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Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story
We have a glut of text and trade books on American history. But what we don't have is a compact, inexpensive, authoritative, and compulsively readable book that will offer to intelligent young Americans a coherent, persuasive, and inspiring narrative of their own country. Such an account will shape and deepen their sense of the land they inhabit, and by making them understand that land's roots, will equip them for the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in American society, and provide them with a vivid and enduring sense of membership in one of the greatest enterprises in human the exciting, perilous, and immensely consequential story of their own country.
The existing texts simply fail to tell that story with energy and conviction. They are more likely to reflect the skeptical outlook of specialized professional academic historians, an outlook that supports a fragmented and fractured view of modern American society, and that fails to convey to young people the greater arc of that history. Or they reflect the outlook of radical critics of American society, who seek to debunk the standard American narrative, and has had an enormous, and largely negative, upon the teaching of American history in American high schools and colleges.
This state of affairs cannot continue for long without producing serious consequences. A great nation needs and deserves a great and coherent narrative, as an expression of its own self-understanding; and it needs to convey that narrative to its young effectively. It perhaps goes without saying that such a narrative cannot be a fairy tale or a whitewash of the past; it will not be convincing if it is not truthful. But there is no necessary contradiction between an honest account and an inspiring one. This account seeks to provide both.
The existing texts simply fail to tell that story with energy and conviction. They are more likely to reflect the skeptical outlook of specialized professional academic historians, an outlook that supports a fragmented and fractured view of modern American society, and that fails to convey to young people the greater arc of that history. Or they reflect the outlook of radical critics of American society, who seek to debunk the standard American narrative, and has had an enormous, and largely negative, upon the teaching of American history in American high schools and colleges.
This state of affairs cannot continue for long without producing serious consequences. A great nation needs and deserves a great and coherent narrative, as an expression of its own self-understanding; and it needs to convey that narrative to its young effectively. It perhaps goes without saying that such a narrative cannot be a fairy tale or a whitewash of the past; it will not be convincing if it is not truthful. But there is no necessary contradiction between an honest account and an inspiring one. This account seeks to provide both.
469 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2019
795 people are currently reading
2200 people want to read
About the author
Wilfred M. McClay
36 books45 followersWilfred M. McClay is the G. T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma, and the Director of the Center for the History of Liberty. His book The Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America was awarded the Merle Curti Award of the Organization of American Historians for the best book in American intellectual history. Among his other books are The Student’s Guide to U.S. History, Religion Returns to the Public Square: Faith and Policy in America, Figures in the Carpet: Finding the Human Person in the American Past, Why Place Matters: Geography, Identity, and Public Life in Modern America, and Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story.
Prof. McClay served on the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities, for eleven years. He is a member of the U.S. Commission on the Semi-quincentennial, which has been charged with planning the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026. He has been the recipient of fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Academy of Education. He is a graduate of St. John’s College (Annapolis) and received his PhD in History from the Johns Hopkins University.
Prof. McClay served on the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities, for eleven years. He is a member of the U.S. Commission on the Semi-quincentennial, which has been charged with planning the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026. He has been the recipient of fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Academy of Education. He is a graduate of St. John’s College (Annapolis) and received his PhD in History from the Johns Hopkins University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
August 19, 2025
I listened to this in preparation for interviewing the author on The New Mason Jar. I can now see why Dawn Duran, my co-host, loves it so much. This is a reasoned patriotism and balanced look at American history, extremely readable to boot!
February 1, 2021
I sat down to this book, thinking it would basically be the nerdy, non-fictional book equivalent of watching Hamilton, the musical; in both cases, I kind of expect that the real hopes and dreams and aspirations of the original historical actors are not as important as the narrative, with the additional conservative impulse to identify where things went right (the Constitution! the revolution! capitalism) and wrong (Lincoln! FDF! War on Poverty!) Instead I fell in love with the book.
It still kind of is the same thing as the non-fiction equivalent of watching Hamilton, since for me much of this book was already familiar and so it's essentially like watching a movie, except the movie is about the entire history of America. I basically read it in three or four sittings and it gripped me all the way through. We really do have an almost operatic history: the Revolution, the Constitution, the fight between the Federalists and Republicans, the Triumvirate of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster and their compromises, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the Progressives, the wicked witch of the West Woodrow Wilson, FDR, World War II, the Cold War, and Civil Rights--what a great story we have, and it all happens in just less than 250 years.
The thing that made me fall in love with McClay's version of it is two things: 1) he has no axe to grind. He takes positions alright, on eugenics and the national debt, for instance, but he clearly admires people from both sides of the aisle and gives both the limited government and the federalists (including Lincoln) a fair shake. He rarely makes you feel indignation and he rightly notes that this is not really historians' jobs. 2) He points out the trickiness of causation and narrative: in his discussion of the roaring twenties he points out that the Prohibition Amendment and the Great Gatsby were both part of the story of the decade. When he talks about the forces of industrialism or economics, you feel like there are lots of ambiguities in what may or may not be causing events. For instance, the Great Depression clearly had some things caused by FDR, and McClay lets you know, but more often he presents different historians' theories about what caused this or that. One of Russell Kirk's better observations is that Edmund Burke and Alexander Hamilton and others had no clue what industrialism would do to their nation, and so their constitution faced the enormous challenge of having to deal with a nation that was economically and socially completely different from what it was initially. Indeed, McClay points out that after Lincoln, politicians diminished in importance as big business ran the country.
So this is a great book and probably the best substitute to reading the Oxford History of the United States (which McClay draws from). Also, just one more thing to tempt you: Wilfred M. McClay is a Christian who used to read Credenda/Agenda magazine back in the day, and yet secular historian Gordon S. Wood (contributor to aforementioned Oxford History) endorsed this book! That was one reason I decided to buy this book on kindle.
In the end, McClay makes an impassioned argument that the last three presidents have not overcome the extremely partisan political scene (his recent historical analysis is fun but time will tell) and that we need to grapple with what America has been and with how it can deal with the next problems through genuine patriotism. This presents people like me torn. Honestly, for me America is so big and so fractured and impersonal that it's hard to connect my Christian life or my day-to-day life with patriotism. There is very little benefit to patriotism, spiritually or morally, from my current standpoint.
On the other hand, my great-grandfather was a colonel in the US army and his father knew Patton, Marshall, and other big WWII names. My dad was in the navy, too, and anyone can recognize that a nation that cannot whip up enough belief and emotional fervor for its citizens to fight in its defense is a nation that is in trouble. And I don't want America to go down right now: the Gospel is actually being preached and exported, despite Evangelical money-love and sensationalism, to the globe. I have a friend who wants to translate the Bible into one of the languages of Papua New Guinea. So, as McClay advises, this is something to struggle through.
McClay says that we are not only a nation without fathers, but a nation without grandfathers. This book is an invitation to meet our grandfathers and their grandfathers and their grandfathers and to see their visions and dreams and how those dreams often failed. McClay perhaps sees more success than I do, but you will be exposed to those dreams if you read this book. It's probably not suitable for high school students (even I would probably have been bored by it at that age and I was already a nerd), but it's perfect for an adult wanting a history book that goes just a little more in depth than you have heard the story before. Read it and enjoy the opera.
It still kind of is the same thing as the non-fiction equivalent of watching Hamilton, since for me much of this book was already familiar and so it's essentially like watching a movie, except the movie is about the entire history of America. I basically read it in three or four sittings and it gripped me all the way through. We really do have an almost operatic history: the Revolution, the Constitution, the fight between the Federalists and Republicans, the Triumvirate of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster and their compromises, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the Progressives, the wicked witch of the West Woodrow Wilson, FDR, World War II, the Cold War, and Civil Rights--what a great story we have, and it all happens in just less than 250 years.
