Been There, Done That

by Greg Jackson

Professor Greg Jackson, podcast host of History That Doesn’t Suck, proves that while today’s political climate may be dark, these aren’t as unprecedented times as we may think.

Our nation’s past is full of massive upheaval, disagreement, and departures from the moral high ground. The political gentlemanly conduct of yesteryear is no more than a myth. But that reality never allowed our worst historical selves to defeat our better angels. In Been There, Done That, Greg looks back in time to eight examples from our nation’s history and shows that some of the hottest issues of our day are, in fact, American traditions that stand firmly beside another deeply American the will to push back on these demons, prevail, and overcome.

It may be 250 years since this country’s founding, but the playbook has remained mostly the same. From the Founding Father’s hyperpartisan print war of the 1790s, to the caning of Senator Charles Sumner in 1856, to the thoroughly corrupt presidential election of 1876, and all the way through the yellow journalism and print war of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randoph Hearst, you will recognize how familiar these stories are to our own supposedly unprecedented times.

Full of fascinating characters, page-turning narrative storytelling, and Greg’s characteristic humor, Been There, Done That will fill readers with hope for our future by showing us the warts of our past—only by knowing that our country has been here before, and prevailed toward a more just future, can we find the strength to rebound once more.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published June 16, 2026

Reviews

[Mitchell Streiff]

Informative and motivating. Book draws on 8 accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries that are rarely talked about - even at the advanced high school/undergraduate level. From these accounts, author suggests how we can draw inspiration from our history and do away with the doomsday sensationalism that is so prevalent in modern society. Conclusion provides realistic things we can do as “everyday Americans” to better our lives and the lives of our fellow citizens. All in all, fantastic book - exactly what I’d expect from the developer of such an amazing podcast. Thank you Dr. Jackson!

[Erin Murphy]

Definitely cool reading a book and getting to see the author talk about it live! Makes me think about what I might add to my US history course this year!!

[Tara Breuer]

Been There, Done That is a well‑timed book. We tend to think the political turmoil we’re living through is unprecedented, but what we don’t usually learn in a general American history class is that our politics have been far less than civil many times before. What we’re seeing now has happened in the past, maybe in a slightly different form, but with all the same drama.
The book is well written, especially for readers who appreciate sarcastic humor and can read between the lines with a wry side to it. It’s probably an easier read for the Blue team, but I can see the author genuinely trying to stay politically unbiased. The research is impressive, these are not incidents you will find in your basic history book, that is for sure! It definitely made me see some of the Founding Fathers, other politicians and individuals throughout time, through a different lens and remember that they were human too, some corrupt, some incompetent, some just plain nasty, with the same flaws the rest of us have.
The political information is precise, and there’s a lot of it. It’s an information‑heavy read, and the author doesn’t spare any details as he digs into historical examples to compare them to today’s drama. There’s a lot to learn and take away with the historical accounts well researched and very detailed. I found myself reading this book in sections, giving myself time to digest everything before moving on. I found myself putting it down for long periods of time before I would pick it back up. There are a lot of people to follow and I had to be in the right mindset to read this book, with all my attention focused on the topic. This is probably best read if you have a fairly good understanding of of the different positions in politics, how our election system runs and are genuinely interested in politics and history..
The amount of dysfunction in our history honestly surprised me. I had no idea how many corrupt, information‑bending, lying, deceitful and manipulative people we’ve had to endure in just 250 years. And I’m sure this book only scratches the surface. Still, the author does a great job connecting the dysfunction of the past to the dysfunction of the present, showing that maybe what we’re experiencing isn’t so unprecedented after all, just part of the ongoing messiness of a democratic government and a reminder of what we need to protect to remain one. Power certainly is corrupting and you can see it intimately in this book.
This is a great read for anyone who enjoys politics and history. It’s a slower, more thoughtful book because you really do need to pay attention to follow the details (and all the people), but it’s absolutely worth it. The research is thorough, and I learned so much about moments in our past that would’ve been hard to find all in one place. It helped me understand the times as though I had actually lived through them and he did a great job of relating them to our present. I finished this book with a whole new outlook on the politicians in the past, not really a good impressions either. Probably best if some of our politicians did not read this book to give them any other ideas on how they can behave.

