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Krótka historia USA
Amerykańska historia w porywającej odsłonie Jak to możliwe, że tak odmienni ludzie zamieszkujący tak różnorodne tereny zjednoczyli się pod sztandarem wolności i równości, powołując do życia naród, który stworzył jedno z najpotężniejszych państw na świecie? W swej dynamicznej narracji Davidson prowadzi nas przez pół tysiąca lat dziejów, od pierwszego spotkania między Starym a Nowym Światem przez ogłoszenie Deklaracji Niepodległości i wybuch wojny secesyjnej aż po wielki kryzys i narodziny supermocarstwa w epoce zagrożenia wojną nuklearną. W opowieści towarzyszą nam najważniejsze postacie, w tym jeden z ojców założycieli Benjamin Franklin, wódz Siuksów Siedzący Byk, abolicjonistka Harriet Tubman oraz działaczka na rzecz praw człowieka Rosa Parks. W krótkich rozdziałach ożywają setki osób, których życiorysy wzbudzają pytania o wolność, równość i jedność w narodzie, który był i pozostaje niezwykle różnorodny, ale i podzielony. James West Davidson – uznany historyk i pisarz. Uzyskał stopień doktora historii na Uniwersytecie Yale, specjalizuje się w historii Stanów Zjednoczonych. Jest współredaktorem serii książek New Narratives in American History wydawanej przez Oxford University Press i współautorem kilku podręczników. Miłośnik kajakarstwa górskiego.
392 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2015
470 people are currently reading
3666 people want to read
About the author
James West Davidson
164 books25 followersJames West Davidson is a historian, writer, and wilderness paddler. He received his Ph.D. in American history from Yale University and writes full time. He is also co-editor, with Michael Stoff, of New Narratives in American History, a series published by Oxford University Press, as well as the coauthor of textbooks in American history. These include "Experience History," "After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection," and "US: A Narrative History" for the college level and "The American Nation" for the middle grades.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
December 31, 2019
Don't know enough about US history to be able to make judgments on coverage, ideological biases or accuracy. However, it was an enjoyable read and that in my book earns points.
June 4, 2020
Amerikan tarihi hatta dünya tarihi konusunda parça parça olayları bilip genel akışa hakim olamamak beni çok rahatsız ediyor her zaman. Bu kitap tam derdimin çaresi oldu. Detaya neredeyse hiç inmeden, sebep sonuç ilişkilerinde didaktiklik yapmak için zorlamadan 500 yıllık bir geçmişi gözden geçiriyor.
Oldukça beğendim. Özel ilgi alanı tarih olanlara asla yetmeyecektir ama benim gibi daha uzun bir zaman aralığını tek kitapta görmek isteyenlere iyi bir başlangıç noktası.
Oldukça beğendim. Özel ilgi alanı tarih olanlara asla yetmeyecektir ama benim gibi daha uzun bir zaman aralığını tek kitapta görmek isteyenlere iyi bir başlangıç noktası.
December 15, 2020
A 'little' history of the United States (however still resulting in +300 pages or in my case: an 8 hour audiobook) which explains how people of such immense diversity came together under a banner of freedom and equality (E Pluribus Unum). For me, as a European, it gave me some insight in how a country grew from the first contact between the Old and the New World to the rise of America as a superpower in the modern age, while still sparking larger questions to ponder about freedom, equality, and unity. Which are as important today as they were in the past.
April 12, 2022
ไม่เคยอ่านประวัติศาสตร์ของสหรัฐฯ เป็นเรื่องเป็นราวอย่างนี้มาก่อน จึงไม่อาจเปรียบเทียบกับหนังสือเล่มอื่นๆ ได้ เอาเพียงความรู้สึกต่อเล่มนี้ล้วนๆ คือ น่าทึ่ง น่าศึกษา และสนุกมาก
อาจจะเล่าถึงด้านสว่างมากกว่าด้านมืด ทำให้คนอ่านอย่างผมรู้สึกชื่นชมหลายๆ อย่างที่รวมมาเป็นประเทศนี้
มันผ่านหัวเลี้ยวหัวต่อมาหลายครั้ง และดูเหมือนยังรักษาจิตวิญญาณของ โลกใหม่ได้เสมอ
มันดูเลวร้ายในตอนนี้ยุคนี้ แต่อ่านแล้วยังรู้สึกว่า มันยังมีหวังอยู่เสมอ เพราะความผิดพลาดเป็นเรื่องแสนธรรมดาในแผ่นดินนี้ ความน่าทึ่งของมันคือ พร้อมจะลุกใหม่ได้เสมอนั่นเอง
อาจจะเล่าถึงด้านสว่างมากกว่าด้านมืด ทำให้คนอ่านอย่างผมรู้สึกชื่นชมหลายๆ อย่างที่รวมมาเป็นประเทศนี้
มันผ่านหัวเลี้ยวหัวต่อมาหลายครั้ง และดูเหมือนยังรักษาจิตวิญญาณของ โลกใหม่ได้เสมอ
มันดูเลวร้ายในตอนนี้ยุคนี้ แต่อ่านแล้วยังรู้สึกว่า มันยังมีหวังอยู่เสมอ เพราะความผิดพลาดเป็นเรื่องแสนธรรมดาในแผ่นดินนี้ ความน่าทึ่งของมันคือ พร้อมจะลุกใหม่ได้เสมอนั่นเอง
October 28, 2018
Edit: Read again in October 2018– even better this time. I’d forgotten how beautifully written it was!
