Book Description
Respected scholar William Bennett reacquaints America with its heritage in the second volume of
America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II). This engaging narrative slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.
Customer Reviews:
History Comes Alive.......2007-09-01
The book was of special interest to me as I have lived through the major portion of this period of history and recall much that is written but also learn much more. The author's coverage of most of the 20th century included the American presidents as well as other national leaders. The book will probably be considered politically incorrect by many due to his casual reference to the specific prayers of several presidents. He touched on subjects other than government including books and music. Some events receiving extensive attention were World War l, the Depression, World War ll, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Cold War. . I believe for the most part he was very objective although he appeared to have a negative bias toward Presidents Wilson and Nixon and a very positive bias toward President Franklin Roosevelt. He wrote with first hand knowledge of President Reagan and the first President Bush. History becomes very interesting under this author's pen.
A superb history of the United States of America.......2007-08-23
The first volume of "America: The Last Best Hope" is, in my opinion, the finest contemporary history of the United States yet written. It is an honest telling of the nation's history, warts and all, a far cry than the America hating nonsense that is unfortunately being taught to our children.
The second volume isn't as good. Still superior to anything else on the subject I've read, but I felt that there should have been two volumes, not one. The first covering 1914 to about 1945 and the second from roughly 1945 through the Reagan years.
Why? Because I felt that Dr. Bennett had crammed too much into this single volume and, as a result, been forced to omit illuminating detail. More time and space, for example, should have been spent on examining how Democrats in Congress perpetuated racial discrimination for almost a century and fought demonically until the last to prevent passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Instead, many historically significant episodes are reduced to a few sentences. Still illuminating, but leaving the already knowledgeable reader panting for more. Dr. Bennett and, I presume, his research team have been more than diligent in teasing obscure sources out of the archives and provide new information even to someone like me who has been an avid consumer of American histories for more than five decades.
The book is not perfect. There are small, but disturbing errors, such as the misspelling of Messerschmitt, a WWII German aircraft manufacturer.
On the whole though, this remains a marvelous history of America, faults and all. It would make a wonderful gift, I think, for any intelligent high-school or older student from a giver who wants the recipient to know just how fortunate they are to live in this magnificient nation.
Jerry
America: The Last Best Hope.......2007-08-10
I hated history as a youngster, but if I'd had this master writing the courses, I might have become an historian. This is a fantastic book, and should be required reading for all Americans.
Review: America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II).......2007-07-27
I gave this book 5 Stars because I think the author did exactly what he set out to do: present a light, airy, easy to read narrative of American history covering the period from WWI to the end of the Cold War. Because this is not a text book and is limited in size and scope constraints likely placed on it by the publisher (530 pages), it necessarily raises as many questions as it answers. Considering those constraints, I found the presentation to be fast, fair, fun, educational, interesting, and accurate.
What a suspenseful story!.......2007-07-18
Reading William Bennett's history of America in the 20th century is like watching an episode of "24." Throughout the 20th century, the American people have been underestimated, mistrusted and, often, forced to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. Reluctant to enter both World Wars, as well as the Cold War, they somehow found the conviction and determination to take on a fight and win it. And, like the old joke about Jack Bauer -- if everyone would just listen Jack, the show wouldn't only last one hour -- Bennett makes a convincing case that Americans have also been "right" about many of the important things -- economic system, human rights, family values. Now, if only the world would have followed the American way of life and pursued the American dreams, as we have done, it might have been spared the twin nightmares of Communism and Fascism, which made the century seem so long -- and hopeless!
In Bennett's reading of American history, America is not the "last best hope" in the sense of "the best thing going to the exclusion of all the others." It truly is the "best hope." The arc of this storyline will continue to ascend, will continue to aspire to greater things, so long as we can properly interpret our past and preserve what is best about America and its people.
On a final note: some readers might expect Bennett to be tendencious. I did not find this, and I would conclude that his treatment of American history was fair.
Book Description
America
, how well do you know your history?
- Who quelled a coup d'etat by putting on a pair of reading glasses?
- Which U.S. senator was nearly caned to death on the Senate floor?
- Which first lady refused to serve alcohol in the White House?
- What famous inventor was called to find the assassin's bullet in President Garfield's back?
- Which successful candidate for president insisted on telling the truth about his sex scandal?
- Which beloved ex-president raced with death and poverty to write his best-selling memoirs and which famous humorist came to his rescue?
- Which president carefully read the trial notes of 303 condemned Sioux warriors and spared all but 38 from the hangman's noose?