The thing that made me fall in love with McClay's version of it is two things: 1) he has no axe to grind. He takes positions alright, on eugenics and the national debt, for instance, but he clearly admires people from both sides of the aisle and gives both the limited government and the federalists (including Lincoln) a fair shake. He rarely makes you feel indignation and he rightly notes that this is not really historians' jobs. 2) He points out the trickiness of causation and narrative: in his discussion of the roaring twenties he points out that the Prohibition Amendment and the Great Gatsby were both part of the story of the decade. When he talks about the forces of industrialism or economics, you feel like there are lots of ambiguities in what may or may not be causing events. For instance, the Great Depression clearly had some things caused by FDR, and McClay lets you know, but more often he presents different historians' theories about what caused this or that. One of Russell Kirk's better observations is that Edmund Burke and Alexander Hamilton and others had no clue what industrialism would do to their nation, and so their constitution faced the enormous challenge of having to deal with a nation that was economically and socially completely different from what it was initially. Indeed, McClay points out that after Lincoln, politicians diminished in importance as big business ran the country.
So this is a great book and probably the best substitute to reading the Oxford History of the United States (which McClay draws from). Also, just one more thing to tempt you: Wilfred M. McClay is a Christian who used to read Credenda/Agenda magazine back in the day, and yet secular historian Gordon S. Wood (contributor to aforementioned Oxford History) endorsed this book! That was one reason I decided to buy this book on kindle.
In the end, McClay makes an impassioned argument that the last three presidents have not overcome the extremely partisan political scene (his recent historical analysis is fun but time will tell) and that we need to grapple with what America has been and with how it can deal with the next problems through genuine patriotism. This presents people like me torn. Honestly, for me America is so big and so fractured and impersonal that it's hard to connect my Christian life or my day-to-day life with patriotism. There is very little benefit to patriotism, spiritually or morally, from my current standpoint.
On the other hand, my great-grandfather was a colonel in the US army and his father knew Patton, Marshall, and other big WWII names. My dad was in the navy, too, and anyone can recognize that a nation that cannot whip up enough belief and emotional fervor for its citizens to fight in its defense is a nation that is in trouble. And I don't want America to go down right now: the Gospel is actually being preached and exported, despite Evangelical money-love and sensationalism, to the globe. I have a friend who wants to translate the Bible into one of the languages of Papua New Guinea. So, as McClay advises, this is something to struggle through.
McClay says that we are not only a nation without fathers, but a nation without grandfathers. This book is an invitation to meet our grandfathers and their grandfathers and their grandfathers and to see their visions and dreams and how those dreams often failed. McClay perhaps sees more success than I do, but you will be exposed to those dreams if you read this book. It's probably not suitable for high school students (even I would probably have been bored by it at that age and I was already a nerd), but it's perfect for an adult wanting a history book that goes just a little more in depth than you have heard the story before. Read it and enjoy the opera.
June 3, 2019
I'd give the book 10 stars if I could. It's the best general history of this country I could imagine being written in a single volume, and is certainly the best I have ever read.
March 30, 2020
Land of Hope is refreshing, a narrative history that doesn't try to cover everything, but tries to tell the whole American story. Rather than being a jingoistic title, "Land of Hope" is a nuanced take that acknowledges the good intentions behind so much of American history while also illustrating its challenges. As McClay asserts early on, precisely because America has been a land of hope, it has also been a land of disappointment. Too often, from Jackson's Indian Removal to the repetitive compromises that allowed slavery to grow to the present day, Americans have failed to live up to their land's ideals. However, it is precisely that struggle which means we should celebrate America. For every Jackson and Indian Removal there was Congressman Davy Crockett and Chief Justice John Marshall fighting back. For every defender of slavery, there was an abolitionist movement that eventually sacrificed the tranquility of the Union in order to eliminate it.
This book would make an excellent introduction to American history for anyone, particularly a high school student.
McClay himself acknowledges it is harder to objectively write history that is close in time. McClay, joins the movement of many scholars of the 2000s and 2010s, by revising the critical assessment of Eisenhower's presidency and instead paints him as a masterful, but behind-the-scenes, politician. Personally, I find McClay's take on both LBJ and Nixon to be overly charitable, but McClay goes out of his way to say the historical assessment of both men is still in flux as we are continuing to watch the results of their policies unfold today.
This book would make an excellent introduction to American history for anyone, particularly a high school student.
McClay himself acknowledges it is harder to objectively write history that is close in time. McClay, joins the movement of many scholars of the 2000s and 2010s, by revising the critical assessment of Eisenhower's presidency and instead paints him as a masterful, but behind-the-scenes, politician. Personally, I find McClay's take on both LBJ and Nixon to be overly charitable, but McClay goes out of his way to say the historical assessment of both men is still in flux as we are continuing to watch the results of their policies unfold today.
December 26, 2022
4.8 Stars - Top Reads of 2022
Wilfred M. McClay's "Land of Hope" is a masterpiece of American history that is accessible, sprawling, objective, and hope-filled. McClay's purpose in this book was to write a non-academic and accessible survey of American history that was objective, and he greatly succeeds at this task. McClay shows that American history is full of glorious good but also dark spots of evil. But particularly that America is a nation of hope, and even though Americans throughout history have imperfectly followed the ideals of liberal democracy, those ideals are what make America an incredible place to live in.
McClay begins his history in the European imagination of the 15th century. He sheds incredible light on America as a place of hope by showing us how America grew out of the faults, revolutions and new ideas of Europe. America was seen as a place where new ideas could flourish, where freedom could be found from oppression, and where new economic wealth could be found. From there McClay shows how the nation grew from the Revolution to Western Expansion, to the Civil War, to the Industrial Revolution, to Two World Wars and its status as a modern super-power. Throughout its history, McClay skillfully shows how American leaders, poets, businessmen and soldiers wrestled with the ideals of American democracy, and how the ideals surrounding "what it means to be an American" changed.
The strengths of this books are many. First, McClay writes in an incredibly accessible and understandable style. He is able to communicate complex historical events in clear and concise sections. Second, McClay has offered one of the most objective and sober-minded American history surveys in quite some time. Much of the current scene in American history is deconstructionist, post-colonialist, and tribalist - and McClay is able to transcend all the controversy around American history and offer balanced view of all the good and bad of America. Last, I greatly appreciated McClay's closing application concerning Patriotism. It is good and right to love one's country and this do not necessary exclude one from criticizing one's country; because loving something means you want it to be better. But at the same time, we cannot forge a better tomorrow for America if we do not have a shared history of experiences. The current postmodern society is seeking to tear apart American history, but without those shared experiences we can no longer function as a nation, united. Thus, McClay's book is a compelling defense of American history and it's power to unite a divided nation through shared experiences and values.
Overall, I loved this book and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a helpful survey of American history! Read it and you may find that you love being an American again.
Wilfred M. McClay's "Land of Hope" is a masterpiece of American history that is accessible, sprawling, objective, and hope-filled. McClay's purpose in this book was to write a non-academic and accessible survey of American history that was objective, and he greatly succeeds at this task. McClay shows that American history is full of glorious good but also dark spots of evil. But particularly that America is a nation of hope, and even though Americans throughout history have imperfectly followed the ideals of liberal democracy, those ideals are what make America an incredible place to live in.
McClay begins his history in the European imagination of the 15th century. He sheds incredible light on America as a place of hope by showing us how America grew out of the faults, revolutions and new ideas of Europe. America was seen as a place where new ideas could flourish, where freedom could be found from oppression, and where new economic wealth could be found. From there McClay shows how the nation grew from the Revolution to Western Expansion, to the Civil War, to the Industrial Revolution, to Two World Wars and its status as a modern super-power. Throughout its history, McClay skillfully shows how American leaders, poets, businessmen and soldiers wrestled with the ideals of American democracy, and how the ideals surrounding "what it means to be an American" changed.