This took me a long time to read but it is really well written and the right people are going to absolutly love this book and find the writing worth chuckling at with the sarcastic comments placed in the information, breaking up the information.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and the author for this ARC to read and review. The review is my own personal opinion of this book.

[Jeff]

Required Reading For Every American Who Thinks These Are Unprecedented Times. Yes, I mean exactly what I said in the title of this review. No matter your particular bent of what you think is so bad - election/ voting fraud, political violence, "fake news", whatever - Jackson does a tremendous job here of taking mostly examples even *I*, as studious of American History as I've been all my life, had either never or barely heard of and uses them to show, as Alex Wright's Empire Of Ink (releasing on the same day and covering the "wild and wooly" early history of newspapers in America, which has some bearing on some aspects of this tale as well) also does quite well, how "history doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme" (a quote misattributed to Mark Twain).

As James Morone's 2021 book Republic Of Wrath showed, political violence in the US is actually at a rather historical *low* point in this current era (thankfully), yes, even with the repeated attempted assassinations over the last couple of years of President Trump. Here, Jackson shows this quite well indeed, covering both Baltimore riots in 1812, Lincoln's assassination, the caning of Senator Charles Sumner in the leadup to the Civil War (which Robert W. Merry makes the central focus of his book Decade of Disunion), and more.

If you think voting irregularities - either "voter suppression" or "voter fraud" (both dog whistles to their respective sides that have been objectively shown to be minimal and not deterministic of outcomes in these last several years in particular) - are historically bad, Jackson shows you with several instances of mostly 19th century US history just how wrong you actually are, and how much worse things could actually be. (Though them getting as bad as they were in the age of the Internet as we currently know it - which could be changing if the US and other governments begin implementing planned age and identity verification restrictions - seems quite a long shot indeed, as Jackson shows here.)

If you think "fake news" is historically bad, again, Jackson uses the early days of corporate newspapers - where Wright's Empire Of Ink ends its own tale - to show you just how wrong you actually are, and again, how the open Internet actually helps make the truth more readily accessible to anyone who chooses to seek it out.

In the end, this is a book designed for exactly one purpose: to use largely forgotten and certainly rarely if ever taught even at the collegiate US History major levels American history to show that the times we are currently in are in fact not unprecedented. Yes, they are bad - Jackson takes pains to never actually minimize current struggles at all. But in showing how we have survived times that are *so much worse*, Jackson ultimately gives us all - even the most pessimistic among us - at least a modicum of hope that the naysayers and doomseekers are in fact completely wrong, both about our past and about our future. Combined with the wave of European tourism for the World Cup taking over social media and showing Americans just how good and awesome our nation actually is relative to the rest of the world today that is ongoing as this book finally reaches publication (in a great bit of fortuitous, to a degree, timing), this really is one of the better, more optimistic books to be reading particularly in its initial release days just ahead of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Very much recommended.

[Kyle]

I will start by noting I read an advanced copy I received on an event you wouldn't be part of if you weren't already fans of Greg Jackson's podcast and history work. So take that into account for any biases - I'm trying to be more transparent than our founders in chapter one of this book and media titans in chapter eight. Though really, that is a low bar to clear.

Jackson's goal here is to show that the troubles and anxieties we face as a society are not new to this country but in fact part of our fabric. To do that, he highlights stories from the first half of our country's existence (that is intentional to illustrate how "not new" these problems are) when America was at some of its lowest.

Regardless where folks land on his premise, and I'll touch on that soon, this books is good history that is written in an accessible manner. It's very thorough but in a way that Prof. Jackson doesn't let you get bogged down in the details. It's easy to read, which is not always the case with detailed history for sure, and often witty/funny when appropriate. (His sense of humor and witticisms is always going to be a YMMV thing, but it wasn't try hard and helped smooth out the read of history of bumpy times.) To a point, this is the type of history I enjoy reading - accessible, knowledgable, and sometimes obscure yet unbelievable. (In that sense, it somewhat reminds me of Candice Millard, a favorite of mine.)

