Give Me Liberty!: An American History

by Eric Foner

The leading text in the U.S. survey course.

Give Me Liberty! is the #1 book in the U.S. history survey course because it works in the classroom. A single-author text by a leader in the field, Give Me Liberty! delivers an authoritative, accessible, concise, and integrated American history. Updated with powerful new scholarship on borderlands and the West, the Fifth Edition brings new interactive History Skills Tutorials and Norton InQuizitive for History, the award-winning adaptive quizzing tool. The best-selling Seagull Edition is also available in full color for the first time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, Textbooks, American History, Historical, Politics

1155 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2017

About the author

Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, where he earned his B.A. and Ph.D. In his teaching and scholarship, Foner focuses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, slavery, and nineteenth-century America. His Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877, won the Bancroft, Parkman, and Los Angeles Times Book prizes and remains the standard history of the period. His latest book published in 2010 is The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery.

In 2006 Foner received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia University. He has served as president of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Society of American Historians.

Reviews

[T.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Foner's high school/college textbook isn't perfect by any means, but it IS brilliant. Foner's central conceit--the idea that liberty is the cornerstone but rarely agreed upon idea of American history--is brilliant and erudite. Foner skillfully weaves together the idea of American freedom and teh fact that it meant many different things to many different people as it continuously evolved. Foner's biases are readily evident, particularly in his hostility toward political conservatism, but overall, it's an excellent book choice for American history students.

[ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT IS OVER
solid four stars
the history is boring
but foner, my man
thank you for torturing me over this past year- I mean thank you for this great experience
American history is boring though tbh
actually all history anyway
also if i don't take this ap exam I'm gonna cry cause all that effort
ON A BRIGHTER NOTE i have my last unit test in like half an hour :D
LET'S GO, WE'RE DONE

this is very cringy, I'm sorry

[oui oui · Rating 4 out of 5]

with all the pain this textbook has granted, it was actually kinda really funny at times (most of the credit has to go to us history being hilarious but still)

notable 10/10 laugh out loud moments

[Bush] called the three countries an “axis of evil,” even though no evidence connected them with the attacks of September 11 and they had never cooperated with one another (Iraq and Iran, in fact, had fought a long and bloody war in the 1980s)

The party also drew strength from an unprecedented incident in the halls of Congress. South Carolina representative Preston Brooks, wielding a gold-tipped cane, beat the antislavery senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts unconscious after Sumner delivered a denunciation of “The Crime against Kansas.” Many southerners applauded Brooks, sending him canes emblazoned with the words “Hit him again!”

"hamburger” became “liberty sandwich,” and “sauerkraut” “liberty cabbage.”

my favorite part of us history is the caning of charles sumner. changed my brain chemistry fr

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very elementary book – not middle school, perhaps, as I had originally feared, but at best (dumb) Undergraduates, As Foner himself indicates. (Though Foner leaves out the “dumb” part.)

That aside, it proved to be well-suited to my level of abysmal ignorance of 19th century American history. Hence, the four stars. Anyone who knows anything, on the other hand, shouldn’t waste their time with this.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot believe I am actually done with this. Phew! 980 pages of pure American history and how it relates to freedom and liberty. I would have prefered a dry factual and sequential account, but I am asking for too much. Overall, it is a very well researched and thoroughly edited textbook that encompasses different historical and cultural events and their impact on society.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made me want to cry and too long

[Daniela Picciuca · Rating 3 out of 5]

spice level 7/10

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A solid 2.5 rounded down.

A historical horror story about a country that just never seems to truly evolve.

(Or at least it is portrayed that way. Despite my own thoughts and feelings, it would be hard to argue that Foner isn’t at least a bit biased)

Decent use of primary sources. Some seem more relevant than others. The pictures unfortunately often feel random or just inserted in the wrong places (why not make sure the pictures actually relate to the text on the page?). The language is quite repetitive, which often makes the chapters feel much longer.

And I don’t think I ever want to see the word liberty again. They can have it over there.

[Andy V · Rating 3 out of 5]

never actually read it but i passed history 121 and 122‼️

[Louis Picone · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Give Me Liberty! An American History" is, put simply, amazing book. Mr. Foner does an excellent job relating the events in American history to past events to provide causation & precedent. Framed around the evolving themes of freedom & liberty, his book is thorough, balanced, easy to read, compelling, and provides valuable perspectives from all strata of American society. His use of primary sources is superb & help illuminate & personalize the text. While history becomes more & more complex in the twentieth century, Foner manages to cover the complexities through a compelling & easily understandable narrative. I teach history @ William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ & this book is an invaluable source for American history course pre & post Reconstruction. Thank you Mr. Foner & Seagull for this valuable addition to American history & I am proud to be the first to rate & review your fine work

[Mia Layer · Rating 4 out of 5]

ohhh foner...

how do explain this book or rate it.
APUSH, only those that take it will ever understand reading this textbook. it's a mix of like actually interesting stuff but a lot of tears, cramming and stressing. AHHAHH who knows how to explain it. anyways defs recommend taking apush if u are willing to spend a lot of time studying and reading a huge textbook, but if not a normal history course seems like a good option. probably not gonna end up taking my ap exam so thats kinda sad for all the worm i did, but i can say this much finishing this book is the most accomplishing THING.

anyways we did it. we did it ally. we finished foner and finished our last period test WOOHOO. i remember talking abt finishing at the beginning of the year and now we have made it. LESS GOOOOO!!! thank you foner for all the help :)

[Hang Nguyen]

idk how I would rate this textbook…. It has put me through too much pain and late nights

if I’m supposed to read 1000+ pages worth of non-fiction textbook, at least allow me to qualified my pain toward my goodreads goal

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Textbook, No Comment.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous middle/early high school history curriculum. Great resources and one of the lesser problematically colonist white/supremacist history texts I've seen.

