Haiku History: The American Saga Three Lines at a Time

by H.W. Brands

For the past nine years, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands has been tweeting the history of the United States. But this has been no ordinary version of the American tale. Instead, Brands gives his 5,000-plus followers a regular dose of history and poetry combined: his tweets are in the form of haiku.

Haiku History presents a selection of these smart, shrewd, and always informative short poems. "Shivers and specters / Flit over souls in Salem / As nineteen are hanged; describes the Salem witch trials, and "In angry war paint / Men board three Indiamen / And toss the cargo" depicts the Boston Tea Party. "Then an anarchist / Makes one of the war heroes / The next president" recalls the assassination of William McKinley and the accession of Teddy Roosevelt to the presidency, while "Second invasion: / Iraq, where Saddam is still / In troubling control" returns us to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. As he travels from the thirteen colonies to the 2016 election, Brands brings to life the wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and other events that have shaped our nation. A history book like no other, Haiku History injects both fun and poetry into the story of America--three lines at a time.

Genres: Poetry, History, Nonfiction

148 pages, Hardcover

Published May 4, 2020

About the author

H.W. Brands is an acclaimed American historian and author of over thirty books on U.S. history, including Pulitzer Prize finalists The First American and Traitor to His Class. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD. Originally trained in mathematics, Brands turned to history as a way to pursue his passion for writing. His biographical works on figures like Franklin, Jackson, Grant, and both Roosevelts have earned critical and popular praise for their readability and depth. Raised in Oregon and educated at Stanford, Reed College, and Portland State, he began his teaching career in high schools before entering academia. He later taught at Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before returning to UT Austin. Brands challenges conventional reverence for the Founding Fathers, advocating for a more progressive and evolving view of American democracy. In addition to academic works, his commentary has featured in major documentaries. His books, published internationally and translated into multiple languages, examine U.S. political, economic, and cultural development with compelling narrative force. Beyond academia, he is a public intellectual contributing to national conversations on history and governance.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess who's 8th graders will be writing haiku histories this year?

[Ruth Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this poetic look at U.S. history.

[PJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a history major, I was amazed at the idea that someone could tell important U.S. histocial events through haikus. No only was Brands able to do so, he did is an effective manner. Now while not all U.S historical events were included, that book would be much bigger no doubt, I do think some of the most imporatnt events were highlighted. It is also my understanding that this book does not include all of the haikus that Brands first started writing during COVID. If so I would love for there to be a sequel to this book. Not only is it an easy read, I think it's quite a brilliant way of telling history, especially for those who aren't history fans.

[Sara Tiede · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, but I feel it will end up being a little forgettable. Some of the facts and events lent themselves really well to some excellent, well balanced and deep haikus. But to tell a chronological story of a nation, some of the events just needed to be fit in. Some of the haikus, while they certainly fit the syllable pattern, fell more like just a sentence than a piece of poetry. On the whole the book was enjoyable, which I would say to anyone who asks me about it. But I'm not sure it would ever come to mind if I was giving open ended suggestions.

[David Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever conceit for a book! Historian Brands gives us an outline history of the United States in the form of haiku. (Apparently, he had been doing this for years -- so this is only a small selection of what he's done.) He welcomed the challenge of being confined by the structure, and he has hit a home run! More, please!!

[Howard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, OK, this is kind of a silly little thing, but inventive and engaging. You can debate whether haikus are the best way to communicate the very broad arcs of American history, but you got to hand it to Brands for writing these.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Zaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of America via haikus. Absolutely brilliant. Best professor.

[Bobbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

These haikus were a quick jaunt through US history and a wonderful read.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two of my favorite things, haiku and history, brought together in this little book about America. A fun read!

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting and a quick read. I'm sure it took a lot of time to come up with the haikus.