James West Davidson
Author of After The Fact: The Art of Historical Detection
About the Author
Historian and writer James West Davidson received his B.A. from Haverford College and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He currently lives in New York's Hudson Valley. (Bowker Author Biography)
Series
Works by James West Davidson
Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic, Vol. 2, since 1865 (1989) 49 copies
The Complete Home Lighting Book: Contemporary Interior and Exterior Lighting for the Home (1997) 7 copies
Study Guide to Accompany Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic : Since 1865 (1994) 3 copies
Nation of Nations Concise Volume I w/ After the Fact Interactive Salem Witch Trials, MP: A Concise Narrative History of… (2001) 3 copies
Complete wilderness paddler 2 copies
Nation of Nations 1 copy
Nation of nations : a narrative history of the American republic. Instructors Manual and test bank 1 copy
Study Guide For Nation of Nations: a Narrative History of the American Republic, Volume II (1990) 1 copy
Material Witness 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Davidson, James West
- Birthdate
- 1946-12-21
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Rhinebeck, New York, USA
- Education
- Haverford College (BA)
Yale University (PhD) - Occupations
- historian
Members
Reviews
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 54
- Members
- 1,672
- Popularity
- #15,367
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 12
- ISBNs
- 177
- Languages
- 2
[b: A Little History of the United States|25074731|A Little History of the United States|James West Davidson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435617915s/25074731.jpg|44760093] had many aspects that I absolutely loved.
First: From the very outset the book made clear that history books are inevitably biased. Anytime you read a history book you are reading history through the lens of a certain theme. In this case, the theme was that of equality and inequality, which they made exceptionally clear from the introduction and through the book itself. I appreciated how up front they were.
Second: The book was divided into very short chapters, allowing this book to be a quick read. Although the chapters were short each had a very clear focus and was surprisingly in depth. Quotes were used often, and I'm a glutton for primary sources. I loved how much attention was given.
Third: Maps! Well labeled maps of famous battlefields, as well as the way the territories were originally divided. Excellent!
The book did a very good job of highlighting the diversity of the United States through the ages. It explained the slave trade exceptionally well, bringing up points that I'd never even considered before. I appreciated the vast scope of the project, and how neutral the tone was up through Reconstruction. It was only as the book got closer to modern day that it began to rush through events rather more quickly than I'd like, but I can understand the need to do so given the scope of the project and the limited space available.
I think this is a good introductory history book. It whets the appetite and would allow a reader more ease of access to figure out what time period and topic they'd like to read about in US history.… (more)