[Andrew Calvert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually wanted to give it one star, but the book is pretty good. It's informative, comprehensive, and well-written, if a bit dry. But the book is incredibly biased. He likes to go into depth about topics that support his point of view but ignores important parts that conflict with what he wants to say. He regularly throws out political opinions and portrays them as undisputable facts (this becomes more and more obvious as you read, and towards the end, it is almost all opinions). Also, if you are looking for a generalized outline of American history, this isn't the best book for it, but if you are looking for a book on American history that's probably 80% about race, race relations, and the oppression of minorities by the US Gov and white people this is for you, as well as if you want to read something that paints the US as the intentional evil in every situation. I understand it's impossible for such a work to be unbiased, but I would have expected an academic with a Ph.D. to at least make an effort to control his bias which he obviously didn't.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a college textbook; you read it because you have to, not because you want to. I will say though, it had a lot of great detail and side stories, the pictures were nice and the time layout was good. But don’t recommend if your looking for a relaxing and alluring book, (unless you count relaxing as putting you to sleep).

[Nathan Kubeczko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a textbook, so it's a LOT of reading and can, at times, be incredibly dry. That being said, Foner writes with such care and detail and this is a really solid textbook from front to back. The included primary sources are fantastic as well. I've definitely read my fair share of bad textbooks, but comparatively this one is fantastic.

[Emma K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of textbooks in my day. This one wasn’t insufferable and was more or less coherent. Also there were pictures to resuscitate my dying brain as I read it. I like the part where they win the revolution. Sorry for spoiler but you should really know

[Alexis B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could burn it, but it’s a rental.

[Caitlin Michele]

Yep, this is a textbook. But I read it cover to cover for work this year so I’m counting it.

[kae · Rating 2 out of 5]

the only good part was the ending

[Noah · Rating 2 out of 5]

My history teacher made me read this.

[Carolyn Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reading but I checked this out of the library and I read so slow because there's a lot of details in the years covered. I'd like to own this book so I could take my time. Read to p. 131.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style wasn't boring, and I respect Eric Foner. However, APUSH put me through it.

[lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[em! · Rating 3 out of 5]

apush readings will be the death of me

[Dilnaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

APUSH 👎

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

accidentally said I read the wrong version previously. I finished this in early May and I think it is somewhat biased however does a great job at what it is intended to do, teach American history.

[Sam Gamgee · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first genuine deep experience with revisionist history

This was the required textbook in my Revised American History II course this semester. If one wants to read a cross-cutting perspective to what one would find in older writings, one can use this as a decent contrast of previously accepted history. The author does very little to hide a liberal bias and comfortably describes times of conservative control in the US as dark periods. One of the things that particularly surprised me about the history, was the overwhelming number of times the author stated that "one expert," "one historian," or , " one pick-your-job-title" said something. He doesn't say who he's quoting or referencing, so one reader cannot follow through. It happened so.often that I began to wonder whether I actually had to cite any sources at all in my papers, or if maybe I could just state that "one scientist" had said whatever perspective I'd like to advance, and be done with it. Particularly interesting to me were the periods of history that I either had experienced for myself, or had heard adults around me discuss and use as warning stories while I was a child. Fascinating to see it re-spun like the tale of how the Three little pigs were so cruel to that poor wolf. One point where the author is clearly out of his bounds though is in his following of Supreme Court decisions. Admittedly a confusing subject for the average lay-citizen, It baffled the author in the same ways. He completely missed how constitutional law or the court functions, and instead made it appear as almost a second legislative body with a political bias. So he was continuously at a loss when the court seemed to rule both for and against different positions in history. He couldn't see how it was because of how and whether the arguments made in the case appealed to the constitution and how logical they were, and instead made its sound very surprising that the court often seemed "reverse itself" or rule in ways against how the majority of justices were supposed to have been leaning on his estimate of their biases. All in all, interesting, but I don't recommend getting your history only from this one vendor.

[Claire Burbery · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read every single word in this 1131-page book. And I absolutely hated it. Maybe that’s just because it’s a textbook and that’s not exactly my idea of great book, but still, I did NOT enjoy it. If you’re wondering why the heck I even read it then, it’s because I had to for a class (unfortunately).
In terms of actual content, I don’t think it was that great, but again, maybe that’s because it’s a textbook. I will say, though, that there were several places where I was legitimately confused about what Foner was trying to say. He’s not always great at wording and I often had to read things more than once because I didn’t understand (not to mention the fact that it was incredibly mind-numbing).
One thing I will commend Foner for is the title of the book. Give me liberty was certainly an apt title as the word liberty or freedom was on each page at least once. Forget the 49 times Bill Clinton used the word freedom in his Second Inaugural Address (I guess I learned something then), how about the 1000+ times Foner wrote freedom in this book? I’ll tell you something else, though: by the end of it, I wanted the latter not the former option of “Give me liberty or give me death!”