4.5 stars.
A joy to read! Badly needed a refresher on American history, and this did the trick. I had some gaping holes that this book helped fill in. This book was helpful enough, and pleasant enough, that I can imagine re-reading it again-- maybe even again this year-- to better remember all the fascinating people/events. I can also imagine reading/listening to it with my children.
I want to learn more about about feminists Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Lucretia Mott, abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and David Walker. And I continue to be especially interested in American religionists: George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, William Bradford, John Winthrop etc., and the heretics Thomas Morton, Ann Hutchinson.
4.5 stars.
A joy to read! Badly needed a refresher on American history, and this did the trick. I had some gaping holes that this book helped fill in. This book was helpful enough, and pleasant enough, that I can imagine re-reading it again-- maybe even again this year-- to better remember all the fascinating people/events. I can also imagine reading/listening to it with my children.
I want to learn more about about feminists Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Lucretia Mott, abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and David Walker. And I continue to be especially interested in American religionists: George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, William Bradford, John Winthrop etc., and the heretics Thomas Morton, Ann Hutchinson.
September 24, 2016
A good overview of American History, that covers the period from Pre-Columbus to the modern era. The book has little critical analysis, and provides largely the received wisdom on major events, including events that are well known to be fabrications or exaggeration. However, the book does engage with a few key debates, and is somewhat critical of Columbus and other colonial figures.
It is a good introductory book and will give young people a good overview and framework for engaging in deeper analysis in the future. However, it will not challenge people who already have a level of understanding of the topic.
It is a good introductory book and will give young people a good overview and framework for engaging in deeper analysis in the future. However, it will not challenge people who already have a level of understanding of the topic.
May 7, 2020
For homeschooling this year, the 12-year-old and I have been focusing on American History. So far our non-fiction texts have included "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People" by Debbie Reece, "This Is Our Constitution: Discover America with a Gold Star Father" by Khizr Khan, and "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" by Jason Reynolds. I feel like we struck gold with these selections that were only published within the last 3 years. It is not an easy task to find quality non-fiction U.S. history books for the middle school crowd. Next, I wanted a brief, readable book (not a textbook) that summarily covered the core narrative of U.S. history and was pleasantly satisfied with A Little History of the United States. Although it is an adult text, it was perfect for my 7th grader. It is an enjoyable read, not dry or boring. Also, it did a very good job complementing the previous books we read. While I will definitely recommend it to my homeschool friends as a middle school text, I will suggest it is used to supplement the historically underrepresented narratives that often get lost in middle school and high school textbooks. A Little History of the United States is a good jumping off book for a deeper dive into U.S. history.
August 11, 2015
I received a prepublication copy of this book (September 15, 2015) through NetGalley with the understanding that I would publish are review on my blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google + pages along with NetGalley, Amazon and Goodreads.
I requested this book because I am have an interest in the history of the United States.
This is the type of history book that my late father-in-law would have loved. You can open it to any part and read a brief overview of some historical occurrence in America. The book is laid out in chronological order for those who want to read it from beginning to end with short chapters that are informative and entertaining. While it hits all of the highlights it does delve into some of the more unknown events in our history.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy to read, light on detail story of the United States.
I requested this book because I am have an interest in the history of the United States.
This is the type of history book that my late father-in-law would have loved. You can open it to any part and read a brief overview of some historical occurrence in America. The book is laid out in chronological order for those who want to read it from beginning to end with short chapters that are informative and entertaining. While it hits all of the highlights it does delve into some of the more unknown events in our history.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy to read, light on detail story of the United States.
August 4, 2025
Beautiful general overview of the history behind the United States. Reads like a novel, is fast -paced, informative, and engaging.
February 22, 2021
This was an interesting read. Not being American, I wanted a general overview of the history of the United States so that I wouldn't get lost when reading denser and more intricate American history books. This book was perfect for that goal.