Back to that premise that threads the separate stories. I'll note that Jackson never says "We'll be fine" or "It's not that bad." He makes sure to acknowledge that these are difficult times. Without getting too deep into his reasoning (as close to a spoiler a non-fiction could be), it's more scientific - or at least politically scientific. It's an explanation that our founders and framers understood that factionalism is a side effect of liberty and how they crafted the government to help mitigate that. That's not to mean we can sit back and relax. Greg explains the work that we need to do to ensure we earn the government we want. And as an FYI to what you're getting, these arguments are maybe 30% of the book - it's more history of our country than discussing now by far.

There are things this book doesn't cover that it probably could have such the influence of unchecked money in politics, but it certainly accomplishes what it sets out to explaining a historically sound message which is optimistic, if citizenry is willing to do the work. And even if you are left thinking that today is still a unicorn of a time, you're still left with thorough, well-written, entertaining history.

[Christopher Benfer]

The book is essentially a response to the recent fractures in American politics. Whichever side you are on, I don't think it is particularly debatable that things feel very different than they did in recent memory. This book takes a look through history and examines some of today's themes and shows that most of what we're experiencing isn't new.

The author, Greg Jackson, is a history professor who hosts the "History That Doesn't Suck" podcast, which I listen to regularly. I just picked it up a few months ago so I'm just past the Civil War, but if you are interested in American history I highly recommend it.

For the book itself, for each chapter Jackson takes a particular theme, goes back to a time in American history where that theme was also present, and in the manner of his podcast essentially tells a story. It is a very engaging format, and even if you don't have a lot of background he supplies the needed background to make the story make sense.

I'm not going to spoil the book itself, but the themes include general partisanship (illustrated by Hamilton and Jefferson sniping back and forth in the media) and fake news (as shown by the early 1900's "yellow journalism). Each chapter tells a story of how what we're dealing with isn't necessarily new, and in fact was often much worse.

Jackson ends on a positive note, saying that essentially we've overcome these things in the past so we should be optimistic about the future. I think the message is valid, although I will point out that for the most part he had to go back to the 1800's to find similar stories, and many of them happened in the lead up to or immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Not exactly history we want to repeat. With that said, I suppose the fact that we dealt with these things that long ago and it took a long time to repeat suggests that maybe we've actually gotten pretty good at the whole democracy thing and that the last few years are more of a blip than a trend. We'll see.

The book is written very well and is intended for a mass audience. It is a very easy reading book, and it is something I think many people would enjoy. Even if the overall theme isn't something you are interested in, the stories are worth hearing about all on their own. I'd definitely recommend this one.

[Jenny Elle]

I am a huge fan of the History That Doesn’t Suck podcast, so when I heard Professor Greg Jackson had written a book, I knew I had to read it. Then I found out the audiobook was self-narrated, and I immediately grabbed the audio version instead. And oh boy, am I glad I did.

The book itself feels like one big episode of the podcast. Each chapter takes a comprehensive look at a defining moment in American history before tying it back to modern American politics. Covering topics such as the Baltimore riots of 1812, the caning of Senator Charles Sumner, the rise of yellow journalism, and the assassination of President Lincoln, Professor Jackson gives readers all of the important information without getting bogged down in the minutiae.

You could always argue that more detail could have been added, and while that’s true, I never felt like I was missing anything important. Jackson hits all of the essential points while keeping the material entertaining and accessible. He does an especially good job showing that issues like voter fraud claims, misinformation, and political division are not uniquely modern problems. They are recurring themes throughout American history.

I also appreciated how balanced the book felt. Rather than viewing history through a modern partisan lens, Jackson presents events in context and allows readers to draw their own conclusions. The book ultimately ends with a call to action, encouraging Americans to become involved in local politics and civic life. His argument is that if we want better government, we have to be willing to participate in it.

Honestly, I think this book should be required reading in history classes. I can only imagine how entertaining Professor Jackson’s college lectures must be. This was an informative, engaging, and genuinely enjoyable read, and I can’t wait to see what he writes next.

