The Landmark History of the American People From Charleston to the Moon Vol II

by Daniel J. Boorstin, Ruth Frankel Boorstin

A fascinating introduction to American culture as it has shaped and been shaped by events from the Civil War to the late 20th century. Written by the former Librarian of Congress. NEW full-color edition, completed revised for readability. Now includes timelines, maps and more than twice the illustrations. Oversized.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Childrens, School

254 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2013

About the author

Daniel Joseph Boorstin was a historian, professor, attorney, and writer. He was appointed twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 until 1987.

He graduated from Tulsa's Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the age of 15. He graduated with highest honors from Harvard, studied at Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and earned his PhD at Yale University. He was a lawyer and a university professor at the University of Chicago for 25 years. He also served as director of the National Museum of History and Technology of the Smithsonian Institution.

His The Americans The Democratic Experience received the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in history.

Within the discipline of social theory, Boorstin’s 1961 book The Image A Guide to Pseudo-events in America is an early description of aspects of American life that were later termed hyperreality and postmodernity. In The Image, Boorstin describes shifts in American culture—mainly due to advertising—where the reproduction or simulation of an event becomes more important or "real" than the event itself. He goes on to coin the term pseudo-event which describes events or activities that serve little to no purpose other than to be reproduced through advertisements or other forms of publicity. The idea of pseudo-events closely mirrors work later done by Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord. The work is still often used as a text in American sociology courses.

When President Gerald Ford nominated Boorstin to be Librarian of Congress, the nomination was supported by the Authors League of America but opposed by the American Library Association because Boorstin "was not a library administrator." The Senate confirmed the nomination without debate.

Boorstin died in 2004 in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Melissa Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This particular book is the second half of a two book set. The original was published in 1968 and written by Daniel Boorstin, who was a historian and librarian of Congress, along with his wife Ruth. In 2013, it was revised with color photos/illustrations, a timeline was added, and it was split into two volumes. I don't normally care for revised books. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this set! I read it aloud to my son (age 10-12) over the course of two years using the Sonlight curriculum.

The Landmark History of the American People covers a wide variety of topics over the course of the American experience and focuses on social issues of the people more than some other history texts. I actually learned a great deal about the why behind the scenes of the shaping of America. Sonlight recommends this set for ages 9-13 over two years. However, there is plenty of solid information there that could be use over the course of a year for high school.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to review a history textbook, since history textbooks are not really my thing. Three stars feels about right as far as my reading preferences go. But three stars feels like too little for a decidedly better than average history book for elementary schoolers. It was not dry as dust; the kids remained interested throughout. It does a great job of locating individual historical events inside larger cultural trends. It's realistic about American faults but also more optimistic than I'm used to about its strengths. It's a little light on World War history, so we supplemented with the Usborne World Wars books.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to kids over a school year. It was engaging and prompted lots of interesting conversations, especially with my 13yo. I found the jumping around on the timeline a little distracting, but overall it was a successful read for looking at the last century.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good resource for more recent history (but now a few decades short of present). Enjoyable storytelling type voice.

[Bryan Spahr]

read for school in 4th grade