August 24, 2020
This is a rare gem where the nuances of history are touched on, though since it is 300 pages for 500 years of history, nothing is covered in depth. Still, it is rare he paints anyone as all good or someone who has sinned beyond repair, which is refreshing as too many history books seem to paint too black-and-white a picture of historical figures.
May 21, 2020
More than five centuries of U.S. history (with a little prehistory of the Americas thrown in for good measure) in just over 300 pages might seem a tall order. But by focusing on larger themes and currents such as religion versus secularism, equality versus inequality, industrialization, urbanization, and westward expansion, Davidson shows how they shaped American events, government, and character.
What is now the United States was not “empty” in 1492 when Columbus blundered onto the West Indies. It was teeming with wildlife and had a population of about eight million people, divided into distinct cultures that had developed over thousands of years. Columbus was not the first to reach the new world, the Spanish having reached South America to find cities of size and sophistication. Both the conquerors and some of the existing civilizations were brutal. Murder, enslavement, and human sacrifice were common. Europeans brought diseases to which people of the Americas had no immunity. Before Africans were imported as slaves, Indians were captured and shipped out of America for that purpose. Some 90 percent of slaves imported from Africa went to South America and the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations.
Religious upheaval following the Protestant Reformation in Europe brought waves of settlers seeking freedom to live and worship the way they wanted—which they then often denied to others. In 1620, the Mayflower Compact created the first representative government in America, to promote a commonwealth—a community for the public good.
The north was settled by families who established schools and communities. The south was settled by fortune-seeking planters and traders, mostly single men, who established plantations, not towns and villages. The differences between north and south would persist and influence the course of the country, even to the present day.
Another kind of difference, less dependent on geography, consisted of that between followers of the Enlightenment—questioning based on reason and science, personified by Benjamin Franklin—and those seeking a “Great Awakening,” a revival of religiosity valuing emotion and certainty, as expressed by Jonathan Edwards.
By the mid-18th century, colonial powers in the Americas were expanding and consolidating. The English and Dutch were concentrated along the eastern seaboard; the French from Canada down the Mississippi into Louisiana; the Spanish in Florida and moving up from Mexico into Texas and California. Each had their Indian allies. Tensions between the French and English broke out into war in 1754 and grew into the Seven Years’ War in Europe and Asia. It resulted in the British driving the French from North America but would leave Great Britain deep in debt. And although war was over, British troops remained to help defend colonists against Indians, who resented increasing settlement on their lands. Colonists resented paying the war debts and the presence of redcoats. Taxes imposed by the British prompted speeches of protest, boycotts, and riots, culminating in the Boston Tea Party. British retaliation led to the convening of the Continental Congress in 1774 and serious resistance by the colonists. It was now a full-fledged rebellion.
The formation and tumultuous early years of the new republic are familiar to us. Davidson reminds us of the tensions inherent in the country that had to be reconciled in order to form a functioning government. Despite espousing equality, the new nation fell short of achieving it. Still, within the framework erected by the Founders, the nation grew, both by urbanizing and by pushing west. In the early decades of the 19th century, movements like religious revivalism, utopianism, social reform, abolitionism, and women’s rights began to take hold. A succession of compromises and stopgap measures to accommodate both slaveholding and antislavery states postponed but could not stop the Civil War. Equality was won in theory but not in practice, as segregation and Jim Crow laws replaced slavery.
In the decades after Reconstruction, capitalism ran roughshod over workers and farmers as the country kept growing. Around the turn of the 20th century the Progressive movement arose from a belief that government should help people. Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson governed in this spirit, curbing the worst excesses of business. Women’s suffrage was finally achieved in 1920, and women entered the workforce in increasing numbers. At the same time, the U.S. participated in imperialism, as did Europe, putting the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii under our control.
Efforts to gain civil rights, always ongoing, reached critical mass in the 1950s as blacks, farm workers, women, and students all questioned the status quo as the balance between equality and inequality shifted again. The Great Society funded head Start, the Job Corps, Medicare and Medicaid, all to further equality of opportunity.
Obviously I’ve skipped over a lot that Davidson covers, and most of us know the broad outline of events anyway. His point is that our country has always been pulled in opposing directions because of the interests of different groups—particularly the tension between equality and inequality, as one group claims rights for itself that it refuses to grant to others: Indians, African-Americans, women, and immigrants who fight to gain those same rights. Kind of a struggle between our better and baser instincts as one, then the other, gains the upper hand.
A quotation from the book (page 120) that is especially pertinent to the present: “[A] democracy doesn’t succeed because the people are always right. Any government is sure to be wrong sometimes. The difference is, kings or tyrants can ignore their mistakes because they answer to no one. A democracy succeeds because, when mistakes are made, the people feel them and have the power to correct their errors.”
