|
| America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation | 
 enlarge | Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $16.95
You Save: $10.00 (37%)
New (15) Used (3) Collectible (2) from $16.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 1114
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.7 x 1
ISBN: 0061118184
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.2
EAN: 9780061118180
ASIN: 0061118184
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 So Much More Interesting Than What You Think You Know June 19, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Kenneth Davis knows that history is complicated.
American history textbooks and oral history give us perfect role models in our historical figures and an unfolding story in which we were always on the side of right and any bad things that happened were the other people's fault.
In reality, it's never that simple. And we don't even usually know even the basic facts.
For instance, most people know that Columbus discovered America and then a couple hundred years later the Pilgrims arrived.
But how many people know about the wine-making French Huguenots, who were here before the Pilgrims?
And the Pilgrims were stern and God-fearing people, but they came here for religious freedom and our country was built on that priciple.
Ask Anne Hutchinson about that.
And I bet you have no idea how blood-thirsty the Pilgrims could be.
You will after you read this book. Be prepared for a shock.
And as for the Founding Fathers, well, of course, they were all virtuous, highly intelligent, dignified men who came together in one accord to build our country and create a foundation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all of us, regardless of social station.
Except people are all more complex than that, and nobody's motives are completely pure. Plus, everyone makes mistakes.
Like the one that a young, inexperienced George Washington made that ended in murder and started a war.
The truth is that the Founding Fathers all had different ideas and conflicting goals, for themselves and for the nation. The way the country was formed was through brawling, back-biting, lying, greed, and arrogance, much like politics today.
The amazing thing is that the country was formed, became what it has, and has thrived for over two hundred years.
American History, as told by Mr. Davis, is a vibrant and entertaining subject. No student who was presented with these forefathers and foremothers would ever be bored.
And about those foremothers..did you know that the first statue of a woman in America was built to honor a woman who escaper her Indian captives by taking their scalps with a hatchet?
Do the names Anne Hutchinson, Mary Rowland, and Hannah Dustin ring a bell?
Well, they will after you read their amazing stories in America's Hidden History.
I believe that this book should be required reading in every high school and college American History class.
As the mini-series John Adams on HBO also showed, seeing our heroes as flawed human beings does not make their accomplishments less.
But maybe knowing our own real history can help us to better understand ourselves and avoid some of the mistakes of the past.
One thing that is very clear from reading this book is that respect for the lives of others is a relatively new concept. The Indians and the Pilgrims did not value each others' lives at all. Neither did the Spanish, French, Catholics, non-Catholics, British, colonists, or anyone else in that entire period of history. The concept of "one world" or a "global village" could not have even existed at that time, it seems.
It was always "us against the world," whoever the "us" happened to be in that time and place.
Thomas Jefferson is quoted in this book as having said:
". . The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
How far have we really come?
Read America's Hidden History. You'll be informed, entertained, instructed and enlightened. And it won't hurt a bit.
America's Hidden History May 27, 2008
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
As person who needs to know history in order to fully understand this crazy world, I found Mr. Davis' book a great read! I was taken back to those times in way that I can understand why things turned out the way it did! He is one of the few historians that were able to show how people without money and position in the 18th century felt while the country was forming.
He is the first historian that I ever read to paint class tension through Shay's rebellion! In school this event was just one test question that was never fully talked about or analyzed. It was interesting to learn more of what the working class both slave and indenture people were feeling at the time. The first American Revolution in 1776 only replaced monarch rule with a burgeoning middling and upper class fortunate to take control. It wasn't until the 1780's and Shay's rebellion that woke up the early power class to realize how important it was to include all of the people--under 18th century definition of those who should be included in order that the country succeed!
As I was reading Mr. Davis's book, I felt he was talking to me directly which is a sign of a great thinker and writer!!! Good book!
 A Bit Shakey on the Facts June 2, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Kenneth C. Davis starts out with an interesting and valuable perspective: American history is Anglo-centric and therefore, incomplete. This premis is true, American history books tend to begin with the Revolutionary war and they focus on Engllish and French participation. Many of America's greater 17th century heros are thereby neglected.
After a strong start, the books veracity begins to falter; questionable facts are carelessly laced with reality to make a good yarn.
By Section II, Davis moves on to the story of Anne Hutchinson. Unfortunately, Davis slights reality once again by neglecting the cadre of important figures (Dr. John Clarke and other Antinomians) who played a much larger role in establishing American freedoms of speech and separation of church and state.
What I didn't learn in High School June 23, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
High School American History is what it is, a large composition of dates and names with little dimension of cause and effect. Since then I've heard tid bits from conversations, radio talk shows, tripsing around Jamestown, and book reviews. I listened to Mr. Davis on a radio talk show and his interview intrigued me into reading this book. The stories, related or not, gave me a perspective into these short biographies that brought my previous exposure of those topics into focus. I had heard that George Washington didn't ask for a salary as President, but instead asked the Congress to pay his expenses. That wasn't evident in the book, but the personality of the man Davis describes make such a request plausible. Just as I had learned and heard that Benedict Arnold wasn't a turncoat initially; I never knew why (but then I have never read his biography) but now I do. It's well written if you view each section as vignettes. I was a little confused at how he laid out the chapters at first, but then I got it. He gives you a time-line of European and American events, then he gives you the big picture and then he starts the story telling. For a quick fun read, I recommend his book.
History's Hidden Secrets are not hidden anymore June 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you enjoy watching out-takes, and behind the scenes incidences of movies and television programs, this is definitely the book for you. Interestingly, the book portrays how many of our history making moments occurred if only by chance, and not without the many challenges that at times could have resulted in an unfavorable outcome. America's Hidden History as the name implies packed with little known facts that elucidate how certain events gradually served to make our country what it is today, is not only an engrossing narrative but also, a pictographic account of our nation's infancy.
Most historical accounts portray an epitome of perfection, every action carefully choreographed to reach the desired results. Not so says Kenneth C. Davis. Not only, do the readers discover the actual accuracy about the event, Mr. Davis also offers a provocative depiction of the idiosyncrasies behind the person responsible for that particular event.
A delightful read, not only was it informative, but a distinctly singular way to look at America's history, and the people behind it. George Washington, Paul Revere and Benedict Arnold emerged not just as historical figures, but also as human beings whose passion, patriotism and greed came to play an important role in the place they earned in history.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
