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America: A Concise History, 3rd Edition Review
America: A Concise History has become the best-selling brief book for the U.S. History survey because of the uncommon value it offers instructors and students alike. The authors’ own abridgement preserves the analytical power of the parent text, America’s History, while offering all the flexibility of a brief book. The latest scholarship, hallmark global perspective, and handy format combine with the best full-color art and map program of any brief text to create a book that students read and enjoy. User Submitted America: A Concise History, 3rd Edition ReviewsDecember 6, 2008 Thanks! I bought this to study for a CLEP exam. It reads almost as smoothly as a novel. I recommend it. August 8, 2008 Great This book is so informative and gets right to the point! It is enjoyable and easy to read. I thoroughly recommend this book. Buy it today from Kels1720 at a steal of a price and you will be so happy that you did! April 8, 2008 Dry, with serious factual flaws Over the past year I have had the opportunity to compare this book with Roark's The American Promise, and I would highly recommend Roark over this book. The most serious flaw of the Henretta text is its cavalier attitude toward the facts. This is worst in its section on World War II. For example, on pages 800-801, we read "In July 1943 after Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime fell and Mussolini was executed, Italy's new government joined the Allies." Of course, in reality, Mussolini was promptly restored to power by German occupation and did not die until 1945; nor was he executed, but rather murdered by partisans without benefit of trial. On page 805, we read that "The capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa put bombers in position to attack Japan itself," when in fact it was the previous year's capture of the Marianas that put the Japanese islands in U.S. bomber range. In the very same paragraph, we read that "Before the Soviets could act, the Japanese offered to surrender on August 10," but in reality the USSR had declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945 and had invaded Japanese-held Manchuria on August 9. This oversight is particularly important, in that some historians argue that it was the Soviet declaration of war as much as the atomic bombs that convinced Japan to surrender. That the book frequently lapses into tendentious left-wing ideology hardly needs mentioning; the vast majority of academic history textbooks today have the same problem, and non-academic right-wing "correctives," like Thomas Woods, are usually even worse. Still, left-wing writing need not be bad writing, nor as distorting to the historical record as this text's often is. For example, on page 519 we find this passage: "In Europe job-seeking peasants commonly tried seasonal agricultural labor or temporary work in nearby cities. America represented merely a larger leap." This is a feeble attempt to pretend that late-19th and early 20th century Europe offered opportunities similar to America's, and, if accepted, renders America's massively larger immigration rate inexplicable. As might be expected in a book co-authored by three people, the quality varies considerably from chapter to chapter. Chapter 18, "The Rise of the City," stands out as particularly well written. One good technique the authors use is to place U.S. history in its international context, as when comparing the urban history of Chicago to Berlin or pointing out the origin of Chinese immigration to America in a general flood of Chinese immigration throughout the Pacific in the 19th century. It is only in this respect that this text is superior to Roark, which often skimps on the world-historical setting of U.S. history. While the authors deserve commendation for trying to address the history of American racial minorities, their efforts usually devolve into a mere listing of grievances, especially as regards Native Americans and Latinos; African American achievements and resistance to prejudice are somewhat better described. Women's history comes off best; the authors are generally, though not always, successful in describing women's experience as an integrated whole in which men's oppressive behavior is only one part. The book's overwhelming drawback compared to Roark is the poverty of illustrations, which are few, ill-chosen, and exclusively black-and-white. In contrast, the maps are excellent. I can understand that cash-strapped colleges may prefer this book to Roark because it is cheaper. Still, it should have been possible to create a budget college textbook that was more accurate and less biased. February 13, 2008 Great Book I was very happy with the book. I was however disappointed with the shipping time. I paid for 2-day delivery, but didn't know that processing the book would take so long. It ended up coming one day before my first test. Luckily I did very well without the book, but next time I will know. October 23, 2005 Well written James A. Henretta and his colleagues have successfully written a concise history book that is not boring or tedious. It offers smooth transitions from topic to topic. It's concise and not boring, not like a tranqualizer like some history texts. August 25, 2005 very readable; the narrative flows gracefully The authors had a difficult task. To further shorten their other text, "America's History", by almost 50%. Yet they seem to have succeeded. The book has a logical narrative flow. That does not feel like a standard text. Quite expertly done. When you consider that very disparate topics are covered. Like reform in the Progressive Era, or the emergence of the US as a world power. But somehow, each chapter segues gracefully into its successor. The book also starts each chapter with a human interest anecdote. To try and bring the chapter's theme down to an easily comprehensible scale. And thus to motivate the reader into absorbing the broader mass of the chapter. The book is well suited for a general audience. August 19, 2001 America:A concise History This was a typical textbook, but more involved and interesting than the average. I would not read it for fun, but since I had too, I am happy that it was not incredibly dry and boring. For more America: A Concise History, 3rd Edition reviews click here.
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