What is now the United States was not “empty” in 1492 when Columbus blundered onto the West Indies. It was teeming with wildlife and had a population of about eight million people, divided into distinct cultures that had developed over thousands of years. Columbus was not the first to reach the new world, the Spanish having reached South America to find cities of size and sophistication. Both the conquerors and some of the existing civilizations were brutal. Murder, enslavement, and human sacrifice were common. Europeans brought diseases to which people of the Americas had no immunity. Before Africans were imported as slaves, Indians were captured and shipped out of America for that purpose. Some 90 percent of slaves imported from Africa went to South America and the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations.
Religious upheaval following the Protestant Reformation in Europe brought waves of settlers seeking freedom to live and worship the way they wanted—which they then often denied to others. In 1620, the Mayflower Compact created the first representative government in America, to promote a commonwealth—a community for the public good.
The north was settled by families who established schools and communities. The south was settled by fortune-seeking planters and traders, mostly single men, who established plantations, not towns and villages. The differences between north and south would persist and influence the course of the country, even to the present day.
Another kind of difference, less dependent on geography, consisted of that between followers of the Enlightenment—questioning based on reason and science, personified by Benjamin Franklin—and those seeking a “Great Awakening,” a revival of religiosity valuing emotion and certainty, as expressed by Jonathan Edwards.
By the mid-18th century, colonial powers in the Americas were expanding and consolidating. The English and Dutch were concentrated along the eastern seaboard; the French from Canada down the Mississippi into Louisiana; the Spanish in Florida and moving up from Mexico into Texas and California. Each had their Indian allies. Tensions between the French and English broke out into war in 1754 and grew into the Seven Years’ War in Europe and Asia. It resulted in the British driving the French from North America but would leave Great Britain deep in debt. And although war was over, British troops remained to help defend colonists against Indians, who resented increasing settlement on their lands. Colonists resented paying the war debts and the presence of redcoats. Taxes imposed by the British prompted speeches of protest, boycotts, and riots, culminating in the Boston Tea Party. British retaliation led to the convening of the Continental Congress in 1774 and serious resistance by the colonists. It was now a full-fledged rebellion.
The formation and tumultuous early years of the new republic are familiar to us. Davidson reminds us of the tensions inherent in the country that had to be reconciled in order to form a functioning government. Despite espousing equality, the new nation fell short of achieving it. Still, within the framework erected by the Founders, the nation grew, both by urbanizing and by pushing west. In the early decades of the 19th century, movements like religious revivalism, utopianism, social reform, abolitionism, and women’s rights began to take hold. A succession of compromises and stopgap measures to accommodate both slaveholding and antislavery states postponed but could not stop the Civil War. Equality was won in theory but not in practice, as segregation and Jim Crow laws replaced slavery.
In the decades after Reconstruction, capitalism ran roughshod over workers and farmers as the country kept growing. Around the turn of the 20th century the Progressive movement arose from a belief that government should help people. Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson governed in this spirit, curbing the worst excesses of business. Women’s suffrage was finally achieved in 1920, and women entered the workforce in increasing numbers. At the same time, the U.S. participated in imperialism, as did Europe, putting the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii under our control.
Efforts to gain civil rights, always ongoing, reached critical mass in the 1950s as blacks, farm workers, women, and students all questioned the status quo as the balance between equality and inequality shifted again. The Great Society funded head Start, the Job Corps, Medicare and Medicaid, all to further equality of opportunity.
Obviously I’ve skipped over a lot that Davidson covers, and most of us know the broad outline of events anyway. His point is that our country has always been pulled in opposing directions because of the interests of different groups—particularly the tension between equality and inequality, as one group claims rights for itself that it refuses to grant to others: Indians, African-Americans, women, and immigrants who fight to gain those same rights. Kind of a struggle between our better and baser instincts as one, then the other, gains the upper hand.
A quotation from the book (page 120) that is especially pertinent to the present: “[A] democracy doesn’t succeed because the people are always right. Any government is sure to be wrong sometimes. The difference is, kings or tyrants can ignore their mistakes because they answer to no one. A democracy succeeds because, when mistakes are made, the people feel them and have the power to correct their errors.”
December 8, 2021
Having recently read Lepore’s excellent history of the United States I thought it would be interesting to see how others handled the subject.
Now, Davidson’s book is a lot less ambitious. It is just “little” history. But just considering the reading experience it is actually better. Better, that is beautifully, written and covering, if only very briefly, all I would expect from a history. The only thing missing in my opinion is the age of prohibition the gangster area as that is something uniquely American.
He will stop from time to time presenting the great events to show how normal people (like his father in law) or, hm... Mark Twain, were “making” history. That could be annoying but he does handle this very well.