- Which "four-eyed" future president beat up a drunken bully in a saloon?
In his Farewell Address, Ronald Reagan said if we forget what we have done, we will forget who we are. This book, written by one of Reagan's most loyal lieutenants, responds to Reagan's heartfelt call for an informed patriotism.
We all need to know more about this land we love. In this gripping tale of a nation, our country's past comes alive. Here is the story of those we chose to lead us and what they did with the awesome power we gave them. Join Bill Bennett for the great adventure. America's teacher will lead you on a voyage of discovery.
What others are saying:
"William J. Bennett artfully and subtly makes connections between our past and current events, reminding us ... that we are intimately and immediately connected to the extraordinary Americans who have bestowed upon us our great heritage.... [T]he importance of
America: The Last Best Hope probably exceeds anything Dr. Bennett has ever written, and it is more elegantly crafted and eminently readable than any comprehensive work of history I've read in a very long time. It's silly to compare great works of history to great novels, but this book truly is a page-turner.... Prepare to have your faith in, hope for, and love of America renewed."
-Brad Miner, American Compass
"The Role of history is to inform, inspire, and sometimes provoke us, which is why Bill Bennett's wonderfully readable book is so important. He puts our nation's triumphs, along with its lapses, into the context of a narrative about the progress of freedom. Every now and then it's useful to be reminded that we are a fortunate people, blessed with generations of leaders who repeatedly renewed the meaning of America."
-Walter Isaacson,
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
"For too long Americans have been looking for a history of our country that tells the story of America's triumphs as well as its tragedies. Now Bill Bennett has come forward with
America: The Last Best Hope, which tells the story-fairly and fully-from 1492 to 1914. Americans who have been reading recent biographies of the Founding Fathers will love this book."
-Michael Barone,
US News & World Report
"Bill Bennett's book will stand as perhaps the most important addition to American scholarship at this, the start of the new century. For the past fifty years American historians have either distorted American history or reduced it to a mess of boring indictments of our cultural and political heritage. With this book Bennett offers to Americans young and old an exciting and enjoyable history of what makes America the greatest nation on earth.
-Brian Kennedy, president, The Claremont Institute
Customer Reviews:
Good general coverage on US History.......2007-10-02
Many reviews state this book is void of great detail and only scratches the surface. Bear in mind it's a two volume set on the entire history of the US. How detailed could you be in just too volumes. I contend the book serves its purposes wonderfully. Yes, it's concise but a pleasure to read and a great refresher on the History we were taught in our high schools days. I wouldn't expect the book to go into exhaustive detail as the book is on US general history. I'd use this book as path to lead me to explore US history topics in greater detail. I like the un-political correctness usually taught these days - poor Indians, white man bad, stealing of lands from Mexico, Jefferson and Washington were terrible because they were slaveholders... The injustices taught nowadays can go on and on. But this book does not conform and gives us something we should truly be proud about - our heritage. The author is proud of his heritage as he conveys it. He uses humor and whit while the book moves along keeping the readers attentions. Its refreshing to read a positive view our history. My only negative is that this book does have some obvious spelling and grammar error better editing should have been used. The "story" is told of the founding and existence of a great country. It will undoubtedly leave the reader more proud than when he/she starting reading. And rightfully so! We live in a great country of rich history. Enjoy!
I actually LOVE history now........2007-09-23
I never wanted to learn history. Seemed boring. I opened this book and now can't put it down. It's so wonderful to learn these things and be able to relate them to our lives today. This should be a mandatory book for all students.
Thanks Bill!
History at its best.......2007-09-10
I bought this book after reading volume II, which I also loved. History is one of my weakest areas - I was never good at memorizing names and dates and am embarrassed about my lack of knowledge. Bennett makes American history come alive. After you read it, you feel like you know the previous presidents and their contemporaries personally. There is sometimes a little repetition between chapters, perhaps that was intentional. Other reviewers said that this book reads like a novel. Perhaps not as "quick" as a novel, but it's really a pleasure to read. Both volumes were so good I would read them again.
Wonderful Review of American History.......2007-09-04
Mr. Bennett not only provides a well researched and documented review of American History but makes it a pleasure and entertaining to read! I bought it to read and can't pull it away from my 18 year old son who doesn't like to read... until now!
Something has to be done....................2007-08-28
to rebuff the garbage written in the mandated leftist history books forced upon teachers. There may be mistakes in this book, but not nearly so many as in today's current crop of leftist propaganda.
