America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I): From the Age of Discovery to a World at War

Bennett's rather patriotic, rather cursory history of the United States isn't bad, it just isn't good either. It is written for a wide audience, and, although he doesn't shy away from the evil points of American history, he trumpets the good. This isn't a bad thing in my book, but it means that none of the "beautiful people" will give it any attention. He tells a few good stories, and the pictures are so thin that they wouldn't be missed if they weren't there. I read a chunk of this each night before I teach the next morning, just to re-familiarize myself with the material. One caveat, Bennett is an ardent Catholic and a Yankee, so these "faults" seep through. Bennett goes out of his way to slander modern-day Protestants by noting the show more past vagaries of Protestants, and he never fails to underscore the wonderful things we got from some random Papist here and there. He also goes out of his way to tow the old Yankee line that there really is no such thing as states rights, which is odd for a Republican such as himself. He even claims that Ronald Reagan was wrong, discussing the idea that the states created the Union, which I consider a fact, he states in a footnote: "On this point, even Ronald Reagan got it wrong. He told the crowds at his First Inaugural: 'All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.'" Of course, Bennett is wrong. First, it was the states under the Articles that created the Federal government under the Constitution. Second, the states, as sovereign colonies, declared independence. And third, these sovereign colonial governments existed for decades, in Virginia's case more than 150 years, before independence. Reagan was right, and Bennett is just plain wrong. show less

A seamless overview of United States history from the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This book is good for those who want to fill in gaps or get a broad picture of US history.

Without whitewashing the nation's past nor spraying it with graffiti, Bennett tells America's story as if he were sitting in the room talking to the reader, giving the reader a firm grasp of the past and thus, an understanding of the present. He elaborates on certain people such as Washington, Adams, Calhoun, and Lincoln which livens the story and propels it forward.

I found it to be a very enjoyable book. Though it filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of American history, because it is an overview, it did leave me show more with wanting to know more, which can be seen as both a positive and negative aspect of the book. I am looking forward to the second volume. show less

A very broad, but not very deep, history of the United States from 1492 to 1914.

William Bennett provides narrative history of the United States with a positive and engaging voice. This series is beneficial to the study of United States and World History. Secondary and college students are the best audience for this text. Bennett's books were on the New York Best Sellers list in 2006.