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Landmark Giant #21
The Landmark History of the American People, 2 Volumes
This history of the United States chronicles the spirit, ingenuity, and accomplishments of American men and women, from the earliest pioneers to the present
412 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
Daniel J. Boorstin
128 books387 followersDaniel 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 11, 2024
As I said about the first volume in this series, this book does a good job of making History more interesting to learn about.
August 5, 2019
We have read through the first half of this book as a spine for our United States History year 1. As a textbook, it has lots of great illustrations and covers a very broad variety of topics very well. Adds in some details on subjects that you don't hear much about. It is hard to rate is as a book that you would just sit down and read, because you don't. You use it as a resource.
Updated for second half of the book. Still useful as a spine of the second half of American History.
Reads almost like a storyteller.
Updated for second half of the book. Still useful as a spine of the second half of American History.
Reads almost like a storyteller.
October 23, 2019
Spines for our American History in the Bookshark program (for 9-12 year olds). Well written, packed with fascinating information in an easy to understand, but never condescending tone. I sure learned a lot too!
April 27, 2019
Sometimes boring
But over all 👍
But over all 👍
March 16, 2021
We used this for my daughter's 4th grade curriculum. Great timeline and photographs.
March 13, 2017
A more in depth coverage of America's history, yet reads like a textbook so can get tedious and boring for children. I thought it was fascinating.
March 18, 2009
Used this for Sonlight Core 3+4 and currently using in Core 3 with dc's.
Hard to say--not exactly exciting, but not as dry as other texts I've read. Definitely written from a mid-60's viewpoint (use of the term "Negro"). My kids learned from it, but weren't generally enthused by it. They get a lot more out of historical fiction or non-fiction stories.
Boorstin sometimes takes a bit too much on himself to explain history, in my opinion. Sometimes the "why" is debatable, so stick to reporting facts...
Hard to say--not exactly exciting, but not as dry as other texts I've read. Definitely written from a mid-60's viewpoint (use of the term "Negro"). My kids learned from it, but weren't generally enthused by it. They get a lot more out of historical fiction or non-fiction stories.
Boorstin sometimes takes a bit too much on himself to explain history, in my opinion. Sometimes the "why" is debatable, so stick to reporting facts...
March 19, 2008
Very effective and thorough history for adults... my children found it boring.
September 20, 2011
Well-written history.
November 2, 2011
After reading this twice, I now have a lot more "eccentric" information about the history of the USA. Interesting, indeed.
April 30, 2014
Excellent 2-volume set, and the revised edition is a significant improvement over the first. Nice color pictures too.
April 25, 2015
A decent overview of American History.
May 2, 2009
I liked this book, but it too looooong time to read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews