Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 34
 A must read for every American & students February 1, 2010
C. J. Wooten (Seven HIlls, OH USA)
This series is interesting, enlightening an very informative. The set should be in every school library and should be part of the curriculm in every high school. They should be required reading. We enjoyed them so much we bought the additional set for my great nephew who is a history buff at 11 years old. Too many of our children are graduating with no knowledge of how this country was formed or is governed and what our principles are. These kids are our future leaders. They should be knowledgable in our history.
Excellent Book, excellent sales experience October 12, 2009
Nadeoui A. Eden (Crofton, MD United States)
Well written, easy to read and interesting facts - makes American history come alive and much more fun to read ...not boring or laborious to read.
Indispensable for home-schoolers and conservatives July 30, 2009
Kendal B. Hunter (Provo, UT United States)
Bennett has a gift for words and story-telling, and he puts these gifts to good use in tell the story of America. What makes these twin books distinctive is his point of view. Most historians either feign detachment, or put on airs, as if America were some cthulhoid slug on a Petri dish.
But Bennett injects a passion and love--even a zeal--for America. As the title suggests, he sees America as a divine gift, a consecrated country with a special mission for humanity. Yes, he is a zelot. But as Thomas Aquinas taught, "God is said to be a zealot, on account of his great love for all things." (A Summa of the Summa, 442).
Bennett's zeal is proof of his love for all things American.
I saw only three drawbacks. One is the lack of maps. Second, there are pictures, but not as many as we would like. Thirdly, and this is only a problem in the last chapters in volume II, Bennett's bias effervesces. It is a harmless slant, revolving around the election of JFK, a fellow Catholic, calling 1968 the "Annus Horribilis" (there have been worse years--Valley Forge, Plymouth: Year 1), and then the hagiographic passages about Reagan. It is forgivable, since Bennett himself was a player in these latter events. Again, his subjective passion makes history come alive.
The books are written about the high school level, but they should be read before high school, and assuredly before college. Think of these twins as an inoculation.
Solid, level-headed history June 20, 2009
Mark Evans (Blackwell, OK United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was surprised and quite pleased with William Bennett's two-volume America: The World's Last Best Hope. Originally getting the books through The Conservative Book Club, I have to admit I approached them with a somewhat wary eye. I suppose I half expected to see Joe McCarthy hailed as an unsung American hero or read that the Depression would have ended by late 1933, had Hoover been re-elected.
Instead, what I found was a thoughtful, fair and well-reasoned trip through US history, from the Founding Fathers, into the Clinton era. True, as the title suggests, Bennett has a traditional, pro-America take on US history - a view that has fallen out of favor during the past generation. Still, he is not shy about criticizing those he most respects or praising those with whom he disagrees. Everything from the foundation of the nation through the turbulent Jacksonian era, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Great Society and Watergate is discussed rationally and without any appaerent axes to grind.
I would call this work moderately conservative and immanently level-headed and would strongly recommend it for personal reading or classroom use.
A very good read January 6, 2009
Michael W. Leipski (Sacramento CA.)
This is the way history should be taught in school. This is not boring a all.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 34
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