The strengths of this books are many. First, McClay writes in an incredibly accessible and understandable style. He is able to communicate complex historical events in clear and concise sections. Second, McClay has offered one of the most objective and sober-minded American history surveys in quite some time. Much of the current scene in American history is deconstructionist, post-colonialist, and tribalist - and McClay is able to transcend all the controversy around American history and offer balanced view of all the good and bad of America. Last, I greatly appreciated McClay's closing application concerning Patriotism. It is good and right to love one's country and this do not necessary exclude one from criticizing one's country; because loving something means you want it to be better. But at the same time, we cannot forge a better tomorrow for America if we do not have a shared history of experiences. The current postmodern society is seeking to tear apart American history, but without those shared experiences we can no longer function as a nation, united. Thus, McClay's book is a compelling defense of American history and it's power to unite a divided nation through shared experiences and values.
Overall, I loved this book and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a helpful survey of American history! Read it and you may find that you love being an American again.
January 9, 2023
McClay does what so many American history books fail to do: give the history of America from the hopeful, patriotic stance that reflects the people and events that made that history. This is the best book on American history I’ve come across. It even accurately covers the Puritan-Pilgrim’s beliefs along with the preachers of the Great Awakening, both of which are often ignored in many similar books. Highly recommended for all American citizens, especially those of us who got the short end of the stick on this subject in school.
March 9, 2025
In a sea of mediocre American history books this book stands out as a clear and precise account of American history. This book is fascinating and was great fun to read!
June 23, 2022
McClay gives us a dutiful overview of American history. McClay is a conservative historian, but he eschews the poorly written history of, say, a Dinesh D'Souza or the Patriot's History of the United States series. McClay is taken seriously by his historian peers, and with good reason. He admits that his book is a backbone for the study of US History and thus is primarily a political history. This means McClay does not cover economic or social issues nearly as much as other, arguably better US history survey texts like Jill Lepore's These Truths: A History of the United States.
I appreciated how he mostly confined his opining to sections at the end of chapters. You could see his perspective a few times through side comments and coverage: for example, his coverage of the Rights movements of the 1960s (e.g., Hispanic, LGBTQ, etc.) and feminism in general was almost nonexistent. Skipping over almost all the racial problems between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement (e.g., no Ida B. Wells) as well as most post-1968 racism (e.g., "Law & Order" or the War on Drugs) was a major oversight that stuck out to me. His chosen contemporary problem to highlight at the end of the book was the national debt. As he himself acknowledges in the book, his effort to remain detached and objective becomes harder as history approaches the present. That was somewhat the case--see a few too many Reagan quotes before 1980 and overly fawning coverage of Calvin Coolidge--but he by and large did a fine job. The book was otherwise fairly standard/traditional in its coverage, hitting the major political highlights of US History. While this kind of story is not inaccurate or overly biased, historiography has evolved in recent years to include more of the American story (e.g., Alan Taylor's recent series of American history books or the Oxford History of the United States series), and as McClay avoids both iconoclasm (e.g., A People's History of the United States) and nationalism (e.g., A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror), he settles for a rather bland, somewhat outdated history that doesn't quite inspire hope as much as he aspires to do. I did appreciate McClay's highlighting of American values throughout the story, giving insight as to why Americans today should value liberalism, freedom, etc.
My biggest complaint was brevity after 1945: McClay, much like too many US History survey courses, spends entirely too much time on military engagements like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and thus squeezes post-WWII US History into a few short chapters: one on the Cold War, one on the 1960s, one on Nixon-Reagan, and one on post-Cold War America. This gives short shrift to many recent roots of contemporary US divisions that work against the hope McClay wants to re-instill in American life. One can correct this by pairing this book with Kruse & Zelizer's Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974, but it was still disappointing in a book that was a putative US history survey.
I appreciated how he mostly confined his opining to sections at the end of chapters. You could see his perspective a few times through side comments and coverage: for example, his coverage of the Rights movements of the 1960s (e.g., Hispanic, LGBTQ, etc.) and feminism in general was almost nonexistent. Skipping over almost all the racial problems between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement (e.g., no Ida B. Wells) as well as most post-1968 racism (e.g., "Law & Order" or the War on Drugs) was a major oversight that stuck out to me. His chosen contemporary problem to highlight at the end of the book was the national debt. As he himself acknowledges in the book, his effort to remain detached and objective becomes harder as history approaches the present. That was somewhat the case--see a few too many Reagan quotes before 1980 and overly fawning coverage of Calvin Coolidge--but he by and large did a fine job. The book was otherwise fairly standard/traditional in its coverage, hitting the major political highlights of US History. While this kind of story is not inaccurate or overly biased, historiography has evolved in recent years to include more of the American story (e.g., Alan Taylor's recent series of American history books or the Oxford History of the United States series), and as McClay avoids both iconoclasm (e.g., A People's History of the United States) and nationalism (e.g., A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror), he settles for a rather bland, somewhat outdated history that doesn't quite inspire hope as much as he aspires to do. I did appreciate McClay's highlighting of American values throughout the story, giving insight as to why Americans today should value liberalism, freedom, etc.
My biggest complaint was brevity after 1945: McClay, much like too many US History survey courses, spends entirely too much time on military engagements like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and thus squeezes post-WWII US History into a few short chapters: one on the Cold War, one on the 1960s, one on Nixon-Reagan, and one on post-Cold War America. This gives short shrift to many recent roots of contemporary US divisions that work against the hope McClay wants to re-instill in American life. One can correct this by pairing this book with Kruse & Zelizer's Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974, but it was still disappointing in a book that was a putative US history survey.
July 9, 2019
Confession: I'm still reading it, but it's captivating in the best sense. This is exactly what I've been looking for as a meaty introduction to US history that tells the story while whetting appetites for more future study. A terrific overall framework.
July 14, 2023
me when i don’t think that native americans have a significant impact on the foundation of our country so i skip over their (our) history bc it better suits me
November 18, 2025
I listened on audio, trying to choose a book for my homeschool high schoolers as their spine. This was amazing, and I’ve heard Hillsdale has free lectures online to go with it. I will admit that I tried first to read it on kindle and found it so boring to get into that I dropped it a few years ago. Then when I tried now on audio, I felt the same. But once I got into it a chapter and a half, maybe, I found myself compelled to keep going. I personally felt the author did a great job at succinctly explaining deeper philosophical questions addressed throughout the history, and that a study of government could naturally flow alongside this study of US history. The book didn’t really criticize much. Those who want historians to hit Lincoln for expanding the size of the government won’t get that, for example. But I thought that showed the wisdom of the author in being able to choose what to put in and keep out to keep the book on track for his goals. It would be so hard to write a history overview for this reason. I would suggest, perhaps, if you want more criticism from a conservative or libertarian perspective, you might try the two volumes of PIG (Politically Incorrect Guides) guides to the US presidents, which grade each president according to their economic policies and how they related to the Constitution, etc. This author did reference sometimes how a president felt about his relationship to the Constitution, and that was helpful.
The last chapter was so thought-provoking! If I understood him rightly, there are at least two (necessary) ways to look at America, and he wanted to do both—an idea, big principles of freedom and the rights of all humanity as expressed in the Declaration’s opening line; and the shared memories of a nation being crucial to its life and shared values. I agree with him on so much of what he very thoughtfully and compellingly presented. However, I think culture is downstream from religion, and therefore, the comments and quotes having to do with the impact of that on the future of our country and the current polarization need much more emphasis and exploration. I actually don’t have much hope for our country, as it’s being flooded with immigrants (there go the shared memories; in come Muslim religion, antithetical to the ideas of freedom inherent in the West), and as many apostasize from the Christian faith, and as many no longer learn history, or learn quite slanted histories of our nation. But if we can keep the amazing Constitution we were given, there is hope. I do feel both the judicial and executive branches have abused their powers. And I think God has preserved our nation, in part, because we do more for the cause of missions and spreading Jesus’ fame around the world than any other nation, bar none, in the history of the world, ever. So, truly, God bless America forever, my home sweet home.
