The Story of America: A Captivating Historical Journey - Perfect for History Buffs, Book Clubs & Classroom Learning

Garraty et al did an outstanding job with this textbook which was written for students learning American History. It is a much more comprehensive look at our Story and our Heritage. The author understands the importance of presenting the story from numerous points of view as it is the not just the facts about our country, but also about the people and the emotional climate among those people who are a part of America's heritage. He delves into some of the different flavors of politics that was ultimately responsible for nearly every aspect along the unbeaten path that led US to where we are these days, at this age.Because of the polished shine put on nearly every other American history textbook I have reviewed, the whole story of what happened never made sense to me as a younger student. Early Americans had no "trail" to follow and every step was essentially new, from government and how it functioned to policies and laws as well as policing the laws and enforcing them.The path was literally, figuratively and militarily speaking revolutionary.The first group to break away from the standard, age old traditions when those in power continued to undermine the power of the people. Trail blazing may be an accurate term to describe the forming of this nation. Those revolutionaries that came into power were human, and as humans in the thick of it, there is no such thing as being perfect. Hindsight is easy, however being able to openly and honestly present our history and the political climate from points of view from each side is necessary (in my opinion) for our children to know so that they do not have a fairy tale unrealistic view and become more vulnerable to the pitfalls that hindered those who came before us had experienced.because that is what we are doing now, making history. The same as every person alive today and their lives (our lives) are the immediate living. Our story, which will later be known as history. Our values and understanding of the world today is not what it was back then and we never would have treated the people who inhabited this great land the way we did, had we understood what we were doing. The atrocities we committed against the Native American people was wrong. And while this textbook may also be guilty of telling our story semi-polished and fit for public consumption, it is still a one of a kind History textbook because of the style and approach it takes with the student.It encourages critical thinking, evaluation of the situation, recognizing or identifying problems and the putting together of minds to come up with strategies that may correct what was/is wrong or at least problematic. Including using the minds' imagination to be willing to think outside of the box. To not limit ourselves nor our minds to the confines of tradition, when tradition may not be working or leading the country in the direction we know we should be going.That, after all, is what the founding fathers did, which was our beginning.This is a textbook for the children who will become our leaders. It is for future critical thinkers, for future people who can objectively evaluate and make tough decisions, it's for future writers and future historians. For our future and the people who can lead our country and be an example for the world, which is never an easy task to undertake. But that is our story, and the children learning our history are making our history, the same as we are today.This is a great look at our History, as accurate as objectively possible, from the records that were preserved and available. It is our story, hence the title "The Story of America"thank you to the author John Garraty and consultant Philip Bacon and all the societies and preservation organizations who understood the importance of accurate record keeping, and thank you to all the scholastic professionals and volunteers who contributed to the book and Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. for publishing a textbook that dared to tell our Story from an objective point of view, for that is the way that we can best study history so that today and the future can be the best that can be offered to the people of the world who share this house, the only home we have, the planet Earth.