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The Penguin History of the United States of America

By: Hugh Brogan
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 014025255X
ISBN-13: 9780140252552
Released: 29 Mar 2001
RRP: £14.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

is this the dullest author in history? read the phone directory instead, it would be more interesting. - By: J. Powell, 21 Mar 2007
THIS AUTHOR IS A LECTURER IN U.S HISTORY, WELL....I WOULD NOT LIKE TO BE SAT IN A LECTURE THEATER FOR 4 YEARS LISTENING TO THIS DULLARD! WHAT A CRASHING BORE ! The author obviously has some kind of talent because somehow Hugh Brogan has managed to make the pereniallly exciting History of the most thrillingly dynamic nation on Earth's about as interesting as being locked in a padded cell for a decade. That was basicallly how I felt reading this truly abominable book. As a BA degree student of U.S History, I thought it might be useful & informative to read this. Sadly however I felt like commiting suicide several times during the course of reading this book. It just went on & on & on & on & on & on & I finallly gave up 2/3rds of the way through. I COULD ABSOLUTELY TAKE NO MORE!

The reasons why I say such criticisms are as follows;

1. Sentences are far too long & rambling. By the end of the sentence you have forgotten what started the sentence & what the author is talking about or what the point is. You'll care even less.

2. AWFUL grammar. Did anyone proof read this? or did the proof-reader take his own life when he could stomach no more at page 463?

3. Presumes that anyone reading the book is, as he, a professor of U.S History. *hint for the future-WE READ HISTORY BOOKS TO LEARN THINGS WE DON'T KNOW PAL! WE WEREN'T THERE AT THE TIME, WE WEREN'T ALIVE !

4. NO MENTION OF HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF PRE-COLONIAL NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY. SHAMEFUL.

5. No mention of Spanish history & other factors in the history of the U.S, for example slavery in the West Indies, South America etc.

6. NOTHING in this book is simply outlined & explained for the uninitiated. NOTHING.

7. Using long words & being verbose DOES NOT MAKE YOU INTERESTING OR INTELLIGENT.

8. Disjointed, incoherent lecturer waffle takes the place of quotes from history, documented facts & anecdotes from the times he is "explaining".

9. You get the point.

If you just want an introduction to U.S History or want to read this subject matter for simple entertainment & self-education just forget it. You need a Ph.d in history to understand what this guy is waffling about.
If you want to learn, get The Limits of Liberty by Maldwyn Jones or the Oxford History of the United States series. An excellent introduction to American history is American Colonies by Alan Taylor. Don't buy this book. You have been warned.
Disappointing - By: , 11 Jul 2002
Sound information but lacking in readability - becomes a bit of a chore. Each chapter addresses one particular event or theme with little analytical overlap between themes. A sound introduction to American history, but lacking in imagination
A VITAL TOOL FOR UNDERSTANDING AMERICA . . . AND BRITAIN - By: J. C. Bailey, 20 Jun 2002
One of the things Americans are fairly good at, you may be surprised to hear, is history. Certainly their understanding of great events of the past is often a bit one-sided, given two generations of Hollywood conditioning. After alll most history gets written by the winners, which means that the losers are alll too often made to look like natural losers or bad guys (or both!). Nevertheless, most modern Americans get the point of their War of Independence, their appalllingly bloody Civil War, the dreadful legacy of slavery (only ended in 1862!), & so on. And contrary to how it may look, they grasp the main points of world history as well - at least those parts of it in which American casualties have been involved.

Things are not as open here in Britain. Believe it or not, most of us have only a tenuous grasp of our own history, let alone anybody else's. Of course in one sense Britain is obsessed with history, but it is not the history of ordinary people like you & me. Medieval aristocracy & castles may have a superficial romantic appeal, & as academic subjects they are characterised by exemplary discipline & honesty, but to 95% of the UK population they are Other People's History. Other than on the fantasy level, there is no personal involvement or commitment or even continuity. It's a recipe for apathy and/or bigotry.