The last chapter was so thought-provoking! If I understood him rightly, there are at least two (necessary) ways to look at America, and he wanted to do both—an idea, big principles of freedom and the rights of all humanity as expressed in the Declaration’s opening line; and the shared memories of a nation being crucial to its life and shared values. I agree with him on so much of what he very thoughtfully and compellingly presented. However, I think culture is downstream from religion, and therefore, the comments and quotes having to do with the impact of that on the future of our country and the current polarization need much more emphasis and exploration. I actually don’t have much hope for our country, as it’s being flooded with immigrants (there go the shared memories; in come Muslim religion, antithetical to the ideas of freedom inherent in the West), and as many apostasize from the Christian faith, and as many no longer learn history, or learn quite slanted histories of our nation. But if we can keep the amazing Constitution we were given, there is hope. I do feel both the judicial and executive branches have abused their powers. And I think God has preserved our nation, in part, because we do more for the cause of missions and spreading Jesus’ fame around the world than any other nation, bar none, in the history of the world, ever. So, truly, God bless America forever, my home sweet home.
October 11, 2024
Read this for school so I didn’t really WANT to read this in the first place, but as I got to the end I was blown away at how knowledgeable the writer was and how much he cared about history! He would always look past what “most people would say” and he would point out the facts of what happened and why. He really is so passionate about history and I felt it in his writing! 🥰
I actually really liked this book and may reread it because it was so helpful!
The end of the book finishes in the beginning/middle of Donald Trump being in office in 2017-2021 so it was pretty relevant! 👍🏻
Also it was written with a Christian perspective so for those like myself who are Christian’s, it was nice, but I think even people who aren’t Christian’s would enjoy this book because it wasn’t preachy at all 👍🏻
Totally recommend for everyone because it gives fundamental historical facts that everyone should know! 😉😍
(The lectures on Hillsdale college’s website were wonderful and went along to the book as well)
I actually really liked this book and may reread it because it was so helpful!
The end of the book finishes in the beginning/middle of Donald Trump being in office in 2017-2021 so it was pretty relevant! 👍🏻
Also it was written with a Christian perspective so for those like myself who are Christian’s, it was nice, but I think even people who aren’t Christian’s would enjoy this book because it wasn’t preachy at all 👍🏻
Totally recommend for everyone because it gives fundamental historical facts that everyone should know! 😉😍
(The lectures on Hillsdale college’s website were wonderful and went along to the book as well)
February 18, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is a well-written, realistic, yet encouraging look at the American story. This is an excellent start on getting a better grasp of our nation’s history - something I’ve aspired to more recently. I look forward to digging deeper into history this year, and appreciate McClay’s work as a solid beginning to that end.
April 9, 2021
If you are searching for an easy overview of America's history from "start" to present, and you don't want one that lazily, bitterly, and hatefully regurgitates how America invented Evil and spread it all over the world through oppression, racism, sexism, and all the other -isms, (which isn't even possible given that America is so young, but I digress), but you don't want a one-sided, sugar-coated view either; and you just want a bare bones, scratch-the-surface, "whet your appetite" review of America's history, then you may enjoy McClay's Invitation to the Great American Story.
The author's main theme is hope. He supplies many examples of that hope, which Americans had clung to in their time. And McClay also follows the trail of progressivism (another -ism again) that made its way into America's history, directed Americans away from their Founding, and is doing so still today. McClay connects those dots and exposes it throughout the rest of the history to the present.
Land of Hope would be a great history for someone who does not know American history well or at all, but does not want to be bogged down with minute details. Also it is good for readers who want to brush up on their American history. The book includes an extensive bibliography, too, for further reading.
The author's main theme is hope. He supplies many examples of that hope, which Americans had clung to in their time. And McClay also follows the trail of progressivism (another -ism again) that made its way into America's history, directed Americans away from their Founding, and is doing so still today. McClay connects those dots and exposes it throughout the rest of the history to the present.
Land of Hope would be a great history for someone who does not know American history well or at all, but does not want to be bogged down with minute details. Also it is good for readers who want to brush up on their American history. The book includes an extensive bibliography, too, for further reading.
April 28, 2020
Informative, interesting, and relatively concise history of the U.S. The author did a reasonably good job of highlighting the pivotal principles, policies, and events in each period of American history, rather than getting lost in details.
One word of caution. The author has made numerous presentations to conservative groups, and I felt like the book had a moderately conservative spin. That's okay -- while I tend to be on the liberal/progressive side, I like to mix in some stuff from the conservative perspective to keep me honest. And McClay's spin wasn't so much as to totally distort the history or to get in the way of wanting to read the book. And the tilt was more evident in more recent history, since FDR. I would call it a 2/3 - 1/3 tilt: his comments/interpretations of Republican presidents were 2/3 favorable and 1/3 critical, and the opposite for Democratic presidents.
One word of caution. The author has made numerous presentations to conservative groups, and I felt like the book had a moderately conservative spin. That's okay -- while I tend to be on the liberal/progressive side, I like to mix in some stuff from the conservative perspective to keep me honest. And McClay's spin wasn't so much as to totally distort the history or to get in the way of wanting to read the book. And the tilt was more evident in more recent history, since FDR. I would call it a 2/3 - 1/3 tilt: his comments/interpretations of Republican presidents were 2/3 favorable and 1/3 critical, and the opposite for Democratic presidents.
June 15, 2019
The author is an esteemed Professor at the University of Oklahoma and on the editorial board of Academic Questions, published by the National Association of Scholars. I am a member of both organizations, though certainly not esteemed. After reading this outstanding book, I am certainly more proud of those memberships. The superlative reviews for this book are rolling in to amazon and goodreads. I don't have much to add.
To learn more about the book, I suggest going to wsj and searching for the authors name.
There you can find a review and an interview by Naomi Schaefer Riley from May 17, 2019.
To learn more about the book, I suggest going to wsj and searching for the authors name.
There you can find a review and an interview by Naomi Schaefer Riley from May 17, 2019.
April 22, 2020
Good info, with some true gems, but thick reading. Though trying to be a narrative it read more like an informational book. I like the concept and McClay's understanding of the imperfections of writing history and applaud his transparency on objectivity and biases. It was a huge task and I'm glad he wrote it and I read it.
November 3, 2019
A wonderful overview of American History. McClay does not try to hide the fact that we have made mistakes as a nation, but his tone is hopeful and I could feel his patriotism. I appreciate this so much in this day and age.
July 7, 2019
Explains an awful lot about America.
November 13, 2020
This was a great book and an excellent telling of the American Story. Author Wilfred M. McClay is an American academic and the current occupant of the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma, according to his Wikipedia page.
Wilfred M. McClay :
Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is a telling of American history, as its title implies. Author Wilfred McClay mentions in the introduction to this book that he attempted to bring this topic to the reader in an accessible and readable format, which I feel he succeeded in doing. McClay writes in an easy, engaging style that does not struggle to hold the reader's attention; a welcome change from many other historical writings that can tend to be dry and arduous, leaving the reader lost in the woods...
The book is a comprehensive chronological telling of the American story. McClay mentions in the introduction that it is often hard to pick a "starting point" when writing history, as some valuable context will always be left out. Along these lines, he opens the book by giving the reader a bit of historical context to the colonization of the "New World".
General George Washington (1732–99) at Trenton on January 2, 1777, on the eve of the Battle of Princeton, as depicted in a 1792 John Trumbull painting. :
Land of Hope continues on, describing Columbus's voyages, and the conditions of colonial life in North America, as well as the early political climate. The book is a fairly comprehensive account of the American story - from the founding of the country, right up to the Trump Presidency. Many of its pivotal events and people are talked about here. Among them:
*The early founding of the Republic
*Early leaders; Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln
*The Mormons
*Slavery
*Teetotalers
*The Mexican war
*The California Gold Rush
*The Louisiana purchase
*The 1898 Spanish-American War that lead to the acquisition of Puerto Rico and The Philippines
*The First World War
*Prohibition
*The Second World War
*The Korean War
*The Cold War
*The Post Cold War climate up until the book's writing in 2019.
