# Recommend a good American History book...or books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071 "2007-02-13T20:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/21 "2007-02-16T15:14:51Z")
If you’re looking for a Civil War history that’s less daunting than Shelby Foote’s. youi might also want to look at James McPherson’s “Battle Cry of Freedom”. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/22 "2007-02-16T17:11:26Z")
[QUOTE=Fiddle Peghead] If this advice is relevant (and I think it is), shouldn’t **birdmonster** also ask other dopers to go back and state what particular viewpoint the books they have recommended here are written from, before he decides which if any of them to read? [/QUOTE] I’d of course appreciate it if anyone clued me in as to which particular bias their book(s) champion. Of course, before I really hunker down and buy a few (if it wasn’t obvious from the get-go [it was], it is now: I’ll need a whole bunch of books), I was planning on doing some research in addition to the recommendations here. Apparently, some strong feelings on this Loewen fellow and I can’t tell you fact one. But so far: thanks a million. This is really valuable for me as a starting block. When the thread dies down, I’ll let you know which ones seemed the most appropriate. **Exapno Mapcase** : Thanks for the clarification and the oh so brief summation of historical biases. I appreciate you gifting me a wide range of possibilities here. **spoke-** : Your comments on Andrew Jackson were among the first reminders that I knew squat about American History. I still think we should replace him (MLK!), but, hey, thought you should know. I’d like to do a personal howdy to all, but my boss is giving me the hairy eyeball. Until soon. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/23 "2007-02-16T18:26:31Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] (Chernow is the most boring writer in the world, IMO. McCullough can write rings around him blindfolded.) [/QUOTE] Wow. I disagree. I’ve read two Chernow books,\* Titan\* and _Alexander Hamilton_, and really enjoyed them, particularly the AE book. ---
**Author:** ![Kkrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Kkrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kkrose)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/24 "2007-02-16T18:48:49Z")
[Don’t Know Much About History](http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Know-Much-About-History/dp/0060083824/sr=8-1/qid=1171651476/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1608261-7968746?ie=UTF8&s=books) By Kenneth C. Davis. Is the book I usually recommend to people asking what you are asking. It’s a very readable overall history of the United States. It’s meant for people who aren’t big time history buffs but want to know more. In my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/25 "2007-02-16T22:06:40Z")
Rewriting/embellishing/falsifying history is also a part of history. Reading a history book written in, say, 1912 might not tell you much about what really happened before that, but it may tell you a lot about how things were in 1912… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/26 "2007-02-16T22:45:00Z")
Another good author to learn about the Civil War from is Bruce Catton. He wrote a three-volume work for the Centennial, and has numerous single volume works covering the war from various perspectives. He has a very interesting way of getting at the story by looking at personalities. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/27 "2007-02-17T00:05:23Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] This should be in Cafe Society. Please ask to have it moved. Check out Howard Zinn’s **A People’s History of the United States of America**. [/QUOTE] He said he DIDN’T want an overtly political and biased book. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/28 "2007-02-17T00:11:43Z")
[QUOTE=Birdmonster] **spoke-** : Your comments on Andrew Jackson were among the first reminders that I knew squat about American History. I still think we should replace him (MLK!), but, hey, thought you should know. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the shout-out **Birdmonster**. And I don’t necessarily disagree about Jackson and the $20 bill. I just don’t think Jackson was a moustache-twirling villain who awoke each morning wondering what new evil he could inflict on the poor innocent Indian. History is (much) more complicated than that. For one thing, Jackson didn’t have a moustache. > [@Kkrose](#): > > _Don’t Know Much About History_ By Kenneth C. Davis. Is the book I usually recommend to people asking what you are asking. It’s a very readable overall history of the United States. It’s meant for people who aren’t big time history buffs but want to know more. In my opinion. I haven’t read this book, but I have friends who used _Don’t Know Much About History_ as a starting point. Some of the Amazon reviews suggest a strong liberal bias though, so be careful. (And I say that as a liberal myself.) It’s really hard to find history written with no bias at all. Everybody has _some_ bias that shows through in their work. The best thing to do, really, is to read two or three different perspectives on the same event(s) and then draw your own conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2007, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071/29 "2007-02-17T00:20:15Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Thanks for the shout-out **Birdmonster**. I haven’t read this book, but I have friends who used _Don’t Know Much About History_ as a starting point. Some of the Amazon reviews suggest a strong liberal bias though, so be careful. (And I say that as a liberal myself.) [/QUOTE] Credit where credit’s due. I’ve actually been leaning towards this one for a variety of reasons. First off, **Kkrose** came out of the dark cave of lurkerdom to recommend it. Always worth something, methinks. Secondly, you’re right: I’m realizing there is no bias-free history. I’m thinking about trying to offset it with something fairly conservative, but not overtly so. Paul Johnson’s book sounds like a good start. Neither sound as far from center as Zinn, who, while interesting, isn’t what I want to learn about right now. I don’t want to play the outraged liberal at parties. I want to get an overview, find what I feel is the most interesting stuff in our history, and get expertice on those certain eras & movements. There are seriously gaping holes in my knowledge right now. Plus, I want to slay my roommates at Jeopardy. I’m petty like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-american-history-book-or-books/392071.md?page=1)