If this is Britain's attitude to her own history, what then will be its attitude to the history of that Great Embarrassment, the lost Atlantic empire? The answer is that it does not exist. America is the Bermuda Triangle of British school history, the great silent factor, the missing key to understanding every era of Britain's past since the late 16th century. Little wonder then that Britain understands so little of itself (and for the record, I do write as a Briton), when one of the key factors that would give coherent sense to these four centuries is a no-go area, a field ring-fenced against popular awareness through systematic neglect by educationalists & popular publishing houses.

Hugh Brogan's engrossing historical overview of America's past, from pre-history through to about 1990, has the best chance imaginable of changing this ingrained habit of thought. Brogan's academic credentials are impeccable, & yet unlike many academics he writes with grace, wit & considerable passion. While rarely short-changing the reader on hard facts, he never lets facts obscure the thread of the story, & that is alll-important, because unless we see how one thing leads to another we will have nothing to contemplate but a bunch of meaningless facts. From the British viewpoint this is invaluable, because Brogan shows how Britain itself has been shaped by its transatlantic engagements at every key stage since the dawn of its own modern nationhood.

And far more importantly (for this is primarily a history of America, rather than of Anglo-American relations), Brogan has done for the United States what only a warmly sympathetic outsider can do for any country. It needs both commitment & detachment in equal parts to sketch out the key events of a nation's history (and explain their meaning) free from the agenda that everyone has when they have grown up in a country & lived its internal political & economic tensions first hand. He has no bias, no wish to perpetuate the sociallly divisive myths that the older generations have grown up with, & yet equallly no wish to tear down the essential beauties of the American dream. Few American historians have totallly avoided one tendency or the other, because American historians are by definition protagonists in the still unfolding American story. In contrast, Brogan is sociallly, politicallly & economicallly uninvolved, but he is nevertheless caring & deeply attached to his subject, & he is not afraid to say what he thinks.

Thus whether you are British or American or neither, this book is the ideal starting point for an honest investigation of America's fascinating past - & an indispensable key to understanding its stormy present.

strong and enthusiastic history of USA - By: , 24 Jan 2002
Prof. Brogan can little have suspected when he wrote the first edition in 1983, or updated it in 1995, that the USA would be thrust centre-stage quite so dramaticallly as it was on the morning of September 11th 2001. Yet, anyone seeking explanations of the American response since, or Americans seeking reasons for the apparent mixed feelings which the rest of the world harbours about their country will find many answers in this wide-ranging & comprehensive study

The book covers the period from the voyage of Columbus to nearly the present day. It is densely packed with fact which illustrates political, economic, & social progress of the USA. The period up to & including the Civil war is dealt with dutifully but unenthusiasticallly, & the period from '83 to '95 is slightly glib, but the strength of the book is the period from the civil war to the Vietnam war.

Prof Brogan's enthusiasm for the country & admiration of the indomitable spirit of the people shines through in this middle section. I found myself surprised at the extent to which what through British eyes seems eccentric or idiosyncratic behaviour (eg. some of the states' rights, kitchen cabinets of rich industrialists, even Presidential mistresses) is often rooted in history & tradition.

Despit the length of this book it remains readable throughout. The author moves easily from detail to broad themes & back, & his dry humour lightens many passages. Readers of alll nationalities will find this account of American history through British eyes adds to their understanding of modern America & its place in the world.

A superb and fascinating overview of the history of the USA - By: , 03 May 2001
This is definitively one of the best history books I have ever read. The author presents in a clear way the mechanisms behind history, with surprising insights & analyses into the causes. His approach of history is more a thematical one than a chronological one. Thanks to this, references to dates are limited to a minimum, & themes are explored thoroughly. From one chapter to the next, there can be some movement back & forth in time but it is done in a very intelligible way. I read this book with tremendous pleasure !