While many history books tend to be somewhat dry, Land of Hope is very readable. I often approach many history books with some trepidation for this very reason. While some historical works can have the reader struggling to hold the plot, this book unfolds in a very engaging manner.
The formatting of the book is also very well done. Every time a new character or epoch is introduced, McClay gives the reader some relevant context.
There are also excellent bits of writing here on both World Wars. McClay provides exemplary and concise summaries of the forces, events, and figures central to these pivotal wars that are worth the price of the book alone, IMO.
I also appreciated the narrative style here; author McClay has refrained from injecting his personal political biases into these pages. This is also a welcome change from many of the books I have read. McClay repeatedly reminds the reader that history resists efforts to paint it in a black-and-white fashion, and that all the iconic historical figures talked about here were themselves flawed human beings - just as everyone else is. Good stuff!
A small complaint; all the photos in this book are lumped together at the beginning. It would have been nicer to have them spaced out, and placed where they were relevant.
Richard Nixon's historical 1972 meeting with Mao Zedong :
Land of Hope is a great example of history effectively written. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and never found myself frustrated ~midway through; counting the pages before I could tie a knot in it...
I would definitely recommend this one to anyone interested. It was so well done that I'll also add it to my "favorites" shelf.
5 stars.
Wilfred M. McClay :
Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is a telling of American history, as its title implies. Author Wilfred McClay mentions in the introduction to this book that he attempted to bring this topic to the reader in an accessible and readable format, which I feel he succeeded in doing. McClay writes in an easy, engaging style that does not struggle to hold the reader's attention; a welcome change from many other historical writings that can tend to be dry and arduous, leaving the reader lost in the woods...
The book is a comprehensive chronological telling of the American story. McClay mentions in the introduction that it is often hard to pick a "starting point" when writing history, as some valuable context will always be left out. Along these lines, he opens the book by giving the reader a bit of historical context to the colonization of the "New World".
General George Washington (1732–99) at Trenton on January 2, 1777, on the eve of the Battle of Princeton, as depicted in a 1792 John Trumbull painting. :
Land of Hope continues on, describing Columbus's voyages, and the conditions of colonial life in North America, as well as the early political climate. The book is a fairly comprehensive account of the American story - from the founding of the country, right up to the Trump Presidency. Many of its pivotal events and people are talked about here. Among them:
*The early founding of the Republic
*Early leaders; Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln
*The Mormons
*Slavery
*Teetotalers
*The Mexican war
*The California Gold Rush
*The Louisiana purchase
*The 1898 Spanish-American War that lead to the acquisition of Puerto Rico and The Philippines
*The First World War
*Prohibition
*The Second World War
*The Korean War
*The Cold War
*The Post Cold War climate up until the book's writing in 2019.
While many history books tend to be somewhat dry, Land of Hope is very readable. I often approach many history books with some trepidation for this very reason. While some historical works can have the reader struggling to hold the plot, this book unfolds in a very engaging manner.
The formatting of the book is also very well done. Every time a new character or epoch is introduced, McClay gives the reader some relevant context.
There are also excellent bits of writing here on both World Wars. McClay provides exemplary and concise summaries of the forces, events, and figures central to these pivotal wars that are worth the price of the book alone, IMO.
I also appreciated the narrative style here; author McClay has refrained from injecting his personal political biases into these pages. This is also a welcome change from many of the books I have read. McClay repeatedly reminds the reader that history resists efforts to paint it in a black-and-white fashion, and that all the iconic historical figures talked about here were themselves flawed human beings - just as everyone else is. Good stuff!
A small complaint; all the photos in this book are lumped together at the beginning. It would have been nicer to have them spaced out, and placed where they were relevant.
Richard Nixon's historical 1972 meeting with Mao Zedong :
Land of Hope is a great example of history effectively written. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and never found myself frustrated ~midway through; counting the pages before I could tie a knot in it...
I would definitely recommend this one to anyone interested. It was so well done that I'll also add it to my "favorites" shelf.
5 stars.
April 19, 2020
“For the human animal, meaning is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Without it, we perish. Historical consciousness is to civilized society what memory is to individual identity.”
McClay provides a readable, balanced look at the history of the United States. His theme revolves around the argument that even though our country is flawed and imperfect, it is also founded on important ideals that make it a “land of hope” in multiple ways. Recognizing that we have frequently failed to live up to those ideals does not mean we should dump them.
The book begins with the colonial period and extends to the present day. It’s a little bit textbook-like, but the author manages to be engaging while remaining scholarly. I thought the second half of the book was more “human” and less “dry,” which made me wonder if the author’s personal interests are more focused on the 20th century.
One thing I appreciated was that even though the author must--by necessity--mention only a select set of facts and events, the ones he chose were not always the obvious ones. I learned a number of things I hadn’t known before (especially about World War I). Even more so, I felt that I came away with a better sense of context, and a better sense of chronology, for the history I have already studied.
This is the kind of overarching book that is probably most fun once one already knows most of the names mentioned, but it could also provide a useful “history spine” for high school students. It’s one I’d like to purchase and keep around.
Two more quotes:
“There is immense hope in [the process of self-criticism as a nation] if we go about it in the right way. That means approaching the work of criticism with constructive intentions and a certain generosity that flows from the natural awareness that none of us is perfect and that we should therefore judge others as we would ourselves wish to be judged, blending justice and mercy. One of the worst sins of the present--not just ours but any present--is its tendency to condescend toward the past, which is much easier to do when one doesn’t trouble to know the full context of that past or try to grasp the nature of its challenges as they presented themselves at the time.”
“Being a land of hope will also sometimes mean being a land of dashed hopes, of disappointment. That is unavoidable. A nation that professes high ideals makes itself vulnerable to searing criticism when it falls short of them--sometimes far short indeed, as America often has. We should not be surprised by that, however; nor not should we be surprised to discover that many of our heroes turn out to be deeply flawed human beings. All human beings are flawed, as are all human enterprises. To believe otherwise is to be naive, and much of what passes for cynicism in our time is little more than naivete in deep disguise.”
McClay provides a readable, balanced look at the history of the United States. His theme revolves around the argument that even though our country is flawed and imperfect, it is also founded on important ideals that make it a “land of hope” in multiple ways. Recognizing that we have frequently failed to live up to those ideals does not mean we should dump them.
The book begins with the colonial period and extends to the present day. It’s a little bit textbook-like, but the author manages to be engaging while remaining scholarly. I thought the second half of the book was more “human” and less “dry,” which made me wonder if the author’s personal interests are more focused on the 20th century.
One thing I appreciated was that even though the author must--by necessity--mention only a select set of facts and events, the ones he chose were not always the obvious ones. I learned a number of things I hadn’t known before (especially about World War I). Even more so, I felt that I came away with a better sense of context, and a better sense of chronology, for the history I have already studied.
This is the kind of overarching book that is probably most fun once one already knows most of the names mentioned, but it could also provide a useful “history spine” for high school students. It’s one I’d like to purchase and keep around.
Two more quotes:
“There is immense hope in [the process of self-criticism as a nation] if we go about it in the right way. That means approaching the work of criticism with constructive intentions and a certain generosity that flows from the natural awareness that none of us is perfect and that we should therefore judge others as we would ourselves wish to be judged, blending justice and mercy. One of the worst sins of the present--not just ours but any present--is its tendency to condescend toward the past, which is much easier to do when one doesn’t trouble to know the full context of that past or try to grasp the nature of its challenges as they presented themselves at the time.”
