Book of the Month!
Hard to believe it’s already June here in Ohio! Well with the new flowers blooming and the grass in the yard still nice and green, I wanted to share with you a unique book of the month that I’ve been asked to review by the folks over at HarperCollins. They sent me a copy of the brand new title A Nation Rising by Kenneth C. Davis:
If you’re familiar with Kenneth Davis’s previous works such as Don’t Know Much About History or others with similar titles, you know of his unique knack of illuminating facts and bringing them back to our current consciousness. Doing so in a popular history way, lots of people have made his books best-sellers. They’re easy to read and contain lots of great information.
So when HarperCollins asked me to review his latest book, I thought it would be a good way to learn more about this time period in American history, from the post-Revolutionary era to the early 1800′s. He’s right when he states that this time period is easy to forget–but so important in forming our country, from the soon-to-come Civil War right up through today. Says Davis:
“It was a dynamic and dramatic half century during which the United States changed with stunning speed from a tiny, newborn nation, desperately struggling for survival on the Atlantic seaboard, to a near-empire spanning the continent…”
To help illustrate these years, Davis focuses primarily on people–not necessarily in the their best light. He shows us that during these years, our country was in many ways the same as today, with corruption, flaws and the good and the bad. What I really enjoyed learning the most about Aaron Burr, Jesse Fremont and others is that they were people just like us, living their lives in ways that would not seem out of place in today’s society.
With this focus on people, rather than just the regular history facts and analysis which is so easy to forget, we’re drawn into the story–thinking of these individuals as as someone we might even know–our neighbor, boss or relative. We learn about our country as well–the hidden history that time has swept under the rug–that times were turbulent and not the calm years we so easily think of today.
I enjoyed Davis’s writing style and the book is easy to read and understand for all types of readers. Although at times it is easy to look track of the many names that get mentioned, I still would recommend it, especially if you’re looking to fill in your knowledge and background facts. Don’t however, look at this title as a comprehensvie “history” of the era, but more like a quick overview to get you interested in learning more. After all, isn’t that what really matters?
The book is available in quite a few formats, including ebook, so make sure to try the links below if you are interested in learning more about these options. Other links include publisher and additional title information as well as more background on the author. I’ve also included a link to WorldCat where you can check to see if your local library might have a copy on order!
Links:
(Author Information-Wikipedia) Kenneth C. Davis
HarperCollins title preview and more information
Note: A special thanks to HarperCollins for the chance to review this title & use of the book cover…..
See you next month!