[Gilles Gentley]

Been There, Done That: How Our History Shows What We Can Overcome by Greg Jackson

As a big fan of History That Doesn’t Suck (HTDS) and Professor Greg Jackson, I was excited to pick up his new book Been There, Done That. And it delivers exactly what you’d hope for from the Prof—smart, engaging storytelling that connects America’s messy past to our chaotic present.

Jackson takes us through eight key episodes in U.S. history, showing how today’s hot-button issues like political violence, fake news, contested elections, and partisan warfare are far from unprecedented. If you’re already a listener of the podcast, you’ll recognize that signature style: vivid narratives, sharp insights, and a reassuring reminder that we’ve faced (and overcome) this kind of turmoil before. The stories are fresh and not rehashed from the show, which I appreciated.

That said, reading it is a slightly different experience than listening. You’ll miss the dramatic delivery, the background music swells, and the ability to rewind. So here’s my tip: throw on some classic instrumental or period-appropriate music in the background, and you’ll still get transported right into the moments he describes. It really enhances the vibe.

Overall, it’s a good, hopeful read. The core message—that we’ve “been there, done that” before and can push through again—lands well, especially in divisive times. It’s not quite the same rush as a full HTDS episode, but it’s thoughtful, well-researched, and worth your time. If you’re a history buff, podcast fan, or just someone looking for perspective on the present, I’d definitely recommend it. We’ve overcome worse—Professor Jackson reminds us why that matters. 🇺🇸

[Tawney]

The tensions of opposing beliefs or factionalism have been with us since before the founding of the United States. The ebbs and flows are cyclic, but so far no one faction has held complete control for long. Greg Jackson shows that the disputes can get ugly, even murderous. Corruption, fraud, fake news, vigilantism. Jackson has examples from our history of all these showing that today's events aren't unique. As he says "That isn’t to say Lady Liberty is not a bit worse for wear of late, but rather that she’s made of sterner stuff than many of us realize. " He champions an informed and active citizenry to rebalance our goals and methods of striving for them. The book presents the various reasons and variety of ways this has worked so far.
This is well written and an interesting read. The examples are well chosen and sometimes stunning. I took off one star because of his style of calling major players by their first names. My irritation with that affectation lasted throughout the book. If it won't bother you, this is a five star book.
I received a digital advanced copy of this book compliments of Simon & Schuster and NetGalley.

[Casey]

This is an excellent book for those who are not students of American History. The author presents several events that are as traumatic or even more traumatic as we are currently experiencing. What it points out to me is that with the advent of the internet and social media is that it is much easier to create fake news geared to specific audiences that it has been in the past. As with the author, I am hopeful that we can overcome the current situation, although it will take years to achieve.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

[Chris]

This review is coming from someone who has also been a fan of "History That Doesn't Suck," the podcast created by Professor Jackson, from the beginning. This book was a great journey of different examples from our past history that contradicts the present thought of "times have never been more divided!" or "Things have never been worse for our country!" From The 18th century through the 19th, with some more modern examples, this book helps us understand that the political divide we experience today, has manifested itself l, throughout the history of the Unoted States, from its inception. If you are a fan of the HTDS podcast, then you will most definitely be a fan of this book!

[Megan Korcal]

If you enjoy history, government, politics or just a good time. This is the book for you. It is exceptionally researched, as well as written.

As a political science instructor its easy to follow and nicely outlines examples of modern issues and correlating historical examples, in which makes for great thought, as well as bringing awareness of just how well (despite a lot of media an outrage over last decade or so) we actually have it, and that America is not at its lowest, but is still thriving.

[Brad]

Professor Gregory Jackson does a masterful job of using 8 different episodes in 19th century history (which doesn’t include the American Civil War) to illustrate how Americans were able to overcome these challenges. It provides some important perspective on our current political environment. Enough leaders and common people, we hope, still believe in the American ideal of liberal democracy to keep it going for another 250 years.

[Matthew Gilliland]

The premise is great.

These aren't unprecedented times. We have been through this and maybe worse before and come out the other side.