I never ceased to be amazed by the leftist America-hating perverts who use the rights given to them by their Constitution to rage against the very system that gave them every right and freedom of life we all enjoy. I have to be honest, I despise these people for ruining the greatest free country in the history of the earth. I see it slip farther and farther into the depths as every day goes by and I mourn for our youth as the leftists, atheists, and other perverts dismantle our freedom and attempt to rebuild our country with their own "values".
Book Description
Marked by C. Warren Hollister's clear historical vision and engaging teaching style, this classic text has been judiciously revised by Judith Bennett; the tenth edition includes greater coverage of Byzantium and Islam, a revised map program, a new essay program on medieval myths, and more. In his preface to the eighth edition, Professor Hollister wrote of his realization, while in college, that our world today "is a product of the medieval past." Medieval Europe introduces today's students to the medieval roots of our own society.
Customer Reviews:
Decent Textbook.......2007-01-22
I am a graduate student who has recently begun teaching first-year undergrads. The Hollister and Bennett book is the main text book for a Medieval Period General course, and the students use it to supplement their core readings. The textbook, a general synthesis of the history of Western Europe, is decent and fairly comprehensive, written and updated by experts in the field. However, it has been a long time since I've read a general textbook, and found the lack of footnote references a bit unnerving. The book does, however, provide lists for further reading at the end of each chapter, but these are very selective.
Fantastic Introduction.......2006-05-16
Professor Hollister managed, again, to convey the thematic importance of major questions in European history in a concise and entertaining fashion. This is one of, if not, the best introductions to medieval European history out there. The only drawback is the price, which is ridiculous. This book ought to be $15 or so. Oh well.
Excellent Survey.......2006-05-14
A succinct and well-balanced survey of the European Middle Ages, this book is an excellent choice for undergraduates and other scholars needing a good overview of the period. Each edition seems to stay true to the current research of the period. I highly recommend world historians keep this on their shelves for reference.
Book Description
This volume makes available some of the most important discovered source material for the historian of the ancient Near East.
Customer Reviews:
A useful compendium of original source material.......2004-10-01
I obtained this volume of translations of Ancient Near Eastern texts and pictures along with its companion Volume I - An Anthology of Texts and Pictures which was first published in 1958. This volume, which was published in 1975, includes translations of more recently discovered material selected from the 1969 anthology of Supplementary Texts and Pictures Relating to the Old Testament.
This volume contains 72 texts and about 110 black and white photographs of artefacts from various and states and cities of Ancient Near East. The documents include myths, laws, treaties, inscriptions, hymns, letters, wisdom literature etc, from Egypt, and from the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and later periods of Mesopotamia.
The format is similar to that of Volume I with cross references to the ANET text number. Translations have been made by 13 eminent scholars, most of whom have provided some explanation of the content and meaning of the texts they have translated. In general, however, there are fewer notes than in Volume I, and no cross references to illustration number or to any biblical passages.
I found the translations to be generally quite readable, but, in the same way as for Volume I, they definitely had to be read with full care and concentration to understand them, and some, being somewhat fragmentary, are rather more difficult to follow than others. In reading the texts, I was, of course completely dependent upon the translations and the interpretations of the scholars themselves. In particular, I found the comments and notes by Professor S N Kramer on the various Sumerian Texts to be most helpful.
I am happy to have read this book and its companion, because they have given me some direct insight into the cultures of the Ancient Near East. Whether it is better to obtain the larger parent anthologies is, I think, a matter of whether you are prepared over US$250 for the latest editions of these two volumes ( ISBN 0691035032 for the texts, and ISBN 0691035024 for the pictures). But if these smaller volumes are anything to go by, then they are probably worth it.
I didn't want to spend that much on this subject at this stage of my studies. So for the moment, I have decided to be selective about next set of texts to read, and as a next step, will be studying Volume II and III of Miriam Lichtheim's translations of Egyptian texts, and William L Moran's translations of the Amarna Letters.
A useful compendium of original source material.......2004-10-01
I bought this book along with its companion: Volume II - A New Anthology of Texts and Pictures, because it was time for me to see for myself what the the original sources had to say about the Ancient Near East.
This volume, which first was published in 1958 contains over 70 ancient texts and about 280 black and white photographs of artefacts from the Ancient Near East. The ancient documents include those from Mesoptamia, Egypt, Canaan, Israel, Assyria from the period about 2500BCE to about 500BCE. The editor states that the selection of texts was made from the point of view of relevance to the biblical Old Testament, having been taken from the original larger anthologies of texts (ANET) and pictures (ANEP) which were originally published in 1955 and 1954 respectively.
