamb organizes the essays within nine parts: Revolution and Founding (1776-1815), The Young Nation (1815-1850), Slavery and the Civil War (1850-1865), Rebuilding America and the Guided Age ((1865-1901), Progressive Era and Reaction (1901-1929), Depression and War (1929-1945), Early Cold War (1945-1957), Social Transformation (1957-1975), and The Culture Wars (1975-2000). I am especially grateful to Lamb for his headnotes for each chapter. Here is how he introduces Joyce Appleby and her comments on "The First Generation of Americans":
"The census of 1800 reported 1.1 million people living in the United States -- more than twice the number in the colonies at the beginning of the American Revolution. There were four cities with a population greater than 10,000 -- Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. Half of the population was under sixteen years of age. On June 18, 2000, Joyce Appleby, a U.C.L.A. professor and author of Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans, published in 2000 by Belnap Press, appeared on Booknotes to tell us about this era and how this 'first generation' helped shape the young nation."
Headnotes such as these serve as appropriate introductions, of course, but also suggest additional sources which readers may wish to explore. It is also helpful to have the "Complete List of C-SPAN Booknotes (1989-2001)," then totaling 619. This is one of three books published thus far, based on 79 of those interviews. The other two, also edited by Lamb, are Booknotes: Life Stories, Notable Biographers on the People Who Shaped America and Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. If you have an especially strong appetite for American history, Lamb and his associates offer a "feast."
Bon Appetit!
Rating: 5
Summary: An outstanding overview of American History
Comment: I was watching the Don Imus Radio Program "Imus In the Morning" when he recommended to his listeners this book edited by Brian Lamb, the founder and current executive of C-SPAN. After hearing numerous recommendations from other viewers and notables on the Imus program, I decided to purchase the book myself and see if it was as good as others said it was. I was not disappointed in the least.
The book is in overview exerpts of interviews of notable historians and other personalities who have written a book about a historical figure or event and was on the C-SPAN show "Booknotes" to talk about the book they have written. Such authors as James McPherson, the excellent Civil War Historian to NBC News Anchorman Tom Brokaw who talked about the World War II generation. The book starts with the American Revolution and ends with the year 2000. Each chapter is a brief overview of what the historians/authors on C-SPAN said during the show that they appeared and it is interesting and to the point.
The chapters are short 5 to 8 pages at the most, but they keep the reader's interest throughout. There is an introduction at the beginning of each chapter that tells the date that the historian/author appeared on Booknotes and what the name of the book was that they have written.
Each chapter is interesting and dare I say "fun" to read. From the founding of America, to the Civil War, to current day is fascinating reading. Such notable figures as U.S. Grant, J.P. Morgan, John F. Kennedy and so many others are discussed as well. From historical acts to controversy, this book has them all. It provides a "taste" of the individual book that is presented by the authors and also some tell the motivation to why they wanted to write about an event or historical figure.
This is easy to read and does not get bogged down in detail. If you want detail, then buy the actual book that the various authors have written about.
This is the kind of book that would be excellent for a upper level high school U.S. History Class or for College U.S. History Classes as well to use as a companion to the required textbooks assigned for the classes. This is also the perfect book for the "armchair" historian who enjoys a good read about interesting people and events, but dosent want to know the minute details involved in a huge biography or book on a historical event.
Highly Recommended!
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Title: Booknotes Life Stories : Notable Biographers on the People Who Shaped America by Brian Lamb ISBN: 0812933397 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 06 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Booknotes : America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas by Brian Lamb ISBN: 0812930290 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 19 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites by Brian Lamb, Richard Norton Smith, Douglas Brinkley, Carol Hellwig, Anne Bentzel, Karen Jarmon, John Splaine, Susan Swain, C-Span (Television Network), Staff of C-Span ISBN: 1586481789 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Americans by Na ISBN: 0618108785 Publisher: McDougal Littell & Co Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $83.56 |
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Title: Who Owns History?: Rethinking the Past in a Changing World by Eric Foner ISBN: 0809097052 Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub Pub. Date: 16 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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