He does mention Armstrong but only in the final chapter comparing it to the impact of the first beginnings of what was to become the Internet. I happen to disagree, I think, or I should say, hope that in the long run the landing on the Moon will turn out to be the more important event.
There is one ting that is wrong. Berlin was not the capital of both West and East Germany. Amazing how a blunder like this could survive proof-reading/fact-checking.
9/10
Now, Davidson’s book is a lot less ambitious. It is just “little” history. But just considering the reading experience it is actually better. Better, that is beautifully, written and covering, if only very briefly, all I would expect from a history. The only thing missing in my opinion is the age of prohibition the gangster area as that is something uniquely American.
He will stop from time to time presenting the great events to show how normal people (like his father in law) or, hm... Mark Twain, were “making” history. That could be annoying but he does handle this very well.
He does mention Armstrong but only in the final chapter comparing it to the impact of the first beginnings of what was to become the Internet. I happen to disagree, I think, or I should say, hope that in the long run the landing on the Moon will turn out to be the more important event.
There is one ting that is wrong. Berlin was not the capital of both West and East Germany. Amazing how a blunder like this could survive proof-reading/fact-checking.
9/10
March 9, 2023
This whistle stop history of 500 years of US history is an engaging read and full of fascinating facts. As a non-American it really brought home to me this often turbulent melting pot, and the sheer sweep and scale of its exhilarating journey from Pilgrim Fathers and slavery, through Civil War, Wild West etc to become a nuclear superpower. The author also looks at the oft-stated US values - are all men 'equal'? And is it the 'land of the free'?
January 24, 2024
في اعتقادي أن كتابة التاريخ، هي واحدة من أهم العلوم الإنسانية. ولكن طريقة كتابة التاريخ هي فن وموهبة فوق ذلك. خاصة كتابة موجز تاريخي. فهو يحتاج إلى قدرة لغوية وأدبية هائلة، كما يحتاج إلى قدرة على تحديد اهم مفاصل التاريخ التي تحتاج لتسليط الضوء عليها.
في هذا الكتاب نعود مع ديفيدسون إلى بداية اكتشاف أمريكا كقارة ونتابع الحكاية إلى أن نصل إلى الولايات المتحدة، هذه القوة العظمى التي رغم الانجازات التي حققتها، إلا أنها كانت سببا شقاء الكثيرين.
ومما يؤخذ على هذا الكتاب (وان كان موجزا) هو تجاهله لما ذكرته آنفا، وهو كون الولايات المتحدة كانت سببا في شقاء الكثيرين، فلا يذكر الكتاب شيئا مثلا عن أولى الجرائم والتي بدأت في الفترة التي سبقت تأسيس الاتحاد واستمرت بعد ذلك، وهنا أتحدث عن معاناة السكان الأصليين (والذين سموا ظلما بالهنود الحمر) بل أن الكاتب وقع في فخ خطير حين قدر اعدادهم ب ٨ ملايين نفس، علما بأن غالبية التقديرات تشير إلى انهم تجاوزوا ال ٢٠ مليوناً، كما أنه لم يذكر الإبادات التي تعرضت لها هذه الشعوب، رغم انهم كانوا شعوبا مسالمة كما يذكر الكاتب نفسه.
كما أنه أسقط الحديث عن المجازر الأمريكية، في عديد من البلدان، واسقط الحديث عن سياسات الولايات المتحدة غير الأخلاقية، سواء كان مع جزء من شعبها، كعزلها الأمريكيين من أصل ياباني في سنوات الحرب العالمية الثانية وترك ممتلكاتهم للنهب، أو عن جرائمها في أفغانستان وفيتنام والعراق وغوانتانامو، وتدخلها السافر في سياسات الدول، إلى الحد الذي جعلها تسقط رؤساء وحكومات دول مستقلة، وسياساتها المنحازة للصهيونية، ودورها القذر في التأثير في التصويت على تقسيم فلسطين، وأثر اللوبي الصهيوني في سياسة الولايات المتحدة، واستخدامها السافر لحق النقض (الفيتو) في مجلس الأمن، الذي عطل في كثير من الأحيان قرارات تتعلق في وقف جرائم ضد الإنسانية، والكثير الكثير من المآخذ على هذه القوة العظمى.
سيحسب للكاتب طبعا، اسلوبه الذكي في كتابة موجز لتاريخ الولايات المتحدة. رغم الملاحظات التي ذكرتها في الفقرات السابقة. وان كان لا يشفع له كمؤرخ، حتى وان كان يكتب تاريخ بلاده.
في هذا الكتاب نعود مع ديفيدسون إلى بداية اكتشاف أمريكا كقارة ونتابع الحكاية إلى أن نصل إلى الولايات المتحدة، هذه القوة العظمى التي رغم الانجازات التي حققتها، إلا أنها كانت سببا شقاء الكثيرين.
