The weighty, 944-page “A Patriot’s History of the United States,” originally published in 2004, has been lauded by mainstream press as “refreshing” in its absence of a political agenda or social rebuke. Numerous pages of research notes and cited sources back up its content, which goes “From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement,” as indicated by the book’s updated-edition subtitle.
With a combined experience of teaching American history for 60 years, authors Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen allowed America’s past to speak for itself. In the book’s introduction, the authors note: “The evidence is there for telling the great story of the American past honestly—with flaws, absolutely; with shortcomings, most definitely. But we think that an honest evaluation of the history of the United States must begin and end with the recognition that, compared to any other nation, America’s past is a bright and shining light.”Though thorough, this is no tedious read. This is a history book broken into plenteous subhead-titled sections so that each segment is digestible, and the authors’ conversational tone connects with readers. Plus, so many little-known nuggets are mined and shared. For example, in the first chapter, covering 1492 to 1707, is this revelation: “It is crucial to realize that key inventions or technologies appeared in non-Western countries first; yet, they were seldom, if ever, employed in such a way as to change society dramatically until the Western societies applied them. The stirrup, for example, was known as early as A.D. 400–500.”
This particular history book originally ended with America fighting a war on terror and cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina’s “staggering $75 billion” impact. Its revised 15th-anniversary edition covers recent presidencies.
“A Patriot’s History” ends—as it begins—on a positive note, with the authors’ conclusion reminding readers, “The United States was, and is, a fountain of hope, and a beacon of liberty.”