Some of the back ground information on the events was really cool especially the section on Yellow Journalism, but many of the sections felt bloated and slow. This book could have been about 20 pages shorter and it would have still delivered the information.

Overall a positive outlook on the worst of times.

[Mike]

This book was just as informative and entertaining as that author's "History that Doesn't Suck" podcast. Beyond being an uplifting and reassuring view of our current state of affairs, the stories were all engaging. Greg Jackson introduced new stories (e.g. the contested election of 1876) to me and added depth to the events that were already familiar to me (e.g. the Caning of Sumner). A must read for anyone concerned with today's politically charged environment.

[Alec Georgoff]

I largely enjoyed the stories that the author focuses on and I think it's useful to remember that the United States has been through many crises in its past. I had to knock off a star because of the author's insistence on using nicknames for historical figures. Trying to read a chapter about "TJ" (Thomas Jefferson) and "Alex" (Alexander Hamilton) was honestly really distracting...

[Kate C]

Great insight into past times where US has entered “unprecedented times” politically. It was very informative and well rounded. Reminders that past politicians that people idolize were seriously flawed and not one came out of this book unscathed

[Phyllis]

Absolutely worth the read

This is one of the best things I've read in a very long time. It's so educational and put in a way anyone can understand. Thanks for reminding me that I can help facilitate change.

[Elizabeth]

As seen in the July/August People’s Book newsletter.

[Scott]

Overall excellent. The introduction, Chapter 1, and the conclusion were the highlights.

[Gwyn]

Wasn’t in the mood.

[Jeff Whitlock]

If you’re a fan of the podcast, you’ll love the book.

The stories are well told with intricate, fun details.

The overall message helpful and needed.

[Trever Alfonso]

I’ll gladly read or listen to anything Prof. Greg Jackson does! Well done.

[Ethan Lowery]

Excellently written. Reminds us that our "distant" history is perhaps not so "distant" after all

[Reader]

Excellent read that helps to give context to today’s political “discourse” by comparing it to other situations in American History.

[Michael Harrelson]

4.3 stars

This was actually quite a fun and interesting read.

[Kevin M]

A lot of good information. However, some of the chapters seem to run on longer than they need to.

[Karen]

In our current divisive culture, in which we constantly think "It's never been so bad," history professor and podcaster Greg Jackson's book "Been There, Done That" is like a welcome shot of optimism.

Using 8 examples from U. S. history, Jackson reminds us that many of our current problems - - from extreme partisanship and political violence to corrupt elections and fake news - - are in fact not new. We have experienced them many times before and have managed to overcome them.

. . . while the technology has changed, much of what we're facing has happened before in one form or another; we as a people just don't remember it.

Jackson even argues that partisanship is actually a sign that our political system is working the way the Founding Fathers intended it to. After all, if we lived under a dictatorship or totalitarian government, we wouldn't have the freedom to take sides. The key to liberal democracy, according to Jackson, is controlling the effects of partisanship, a concept first put forward by James Madison.

While no system can guarantee a society free from political violence or any other ills, fully functional liberal democracies get as close as possible by guaranteeing their citizens the liberty needed to choose a nonviolent path and the ability to self-correct when they find themselves on the wrong road.

Jackson also believes that in the end, the people -- the individual citizens of the United States -- are the key to that self-correction by exercising their power to vote.

. . . in a liberal democracy, this control rests solely with the people themselves. . . Americans still h(old) that power that punches harder than any other in our constitutional republic: the vote. . . . I believe that voting is the Republic's greatest tool for self-correction and improvement. It is not a promise that we get things right every time. But it is the ultimate reset button.

Half a star removed for the author's frequent habit of referring to the political players in his narrative by their first names, nicknames, or initials — G.W. (George Washington), Tom (Thomas Jefferson), Alex (ander Hamilton), Andy (Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson), Little Jemmy (James Madison), Willie or Billy Buster (William Randolph Hearst), etc. etc.

He probably did this to make these historic figures seem more accessible ("See, they're just like us!") but I found it a little grating.

But otherwise, an excellent read for our nation's 250th anniversary.