“Being a land of hope will also sometimes mean being a land of dashed hopes, of disappointment. That is unavoidable. A nation that professes high ideals makes itself vulnerable to searing criticism when it falls short of them--sometimes far short indeed, as America often has. We should not be surprised by that, however; nor not should we be surprised to discover that many of our heroes turn out to be deeply flawed human beings. All human beings are flawed, as are all human enterprises. To believe otherwise is to be naive, and much of what passes for cynicism in our time is little more than naivete in deep disguise.”
July 6, 2024
Early in the introduction to Land of Hope, McClay defends his pursuit of history—especially national history—as story over against a science. We need stories “in order to speak into the fullness of our humanity and help us orient ourselves in the world... We are at our core, remembering and story-making creatures. And stories are one of the chief ways we find meaning in the flow of events.”
One of the most valuable features of McClay’s history of the United States is this recognition that one’s philosophy of history that turns lifeless data into an “inspiring narrative account.” The answer to the question, “What kind of story are we in?” is one of the most important a people can answer, and it is one that will in fact determine where exactly the story will turn next.
This is true, and it is true whether or not one recognizes the Author who is writing this story. The crucial principle is that the “meaning” of the present, and the hope for a better future, depend in large part on a recognition of the story we find ourselves in. A people’s conception of their shared past, the “mystic chords of memory,” their driving themes, their villains and heroes, are the memory that gives a civic body meaning, a sense of who they are as a people, and what they are about. To this end, history cannot be separated from philosophy, from a hermeneutical lens that comprehends the data and is able to compile—or recognize—the structure that gives it all meaning. Is the American story a tragedy growing out of a ceaseless train of abuses, oppression, and subjugation, as non-historical ideologues have asserted? Or is America a “land of hope,” as McClay invites us to recognize?
I do not know of McClay’s personal “hermeneutical lens” by which he views the world and all of human history, but it is certain that Land of Hope relies on principles that are distinctly Christian in character (whether McClay recognizes it or not!). Gratitude and love—not shame and bitterness—are the driving principles that organize this story. And this is true without forcing us to squint at the ugly parts: a “land of hope will also sometimes mean being a land of dashed hopes,” and we must always recognize that a nation built off the highest and most honorable principles must undoubtedly fail from time to time in living up to those principles. But it is only by the ever-upward stretch toward the full realization of those final principles that America can continue to remain a land of hope, the greatest enterprise in the world’s history.
The chapters on America’s founding made me want to run through a brick wall. Land of Hope is worth the hype.
One of the most valuable features of McClay’s history of the United States is this recognition that one’s philosophy of history that turns lifeless data into an “inspiring narrative account.” The answer to the question, “What kind of story are we in?” is one of the most important a people can answer, and it is one that will in fact determine where exactly the story will turn next.
This is true, and it is true whether or not one recognizes the Author who is writing this story. The crucial principle is that the “meaning” of the present, and the hope for a better future, depend in large part on a recognition of the story we find ourselves in. A people’s conception of their shared past, the “mystic chords of memory,” their driving themes, their villains and heroes, are the memory that gives a civic body meaning, a sense of who they are as a people, and what they are about. To this end, history cannot be separated from philosophy, from a hermeneutical lens that comprehends the data and is able to compile—or recognize—the structure that gives it all meaning. Is the American story a tragedy growing out of a ceaseless train of abuses, oppression, and subjugation, as non-historical ideologues have asserted? Or is America a “land of hope,” as McClay invites us to recognize?
I do not know of McClay’s personal “hermeneutical lens” by which he views the world and all of human history, but it is certain that Land of Hope relies on principles that are distinctly Christian in character (whether McClay recognizes it or not!). Gratitude and love—not shame and bitterness—are the driving principles that organize this story. And this is true without forcing us to squint at the ugly parts: a “land of hope will also sometimes mean being a land of dashed hopes,” and we must always recognize that a nation built off the highest and most honorable principles must undoubtedly fail from time to time in living up to those principles. But it is only by the ever-upward stretch toward the full realization of those final principles that America can continue to remain a land of hope, the greatest enterprise in the world’s history.
The chapters on America’s founding made me want to run through a brick wall. Land of Hope is worth the hype.
February 24, 2020
I'm giving McClay's book five stars, not because it is perfect, but because it's a refreshing alternative to the typical propaganda that has become US history books. McClay is optimistic about America, but not blind to its faults and challenges. He weaves an intellectual yet readable narrative about the United States and its influence in the world from its founding to present day. I would highly recommend this book to homeschooling parents, and for freshman college students.
My only quibble with the book is with the chapter, "The Old South and Slavery." I think he does a better job than most in trying to explain the Southern position, not taking historical cues from Quentin Tarantino in portraying southern planters and farmers. And while certainly I do not support or condone the type of chattel slavery practiced in the antebellum South, as a Christian, I think that the word "evil" is tossed about a bit carelessly when discussing the slaveowners. Yes, by their own biblical standards, slaveowners were violating God's provisions regarding slavery and, therefore, they were doing what was wrong in the eyes of God. But to categorically describe slaveowners as evil is troublesome. Some were for sure, but others were blinded to their sin, while others were convicted by it, but were unwilling or unable to change.
For those, especially Christians, who look back at these people with disgust, remember that many of these flawed men and women were deeply devoted to their faith. Many confessed the name of Jesus Christ and humbly lived to serve him; Christ died for their sins, too. For those of us who confess Christ, we have to remember that we will spend eternity with these brothers and sisters. And, while painful to consider, many of the abolitionists who gave their lives to free the slaves, did not give their lives to Christ. While obstensibly religious, many were not orthodox Christians, denying the divinity of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture, etc. For all of their good works, they are not part of God's kingdom.
I'm probably putting more on McClay than I should. He did a good job unpacking this challenging subject. This chapter just made me think about good and evil and how humans often see it compared to God's perspective. I'm not an historian, and maybe I'm way off base here. But I think that as we study those who have gone before us, we are probably best served to study them through the lenses of grace and humilty as well as judgment and critique. I hope that 150 years from now, historians will do that for us.
My only quibble with the book is with the chapter, "The Old South and Slavery." I think he does a better job than most in trying to explain the Southern position, not taking historical cues from Quentin Tarantino in portraying southern planters and farmers. And while certainly I do not support or condone the type of chattel slavery practiced in the antebellum South, as a Christian, I think that the word "evil" is tossed about a bit carelessly when discussing the slaveowners. Yes, by their own biblical standards, slaveowners were violating God's provisions regarding slavery and, therefore, they were doing what was wrong in the eyes of God. But to categorically describe slaveowners as evil is troublesome. Some were for sure, but others were blinded to their sin, while others were convicted by it, but were unwilling or unable to change.
For those, especially Christians, who look back at these people with disgust, remember that many of these flawed men and women were deeply devoted to their faith. Many confessed the name of Jesus Christ and humbly lived to serve him; Christ died for their sins, too. For those of us who confess Christ, we have to remember that we will spend eternity with these brothers and sisters. And, while painful to consider, many of the abolitionists who gave their lives to free the slaves, did not give their lives to Christ. While obstensibly religious, many were not orthodox Christians, denying the divinity of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture, etc. For all of their good works, they are not part of God's kingdom.
I'm probably putting more on McClay than I should. He did a good job unpacking this challenging subject. This chapter just made me think about good and evil and how humans often see it compared to God's perspective. I'm not an historian, and maybe I'm way off base here. But I think that as we study those who have gone before us, we are probably best served to study them through the lenses of grace and humilty as well as judgment and critique. I hope that 150 years from now, historians will do that for us.
July 18, 2023
Land of Hope is a very good and balanced book, and a quite lucid telling of the American story. The author goes through the aeons, from the earliest settlers to the foundation as we commonly know it, and a series of constant reforms since. Each centred around a sense of wonder and empathy with the people of those times.
