The Statue of Liberty: The First One Hundred Years

by Bernard A. Weisberger, Christian Blanchet

English, French (translation)

Genres: Nonfiction, History

192 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1985

About the author

Bernard Allen Weisberger is an American historian. Weisberger taught American history at several universities including the University of Chicago and University of Rochester, where he was chair of the department. He has written more than a dozen books and worked on documentaries with Bill Moyers and Ken Burns. His Charles Ramsdell Prize winning article "The Dark and Bloody Ground of Reconstruction Historiography," is considered a standard in the study of the Reconstruction period.

He is a contributing editor of American Heritage, for which he wrote a regular column for ten years. Weisberger was also a member of the National Hillel Commission and a dedicated participant in the civil rights movement.

Reviews

[Isabel Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided a basic summary of the Statue of Liberty’s beginnings while also revealing many of the artistic, political, and economic motivations behind its design and subsequent status as a moral figure.

However, the author had trouble conveying his opinions about what the Lady’s final impact is on history and America and, while the illustrations/pictures in the first few chapters are a neat glimpse into history, they often had nothing to do with the overall theme of the chapter in the later portion of the book. In addition, the book is clearly outdated since it was published in 1985.

Overall, this book is a decent piece of work that provides an early history of our Lady Library and several insightful looks into why she was brought to life and what the vision entailed for her creators.

[Cws]

XOS-974.71B