The texts themselves have cross references to the original text number, the relevant illustration number, and the specific biblical passages where there seems to be some point of contact, The translations were made by 11 eminent scholars, all of whom have provided an explanation of the content and meaning of the texts which they have translated, as well as providing useful notes on aspects of the text which might require clarification
I found the translations to be generally quite readable, but they definitely had to be read with full care and concentration to understand them. Some, being somewhat fragmentary, are rather more difficult to follow than others. In reading the texts, I was, of course completely dependent upon the translations and the interpretations of the scholars themselves, but at least I am now starting to have a fuller understanding of the cultures of the Ancient Near East.
3 of the 18 Egyptian texts in the book were included in Miriam Lichtheim's Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume 1: The Old and Middle Kingdoms, and I noticed that the translations in this book had been somewhat shortened. Except for a difference in style, however, I did not notice any significant differences and found it very interesting to compare the two translations.
All in all, I am very happy to have read this book, which will probably serve me as a useful reference from now on. As so much work has been done on ancient text translations in the 35 years since the two parent volumes were published, and the price of these full anthologies was in excess of US$250, I am glad I chose to buy the shortened versions. That is not to say that I won't buy them sometime in the future, but in the meantime, I want to be selective about the next set of texts to read, and have decided, as a next step, to read Volume II and III of Miriam Lichtheim's translations of Egyptian texts, and William L Moran's translations of the Amarna Letters
A Stimulating Resource.......2002-10-19
Volume II or "The Ancient Near East" is a good companion to Volume I, containing mythic, legal, and monumental information from the Middle East Bronze and Iron Ages. It really puts you back there to read actual letters and contracts, or to see the developments in poetic, narrative and visual arts. The only real problem is the lack of consistent dating infomation, particularly for the artwork. It makes it difficult to form a conceptual picture if things are presented in what appears to be a random order.
Indispensible Guide.......2002-04-08
Absolutely recommended for anyone who is interested in studying the culture and writings of the ancients in the near east. Many documents are translated and there is a gallery of photographs of items and what they are/signify. Some of the language used in translation is a tiny bit dated (the occassional thee and thou and so forth) but that doesn't diminish an excellent resource.
Just a little bit boring.......2002-01-06
I love ancient history and found the book interesting, but just a little bit stale.
Customer Reviews:
A Window to Civilizations of the Past and Present.......2000-11-19
As far as world civilization textbooks go, this one proves to be the most useful. The book spans from Paleolithic icemen to the industrialized peoples of the 20th century all around the world. Included are timelines within each chapter summarizing major events for the chapter. They are short and to the point. Lovely and helpful pictures appear on every page. As a person reads through this book, the begin to be able to make connections between social, cultural, political, and economic ideas in each civilization and then follows up on how each civilization develops throughout time. It is an excellent textbook for people who want to start studing world history.
Book Description
This comprehensive, mainstream text takes a social approach to history, using political history as its basic framework. It is known for its readability, its attention to recent scholarship, and its new historical interpretations.
The new edition features increased coverage of global topics. Material on the Middle Ages has been consolidated to allow more room for non-Western coverage. Chapter 27 from the previous edition, which covered both Africa and Asia, has been split into separate chapters on each region. Chapter 11 from the previous edition—on Asia and the Mongols—has been divided into separate chapters on East and South Asia.
- New! Two-page "Global Trade" boxed features investigate a variety of important products and commodities, including pottery, tea, slaves, and oil. The feature presents historical background on the commodity, traces its trade throughout the world, and shows its impact on other cultures.
- New! New pedagogy in the Sixth Edition includes key terms, chapter outlines, and chronologies.
- New! About one-third of the maps, illustrations, "Listening to the Past" primary source features, and "Individuals in Society" biographical features in this edition are new.
Books:
- Bigfoot Casebook updated: Sightings And Encounters from 1818 to 2004
- Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy
- Busting Loose From the Money Game: Mind-Blowing Strategies for Changing the Rules of a Game You Can't Win
- CCEL Classics CD: works by Saint Augustine, John Calvin, John Donne, Julian of Norwich, Brother Lawrence, Martin Luther, Saint Teresa of Avila, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, John Wesley, and more!
- Click & Close
- Don Quixote (Penguin Classics)
- Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Dragonlance: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. 1)
- Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software
- Earthcore
- Essential Avengers, Vol. 4 (Marvel Essentials)
Books Index
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General
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I): From the Age of Discovery to a World at War
Power to the People
America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
The Reagan Diaries
Our Country's Founders