He looks at key political figures mainly but also brings to light the social mores of various eras, meditates on their technological or geographic considerations, and more. Generally, McClay is charitable in his reading of individuals and groups, avoiding a simplistic moralism or anachronism. He also gives credit to folks who made difficult decisions, which at the time were unpopular, but which appear to have been the right thing to do in hindsight.
One should not judge a book by its cover, but from the lovely exterior of the book we might reasonably infer that we are not in for another dull text book. As we open up, we are not disappointed. McClay has made the effort in the hard writing so we don't have to suffer with a hard read.
The book has many learned insights, lush illustrations, fine vignettes and carefully researched reflections on a unique national story.
McClay is less bothered by the US government than I would be and I would have liked to see more critical coverage of that institution, but I'm also reading Judge Napolitano's book on the U.S.A and there's enough in there to keep me happy. Haha.
Land of Hope is an interesting accompaniment to that book.
McClay also spends the majority of the book looking at the U.S. before the twentieth century. That was okay for me, as I wanted to learn more about that time period. But, if you wish to follow this up with a rich history of America in more recent times, then you must read Christopher Lasch's magisterial, The True and Only Heaven. It's a very different kind of history, but like this book, it is excellent.
Land of Hope should be a standard history of the USA for years to come and an invitation to delve deeper into history.
He looks at key political figures mainly but also brings to light the social mores of various eras, meditates on their technological or geographic considerations, and more. Generally, McClay is charitable in his reading of individuals and groups, avoiding a simplistic moralism or anachronism. He also gives credit to folks who made difficult decisions, which at the time were unpopular, but which appear to have been the right thing to do in hindsight.
One should not judge a book by its cover, but from the lovely exterior of the book we might reasonably infer that we are not in for another dull text book. As we open up, we are not disappointed. McClay has made the effort in the hard writing so we don't have to suffer with a hard read.
The book has many learned insights, lush illustrations, fine vignettes and carefully researched reflections on a unique national story.
McClay is less bothered by the US government than I would be and I would have liked to see more critical coverage of that institution, but I'm also reading Judge Napolitano's book on the U.S.A and there's enough in there to keep me happy. Haha.
Land of Hope is an interesting accompaniment to that book.
McClay also spends the majority of the book looking at the U.S. before the twentieth century. That was okay for me, as I wanted to learn more about that time period. But, if you wish to follow this up with a rich history of America in more recent times, then you must read Christopher Lasch's magisterial, The True and Only Heaven. It's a very different kind of history, but like this book, it is excellent.
Land of Hope should be a standard history of the USA for years to come and an invitation to delve deeper into history.
November 11, 2020
This is an excellent overview of American history seen from the perspective of its great leaders and presidents. I would say that it is also a great example of historiographical work: a history (appropriate for high schoolers) that brings us into the past while also giving us some familiarity with historical theory.
To be sure, it's a story we've heard before: but never told in the way McClay has told it.
The audiobook had a few narration errors ("Montenesquieu" instead of "Montesquieu") and there is one historical error in the text that I found. Henry VIII did NOT die without a son - his son by Jane Seymour, Edward VI, succeeded him under a regency. Edward did not live long, it is true, but his reign was crucial and should not have been missed.
To be sure, it's a story we've heard before: but never told in the way McClay has told it.
The audiobook had a few narration errors ("Montenesquieu" instead of "Montesquieu") and there is one historical error in the text that I found. Henry VIII did NOT die without a son - his son by Jane Seymour, Edward VI, succeeded him under a regency. Edward did not live long, it is true, but his reign was crucial and should not have been missed.
September 20, 2022
“The study of the past should not be a merely ornamental thing. Instead, if approached rightly, it should be a fortifying thing, and an enlarging thing, providing us with the sense that we are a part of a longer and larger story, a great story to which we owe a great portion of who and what we are.”
This is a great one-volume history of the United States. The writing is outstanding, and McClay really amazed me with his ability to summarize complex events without oversimplifying them. There is probably less fluff in this book than any other history book I’ve ever read. It moves at a brisk pace but pauses for particularly important concepts that have a broader significance to the subject.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick and rewarding survey of US history.
This is a great one-volume history of the United States. The writing is outstanding, and McClay really amazed me with his ability to summarize complex events without oversimplifying them. There is probably less fluff in this book than any other history book I’ve ever read. It moves at a brisk pace but pauses for particularly important concepts that have a broader significance to the subject.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick and rewarding survey of US history.
November 27, 2025
Previewed this as an Ambleside Online high school option for history. I loved it, but I think I will use it as a civics/citizenship book in a couple years instead of starting it in Y9 as a history spine.
August 7, 2024
Audible, but own the hardback edition too. One of the AO Y9 options for history. I enjoyed listening over the summer and it was a great refresher for me! Easy narrative style, interesting, and he doesn’t get too bogged down in details - the story keeps flowing. I thought he handled various issues really fairly too, while still keeping it concise. I also like how he began the story in the Old World with the ideas that birthed our nation.
May 11, 2023
“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.” - President Calvin Coolidge, address commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 1926
In an age when attacks on the American founding and attempts to discredit America’s Founding Fathers are all too common, President Calvin Coolidge’s stirring tribute to the nation’s founding document and those who forged that profound creed dedicated to the proposition that every human being is created equal seems more important than ever. Life in general, but especially our lives as American citizens, should never be taken for granted. We owe our place in what is undoubtedly the freest, most prosperous, most charitable country in the history of the world to the countless heroes of the past who fought, struggled, and sacrificed to make our nation a guiding light and a beacon of hope for the world. In the wise words of the great American writer John Dos Passos, “We need to know what kind of firm ground other men, belonging to generations before us, have found to stand on. In spite of changing conditions of life they were not very different from ourselves, their thoughts were the grandfathers of our thoughts, they managed to meet situations as difficult as those we have to face, to meet them sometimes lightheartedly, and in some measure to make their hopes prevail. We need to know how they did it.”
An informed citizenry that is well-versed in its history is essential for the unity and prosperity of any society. As President Ronald Reagan put it, “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are.” Because of the way in which major institutions of American life, including elements of academia and popular media, have distorted American history in an attempt to portray the nation’s story as fundamentally flawed and even sinister, we are at great risk of losing sense of our unique American identity and spirit. At a time when undemocratic powers are on the rise in the world, and in which our own nation is bitterly divided, we need to harken back to what President Abraham Lincoln called “the mystic chords of memory,” looking at the history of the United States with clear eyes in order to fully appreciate who we are as Americans, how we earned our distinct place in the world, the enormous challenges we have overcome in order to forge a more perfect Union, and why we must always stand together as one nation under God.
In "Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story," historian Wilfred McClay has produced the answer we need after years of persistent attempts to vilify the American past, providing a sweeping narrative of the American story from its origins to the Post-Cold War Era with accuracy, careful thought, balance, and perspective. At the center of McClay’s work is exactly what his title suggests, which is the idea that America has always represented a land of hope. As he writes, “nothing about America better defines its distinctive character than the ubiquity of hope, a sense that the way things are initially given to us cannot be the final word about them, that we can never settle for that.” For many millions of people who have flocked to her shores over the years, America has indeed been a place of hope, a land set apart, a refuge from the world’s tyranny, a place to speak and worship freely, a land where anyone, regardless of their origins or the restrictions they faced at birth, could rise by means of their own talent and hard work. John Winthrop and his fellow Puritans were among those who left the Old World of Europe behind in 1630 for the promise of religious freedom in America. Before making landfall in Massachusetts to begin the work of building their holy community, Winthrop delivered a sermon in which he declared,“We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” Over time, those words became reflective of America as a whole. America’s shores have long beamed brightly with hope.
