Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: A History of the American People by Paul M. Johnson ISBN: 0-06-093034-9 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.77 (150 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: A Bizarre and Eratic Romp Through History
Comment: As a history book, Johnson's text has one thing going for it from the start: it is quite thick. Not being personally intimidated by thick books, I dove into this one with anticipation. He starts out well enough, with a wonderful survey of pre-colonial and colonial life in the New World. His is one of the few history books I have read that attempt to explain the mindset of the colonists, and why they felt so strongly about forming a nation of their own. Johnson is not afraid of offering his opinions about the venerated Founding Fathers, and quite a few are found wanting. Not surprisingly (given Johnson's political views) he gives short shrift to Jefferson, and high marks for Hamilton. What struck me as bizarre is that while Johnson obviously appears to be a proponent of small government, he idolizes a man who embodied the vision of an all-powerful Federal state.
Rather like sampling from a buffet table, Johnson's history jumps from subject to subject, with lit! tle or no segue. He may discuss trade relations with Europe in one section, and then launch into a survey of the American art scene in the next. As the text continues, his opinions become more personal and more critical, often resorting to criticizing someone's personal appearance in the absence of more tangible faults.
By the time the narrative reaches the 20th century, all pretense of historical objectivity is lost. Instead we are subjected to a line-by-line excoriation of "liberal" thought and progressive action. He manages to gloss over quite easily the abuses of the late 19th and early 20th century industrialists, and instead aims his barbs at those who attempted to expose wrongdoing and exploitation. He criticizes the "liberal" establishment for their adoration of JFK, but then heaps unconditional praise upon Nixon and Reagan. I could forgive him his point of view if it were not for the constant glossing over of entire aspects of both administ! rations.
What makes an effective history book interesti! ng is the way that events are linked together. The good historian will spend his time showing how this happens, and he may try to offer some lessons for tomorrow. In this, Johnson's text is deficient. Instead, he uses his book as a pulpit for political assassination. It is not that he is wrong for stating his opinions so vociferously, it is just that a history book is not the best place in which to do so.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent objective treatment of American History
Comment: Paul Johnson's "A History of the American People" is very readable history whose objectivity is manifest. While necessarily abbreviated in many respects, the book offers a sweeping panorama of the American political, cultural, and religious landscape. It captures and defines the spirit that made this country the greatest and the most powerful in the history of mankind. Unlike most writers of the modern textbooks of history Paul Johnson understands that it is individual freedom of thought and action and the extension of that freedom to the economic, political, and religious spheres that enabled this country to dominate the rest of the world.
Johnson brings to light the moral dilemma that arose when the American ideals of equality and liberty came in conflict with the economic and social pragmatism of slavery. A moral dilemma that has influenced American ideological, political, social and intellectual history since the country was founded and continues to this day, from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement up to the present banal multiculturalism.
He also rightly points out that attempts to restrict man's freedom through higher tax rates reduce productivity and progress. The increasing government involvement in the economy during FDR's administration probably weakened the economy and extended the Depression. The economy was recovering on its own at the time FDR took office. Johnson points out that the debilitating effects of FDR's interference with the economy remained with us until Reagan reinvigorated not only the economy but also the Ameritech spirit, which unfortunately again is under siege with Clinton's administration.
Unlike most modern writers of history textbooks, Johnson gives credit where credit is due to Ronald Reagan for ending the cold war and for demonstrating to the world the inherent bankruptcy of communism and socialism and their handmaiden egalitarianism. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history without the current politically correct revisionism that permeates most modern treatments of this subject.
Rating: 4
Summary: Best at reviewing earlier American history
Comment: Paul Johnson, who wrote the epochal _Modern Times_, has more recently delivered this behemoth on the history of America. This excellent work, which overall I heartily recommend to all Amazon customers, demostrates what I pointed out in my review of _Modern Times_; Johnson, like most historians, is at his best when he's talking about events far enough in the past that they can be objectively analyzed. From the 16th century right up through the early Cold War period, Johnson's analysis is, IMO, unparalleled in its clear-eyed objectivity. He takes hard looks at the follies of both Left and Right. Civil War fans will particularly be interested in his word-portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.
Johnson stumbles, though (and I feel I can legitimately say this as a conservative) in his recounting of more recent events. As I remarked in my _Modern Times_ review, when it comes to post-1950 history, Paul Johnson's writing probably best belongs in National Review as an op-ed. Not that there's anything wrong with that. National Review is the flagship think-mag of conservatism, and Johnson's writing lays out the conservative view in smart, crisp fashion. One would have wished, though, that he would have taken a more nuanced view of Watergate, which, as in _Modern Times_, he dismisses as a case of liberal hysteria. Most of us (those of us who are old enough to remember) remember the proceedings somewhat differently.
All the same, though, this is a most worthy work, written in the same crisp, incisive style as all his other historical works. Buy it and be enlightened by the story of how the American people came to be as they are today.
 |
Title: Modern Times Revised Edition : World from the Twenties to the Nineties, The by Paul M. Johnson ISBN: 0060935502 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 07 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
 |
Title: A History of the Jews by Paul M. Johnson ISBN: 0060915331 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 14 September, 1988 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
 |
Title: Intellectuals by Paul M. Johnson ISBN: 0060916575 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 11 April, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: A History of Christianity by Paul Johnson ISBN: 0684815036 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
 |
Title: A People's History of the United States : 1492-Present by Howard Zinn ISBN: 0060528370 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