ومما يؤخذ على هذا الكتاب (وان كان موجزا) هو تجاهله لما ذكرته آنفا، وهو كون الولايات المتحدة كانت سببا في شقاء الكثيرين، فلا يذكر الكتاب شيئا مثلا عن أولى الجرائم والتي بدأت في الفترة التي سبقت تأسيس الاتحاد واستمرت بعد ذلك، وهنا أتحدث عن معاناة السكان الأصليين (والذين سموا ظلما بالهنود الحمر) بل أن الكاتب وقع في فخ خطير حين قدر اعدادهم ب ٨ ملايين نفس، علما بأن غالبية التقديرات تشير إلى انهم تجاوزوا ال ٢٠ مليوناً، كما أنه لم يذكر الإبادات التي تعرضت لها هذه الشعوب، رغم انهم كانوا شعوبا مسالمة كما يذكر الكاتب نفسه.
كما أنه أسقط الحديث عن المجازر الأمريكية، في عديد من البلدان، واسقط الحديث عن سياسات الولايات المتحدة غير الأخلاقية، سواء كان مع جزء من شعبها، كعزلها الأمريكيين من أصل ياباني في سنوات الحرب العالمية الثانية وترك ممتلكاتهم للنهب، أو عن جرائمها في أفغانستان وفيتنام والعراق وغوانتانامو، وتدخلها السافر في سياسات الدول، إلى الحد الذي جعلها تسقط رؤساء وحكومات دول مستقلة، وسياساتها المنحازة للصهيونية، ودورها القذر في التأثير في التصويت على تقسيم فلسطين، وأثر اللوبي الصهيوني في سياسة الولايات المتحدة، واستخدامها السافر لحق النقض (الفيتو) في مجلس الأمن، الذي عطل في كثير من الأحيان قرارات تتعلق في وقف جرائم ضد الإنسانية، والكثير الكثير من المآخذ على هذه القوة العظمى.
سيحسب للكاتب طبعا، اسلوبه الذكي في كتابة موجز لتاريخ الولايات المتحدة. رغم الملاحظات التي ذكرتها في الفقرات السابقة. وان كان لا يشفع له كمؤرخ، حتى وان كان يكتب تاريخ بلاده.
June 11, 2018
A great quick sweeping overview of US history as I prepare to teach US next year - nothing groundbreaking but a nice clean narrative and a thesis that holds equality and inequality in a messy tension rather than fully exalting or condemning America
October 24, 2022
Been reading this one aloud on road trips with the fam, for a while. It was really well done. Kept the attention of a tween and two adults. The chapters are bite-sized, and well-framed. Really good. I learned some things.
December 4, 2021
Light, well written, entertaining survey of various historical points of US history but perhaps a little superficial and PC.
Audio version was well narrated.
Audio version was well narrated.
January 1, 2026
In slightly more than 300 pages, Davidson provides a crash course in 500 years of U.S. history. I read it in a single day, as one should.
Given the severe limitations of the format, the book’s concise approach to U.S. history is executed satisfactorily. The chapter on the U.S. Civil War explained the conflict reasonably well; the 20th Century received a breezier treatment, with both world wars given only a few pages. There's very good content on disease (such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, which decimated indigenous populations), slavery, the compromises of the Constitutional Convention, treatment of Native Americans, industrialization and technological innovation, evangelicalism, the Progressive movement, labor strife, and the Civil Rights movement. Not much focus on women's role in U.S. history, and no mention of gay rights.
As for presidents, the only ones who stand out are Lincoln (for obvious reasons), Andrew Johnson (for fumbling Reconstruction), Teddy Roosevelt (for trust busting and creating national parks), Franklin Roosevelt (for Social Security and the New Deal), and Lyndon Johnson (for the Civil Rights movement, Medicare, Medicaid, and other Great Society programs). The book hardly mentions our first black president (Barack Obama) and it was published too soon (2015) to mention our first convicted felon president (Donald J. Trump).
This little history is much better than Robert V. Remini's book A Short History of the United States. It’s less racist and less inclined to summarize the accomplishments of every president, even the inconsequential ones. In fact, Davidson's history avoids politics for large portions of the narrative.
Davidson is more focused on the tension that exists between our quest for both freedom and equality. For much of our history, the federal government has kept itself out of economic affairs, only stepping in occasionally to help Big Business crush Labor. At certain times, Progressives, New Dealers, and Great Society reformers caused government to become more active; during those turbulent periods, reformers agreed that the definition of freedom had to be enlarged to provide more economic security and independence.