In recognizing that America has been an overwhelming force of good for the world, it is also important to acknowledge the times in history when Americans have fallen short of living up to the high ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and our other guiding principles. As Dr. William J. Bennett put it in "America: The Last Best Hope," “We must remember America is still a great success story. When we criticize - as criticize we must - we should play the part of what James Madison called a ‘loving critic.’” Building on that concept of the “loving critic,” McClay writes, “the history of the United States, and of the West more generally, includes the activity of searching self-criticism as part of its foundational makeup. There is immense hope implicit in that process, if we go about it in the right way.” Rather than ridiculing our forebears, we need to do the hard work necessary to comprehend the full context of their times, how the challenges of those times presented themselves, and apply the standards of those times as we try to understand how they responded to the trials that confronted them.
While always being mindful of our shortcomings, those darker moments are not what define America. As the Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal concluded in his memorable 1944 study of America, the United States “is continuously struggling for its soul,” and its history can be seen as “the gradual realization of the American Creed” of universal human equality, freedom, and opportunity. In the final analysis, McClay wisely asserts that our great national “story, the thread that we share should not be lost in a blizzard of details or a hailstorm of rebukes. This is, and remains, a land of hope, a land to which much of the rest of the world longs to come.”
Just as America has long been viewed as a land of hope, so too should American history be seen as a story of hope. As William Bennett put it, “America was, is, and - we pray - will continue to be where, more than anyplace else, dreams actually do come true.” For those dreams to endure, our future depends on a clear understanding and appreciation of the American past. In the words of President Reagan, so “long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.” As McClay adds, “We need to take abroad fully all that was entailed in our forebears’ bold assertion that all human beings are created equal in the eyes of the Creator and that they bear an inherent dignity that cannot be taken away from them. But we also need to remember, and teach others to remember, the meaning of Lexington and Concord, and Independence Hall, and Gettysburg, and Promontory Summit, and Pointe du Hoc, and Birmingham, and West Berlin, and countless other places and moments of spirit and sacrifice in the American past. . . .” We stand on the shoulders of giants. Failure to keep faith with our heroes of history and our national story would not only be a fatal tragedy for the future of our country, but also for humanity at large. And so, to echo the timeless words of President Lincoln, it is up to all of us to “nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
In an age when attacks on the American founding and attempts to discredit America’s Founding Fathers are all too common, President Calvin Coolidge’s stirring tribute to the nation’s founding document and those who forged that profound creed dedicated to the proposition that every human being is created equal seems more important than ever. Life in general, but especially our lives as American citizens, should never be taken for granted. We owe our place in what is undoubtedly the freest, most prosperous, most charitable country in the history of the world to the countless heroes of the past who fought, struggled, and sacrificed to make our nation a guiding light and a beacon of hope for the world. In the wise words of the great American writer John Dos Passos, “We need to know what kind of firm ground other men, belonging to generations before us, have found to stand on. In spite of changing conditions of life they were not very different from ourselves, their thoughts were the grandfathers of our thoughts, they managed to meet situations as difficult as those we have to face, to meet them sometimes lightheartedly, and in some measure to make their hopes prevail. We need to know how they did it.”
An informed citizenry that is well-versed in its history is essential for the unity and prosperity of any society. As President Ronald Reagan put it, “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are.” Because of the way in which major institutions of American life, including elements of academia and popular media, have distorted American history in an attempt to portray the nation’s story as fundamentally flawed and even sinister, we are at great risk of losing sense of our unique American identity and spirit. At a time when undemocratic powers are on the rise in the world, and in which our own nation is bitterly divided, we need to harken back to what President Abraham Lincoln called “the mystic chords of memory,” looking at the history of the United States with clear eyes in order to fully appreciate who we are as Americans, how we earned our distinct place in the world, the enormous challenges we have overcome in order to forge a more perfect Union, and why we must always stand together as one nation under God.
In "Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story," historian Wilfred McClay has produced the answer we need after years of persistent attempts to vilify the American past, providing a sweeping narrative of the American story from its origins to the Post-Cold War Era with accuracy, careful thought, balance, and perspective. At the center of McClay’s work is exactly what his title suggests, which is the idea that America has always represented a land of hope. As he writes, “nothing about America better defines its distinctive character than the ubiquity of hope, a sense that the way things are initially given to us cannot be the final word about them, that we can never settle for that.” For many millions of people who have flocked to her shores over the years, America has indeed been a place of hope, a land set apart, a refuge from the world’s tyranny, a place to speak and worship freely, a land where anyone, regardless of their origins or the restrictions they faced at birth, could rise by means of their own talent and hard work. John Winthrop and his fellow Puritans were among those who left the Old World of Europe behind in 1630 for the promise of religious freedom in America. Before making landfall in Massachusetts to begin the work of building their holy community, Winthrop delivered a sermon in which he declared,“We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” Over time, those words became reflective of America as a whole. America’s shores have long beamed brightly with hope.
In recognizing that America has been an overwhelming force of good for the world, it is also important to acknowledge the times in history when Americans have fallen short of living up to the high ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and our other guiding principles. As Dr. William J. Bennett put it in "America: The Last Best Hope," “We must remember America is still a great success story. When we criticize - as criticize we must - we should play the part of what James Madison called a ‘loving critic.’” Building on that concept of the “loving critic,” McClay writes, “the history of the United States, and of the West more generally, includes the activity of searching self-criticism as part of its foundational makeup. There is immense hope implicit in that process, if we go about it in the right way.” Rather than ridiculing our forebears, we need to do the hard work necessary to comprehend the full context of their times, how the challenges of those times presented themselves, and apply the standards of those times as we try to understand how they responded to the trials that confronted them.
While always being mindful of our shortcomings, those darker moments are not what define America. As the Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal concluded in his memorable 1944 study of America, the United States “is continuously struggling for its soul,” and its history can be seen as “the gradual realization of the American Creed” of universal human equality, freedom, and opportunity. In the final analysis, McClay wisely asserts that our great national “story, the thread that we share should not be lost in a blizzard of details or a hailstorm of rebukes. This is, and remains, a land of hope, a land to which much of the rest of the world longs to come.”
Just as America has long been viewed as a land of hope, so too should American history be seen as a story of hope. As William Bennett put it, “America was, is, and - we pray - will continue to be where, more than anyplace else, dreams actually do come true.” For those dreams to endure, our future depends on a clear understanding and appreciation of the American past. In the words of President Reagan, so “long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.” As McClay adds, “We need to take abroad fully all that was entailed in our forebears’ bold assertion that all human beings are created equal in the eyes of the Creator and that they bear an inherent dignity that cannot be taken away from them. But we also need to remember, and teach others to remember, the meaning of Lexington and Concord, and Independence Hall, and Gettysburg, and Promontory Summit, and Pointe du Hoc, and Birmingham, and West Berlin, and countless other places and moments of spirit and sacrifice in the American past. . . .” We stand on the shoulders of giants. Failure to keep faith with our heroes of history and our national story would not only be a fatal tragedy for the future of our country, but also for humanity at large. And so, to echo the timeless words of President Lincoln, it is up to all of us to “nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
November 28, 2023
I love the book, the history and HOW McClay has presented it. I got distracted during the section on Lincoln, wanting to read each of the speeches McClay highlighted. I've gotten past that now and am charging ahead with joy!
Today I noted the author of Land of Hope, Wilfred M. McClay was honored with a Bradley Prize in 2021. Here is his acceptance speech given in May of 2022. About midway through is remarks, he speaks of Land of Hope:
https://vimeo.com/711807595?embedded=...
And an article in which McClay presents his ideas of how a strong rooting in the past can draw nourishment for contemporary growth.
https://americanmind.org/features/rec...
Today I noted the author of Land of Hope, Wilfred M. McClay was honored with a Bradley Prize in 2021. Here is his acceptance speech given in May of 2022. About midway through is remarks, he speaks of Land of Hope:
https://vimeo.com/711807595?embedded=...
And an article in which McClay presents his ideas of how a strong rooting in the past can draw nourishment for contemporary growth.
https://americanmind.org/features/rec...
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