David M. Kennedy’s Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 and The American People in World War II, Freedom from Fear: Part II. Kennedy is a professor of history at Stanford and I enjoy his writing style. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner and seems to be a well-respected historian. I find his books offer me a lot of extra information that I can use that is often not found in textbooks.
Paul M. Johnson’s A History of the American People is a book I am re-reading. Johnson’s history, in my opinion, is one of the best and most balanced. He is British, so his point of view is even, honest, and reflective. Not that you can’t be an American and be objective when writing about U.S. History. I do not care for Howard Zinn, though I think it’s important to read his People’s History. Johnson is also the author of Modern Times and other books and has to be considered one of the better historians around today.
Robert Conquest’s Reflections on a Ravaged Century has not been an easy read for me (which has to do with his writing style) but at times it has been very enlightening. The 20th Century was a travesty in more ways than one. Of course, ideology played a key role. The forces of history seem to be, at a very basic level, but three things: race, culture/religion, and politics. (If you think this is an overtly simplistic statement, and it probably is, let me know as I’d love someone to leave a comment.) From world wars to civil rights, these forces are predominant, are they not? Conquest states, “all the major troubles the world has had in our era has been caused by people who have let politics become a mania.†Now that is an overtly simple statement, yet he means a lot by it.
For fun I purchased James W. Loewen’s Lies my Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, and I am glad I did as it’s been an interesting read. It also led me to purchase about a half-dozen used textbooks, which I am and will be reviewing over the coming months. One book which actually looks promising is Weinstein and Rubel’s The Story of America: Freedom and Crisis from Settlement to Superpower. Also a kind of supplement to U.S. History, Days of Destiny: Crossroads in American History, is a selection of essays from prominent historians including James M. McPherson.
I am also finishing up Victor Davis Hanson’s Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power. I am not the kind of military history buff who is big on battlefield Xs and Os, though I do enjoy them sometimes. I am more interested in books such as this that look at society and culture and their impact on warfare. Hanson is a leading military historian and political commentator who I enjoy reading.
Journalist George Packer has written what I think is one of the best books on the Iraq War and occupation. The Assassins Gate offers a fair assessment of the situation in my opinion. He offers support in some respects for the Bush administration yet squarely lowers the hammer on them for some very troubling failures in their plan of action in Iraq. Leaving aside for a moment all of the WMD debates, the Bush administration seriously underestimated the hornets nest it was shaking up. It lacked a coherent and realistic plan that has caused thousands of Iraqi citizens to suffer and die. Even the military wanted to get in and out. But as the country descends into chaos, leaving now is an impossibility until the Iraqi central government and military is strong enough to hold its own. His book places the Iraq situation within historical context and along with his personal experiences there (he spent months there even going out on the streets countless times talking with people) he clearly outlines the issues facing the U.S. government and the Iraqi people. It is a book that I highly recommend.
I just got in Peter Huchthausen’s America’s Splendid Little Wars: A Short History of U.S. Military Engagements: 1975-2000, and I am hoping his analysis includes some of the political and cultural issues at hand and that his assessment of these various episodes in American history adds up to something.
Finally a few of Civil War books I am going to read. The University of Arkansas sent me A Thrilling Narrative: The Memoir of a Southern Unionist, it is the story of Captain Dennis E. Haynes as told by him (his diary) and edited by Arthur W. Bergeron Jr. Just flipping through the book it looks very interesting and Bergeron’s editing appears to be well done. I am also looking forward to reading Struggle for a Vast Future: The American Civil War, which is a collection of essays edited by Aaron Sheehan-Dean. I am also reading Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg by Timothy B. Smith.
I have others to mention and will in a part II sometime later in the week.