The book is perhaps least successful in describing the large population migrations that have shaped the United States over time. Davidson mentions two gold rushes, the California Gold Rush (1848-1855) and the Black Hills Gold Rush (1874-1877), but fails to mention a third, the Klondike Gold Rush (1886-1899), which transformed Seattle, my hometown, into an economic hub. In fact, the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 is also omitted from Davidson's account. Davidson also completely ignores the significance of The Homestead Act of 1862, which encouraged westward expansion and displaced Native Americans. The index has an entry for "Great Migration," but strangely it's about the movement of Puritans who sailed to Massachusetts Bay, not the migration of millions of African Americans from the rural South to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970. But the book does an adequate job covering the waves of European and Asian immigration during the 19th and 20th Centuries, particularly of Chinese, German, Irish, Polish, and Jewish immigrants.
P.S. Given recent news events, I searched for the term "Monroe Doctrine" in this little history, but I was amused to discover the term wasn't found. Not surprising as Davidson's book avoids discussion of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. The second Trump administration recently introduced a "Trump Corollary" to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine in its December 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS). This policy asserts the United States' intent to reestablish its preeminence in the Western Hemisphere with three threats requiring U.S. military response: drug trafficking, migration, and Chinese influence. In other words, gunboat diplomacy and neo-imperialism are back, which will only serve to prop up more right-wing, fascist Latin American governments.
Given the severe limitations of the format, the book’s concise approach to U.S. history is executed satisfactorily. The chapter on the U.S. Civil War explained the conflict reasonably well; the 20th Century received a breezier treatment, with both world wars given only a few pages. There's very good content on disease (such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, which decimated indigenous populations), slavery, the compromises of the Constitutional Convention, treatment of Native Americans, industrialization and technological innovation, evangelicalism, the Progressive movement, labor strife, and the Civil Rights movement. Not much focus on women's role in U.S. history, and no mention of gay rights.
As for presidents, the only ones who stand out are Lincoln (for obvious reasons), Andrew Johnson (for fumbling Reconstruction), Teddy Roosevelt (for trust busting and creating national parks), Franklin Roosevelt (for Social Security and the New Deal), and Lyndon Johnson (for the Civil Rights movement, Medicare, Medicaid, and other Great Society programs). The book hardly mentions our first black president (Barack Obama) and it was published too soon (2015) to mention our first convicted felon president (Donald J. Trump).
This little history is much better than Robert V. Remini's book A Short History of the United States. It’s less racist and less inclined to summarize the accomplishments of every president, even the inconsequential ones. In fact, Davidson's history avoids politics for large portions of the narrative.
Davidson is more focused on the tension that exists between our quest for both freedom and equality. For much of our history, the federal government has kept itself out of economic affairs, only stepping in occasionally to help Big Business crush Labor. At certain times, Progressives, New Dealers, and Great Society reformers caused government to become more active; during those turbulent periods, reformers agreed that the definition of freedom had to be enlarged to provide more economic security and independence.
The book is perhaps least successful in describing the large population migrations that have shaped the United States over time. Davidson mentions two gold rushes, the California Gold Rush (1848-1855) and the Black Hills Gold Rush (1874-1877), but fails to mention a third, the Klondike Gold Rush (1886-1899), which transformed Seattle, my hometown, into an economic hub. In fact, the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 is also omitted from Davidson's account. Davidson also completely ignores the significance of The Homestead Act of 1862, which encouraged westward expansion and displaced Native Americans. The index has an entry for "Great Migration," but strangely it's about the movement of Puritans who sailed to Massachusetts Bay, not the migration of millions of African Americans from the rural South to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970. But the book does an adequate job covering the waves of European and Asian immigration during the 19th and 20th Centuries, particularly of Chinese, German, Irish, Polish, and Jewish immigrants.
P.S. Given recent news events, I searched for the term "Monroe Doctrine" in this little history, but I was amused to discover the term wasn't found. Not surprising as Davidson's book avoids discussion of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. The second Trump administration recently introduced a "Trump Corollary" to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine in its December 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS). This policy asserts the United States' intent to reestablish its preeminence in the Western Hemisphere with three threats requiring U.S. military response: drug trafficking, migration, and Chinese influence. In other words, gunboat diplomacy and neo-imperialism are back, which will only serve to prop up more right-wing, fascist Latin American governments.
May 14, 2020
Half or perhaps three-quarter stars should be an option. But alas, I’ll round up. Going through the history of the United States in 40 chapters isn’t easy. At least I wouldn’t think so but I’ve never tried.
Each chapter I found to be interesting and written in a manner that is engaging. Many well-known names and events are brought out and a few not so well-known, which I appreciated. Of course with the speed that the years are gone through there are some points that are undoubtedly left behind. He does mention this at the start, and again at the end.
There is no such thing as an unbiased view and I don’t think this writer would suggest he tried to present one. However, for the most part it felt that he attempted to present a little bit from both sides of the stories. One occasion that stands out though is the chapter which includes Reagan. He suggested that Reagan wasn’t much of a church goer. While it is true Reagan didn’t attend church while President (what about after?), his religious conviction is rarely doubted (not that he says this in the book). So why include that bit about not attending church? There are a few toss-ins such as that throughout the book.
I came away with the thinking that he is in favor of immigration, social service programs, and a supporter of global warming/climate change advocacy. In terms of a history book, it is alright.
Each chapter I found to be interesting and written in a manner that is engaging. Many well-known names and events are brought out and a few not so well-known, which I appreciated. Of course with the speed that the years are gone through there are some points that are undoubtedly left behind. He does mention this at the start, and again at the end.
There is no such thing as an unbiased view and I don’t think this writer would suggest he tried to present one. However, for the most part it felt that he attempted to present a little bit from both sides of the stories. One occasion that stands out though is the chapter which includes Reagan. He suggested that Reagan wasn’t much of a church goer. While it is true Reagan didn’t attend church while President (what about after?), his religious conviction is rarely doubted (not that he says this in the book). So why include that bit about not attending church? There are a few toss-ins such as that throughout the book.
I came away with the thinking that he is in favor of immigration, social service programs, and a supporter of global warming/climate change advocacy. In terms of a history book, it is alright.
July 4, 2021
"...or perhaps a beverage even more remarkable in that day, a glass of water shimmering with ice." pg. 125
Wow, this was definitely an interesting read. Typically, I'm not the biggest fan of nonfiction, but I really enjoyed this one. Instead of coming off as like a history textbook, it tells you almost the entire history of the U.S. in the voice of a storyteller. It gives you enough detail to understand what's being told with little touches of humor throughout without going on and on in exhausting detail like those textbooks we all hated in high school. I am officially a fan of A Little History and look forward to reading all of them.
Wow, this was definitely an interesting read. Typically, I'm not the biggest fan of nonfiction, but I really enjoyed this one. Instead of coming off as like a history textbook, it tells you almost the entire history of the U.S. in the voice of a storyteller. It gives you enough detail to understand what's being told with little touches of humor throughout without going on and on in exhausting detail like those textbooks we all hated in high school. I am officially a fan of A Little History and look forward to reading all of them.
April 22, 2021
This was a good high school level overview of American history. It is one book for all of American history, so it of course doesn't go into very far detail into any particular topic or period. For someone who doesn't read much history it was an easy read.
April 19, 2023
This whistle-stop, speedy tour through the history of the United States is informative for beginners and puts key elements of US history into the context of various international historical events. I regret, however, that I still couldn’t recount the presidents of the US in chronological order! My fault though - not the book’s!
August 12, 2025
A good overview of US History for younger folks who are unfamiliar. Unfortunately, it is hard to write about everything from the pre-Columbus era to modern day in just 300 pages.
A lot gets glossed over.
A lot gets glossed over.
October 18, 2025
Jakoś tak w podstawówce dotarło do mnie, że w USA nigdy nie było króla. Mówię ze zdziwieniem o tym "odkryciu" w domu - ej w Ameryce nigdy nie mieli króla. Na co mój tata - I co? Jakoś bardzo źle na tym wyszli? Książka w sposób skondensowany przedstawia historię Stanów Zjednoczonych. Pewnie dlatego miałam wrażenie, że pełno w niej okropnych, paskudnych rzeczy.
Biali Amerykanie uważając, że "każdy" ma prawo do życia, wolności i szczęścia, dążyli do tego nie zważając na nikogo i na nic. Bo przecież do "każdych" nie zaliczała się rdzenna ludność, ani Metysi ani Afroamerykanie.
Biali Amerykanie uważając, że "każdy" ma prawo do życia, wolności i szczęścia, dążyli do tego nie zważając na nikogo i na nic. Bo przecież do "każdych" nie zaliczała się rdzenna ludność, ani Metysi ani Afroamerykanie.
June 8, 2017
Really excellent book. Engaging and useful for filling in my very patchy knowledge of the Early Pilgrim Fathers, the War of Independence and the Civil War period.
July 8, 2022
This book is great if you ever missed or slept through US history in high school but obviously is rather brief in some of its descriptions of eras. Not a deep history dive but a good review
May 31, 2024
A fun read, giving you the whistle-stop tour through US history with some fresh perspectives.
February 10, 2025
It was fun and interesting (and easy to read) even though it just gave snippets of history.
November 11, 2024
A helpful and measured overview of US history for buffoons like me who get the War of Independence and the Civil War confused. It was good to finish reading a long view of American politics last week and reflect that blowhard populist presidents have been voted into power many times before, but so far they've always gone away again in the end.
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