Rating: 
Summary: An excellent introductory history text
Review: All too often, students of history, and even history instructors, dismiss the study of history as a boring and irrelevant procession of endless names and statistics. Some history books, indeed, are rather dry and boring to read. This one is not. The authors here present a fresh, vibrant take on the oft-told tale of American history; it succeeds in re-invigorating the often stale story with new life. It accomplishes this by being written in a way that is not only informative, but also thoroughly enjoyable. Beefing up the standard information and statistics with frequently amusing and interesting anecdotes and multitude of charts, graphs, pictures, and relevant contemporary quotations, the book brings history to life. Written in this style, the book reads more like a novel than your standard dry history text. The style is unconventional, witty, and even quite often amusing. It also avoids falling into the trap of the ultra-patriotic, non-objective, trumpet-blowing agenda of many other textbooks -- while also managing to avoid boiling over with authorial opinion and negative presentations. The length of chapters is just about right as well, neither too short nor overlong. The book is rounded out with a nice appendix, which consists of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and a wide array of charts and graphs, as well as an index, though a fully-fledged glossary is missed. All in all, this is a great introductory text for those wishing to know more about American history, useful to both the student and the individual reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as they say it is...
Review: Did somebody in my 11th Creative Writing class secretly publish this book? Because this is without a doubt the most prosey, flowery, melodramatic writing I have ever encountered. It doesn't so much "explain history" as much as it "wishes it were fiction." Are the authors still bitter that those romance novel publishers rejected their drafts?One of my favorite gems in this book is the sentence: "America stumbled through the cellar door in a drunken fit of idealism." I mean, at what point is it okay for that to be used in a textbook? I could write a more factual sentence IN A FREAKING COMA. And what's sad is that the book is filled with this kind of flowery prose on every page. (It seems to be a particular fan of personification -- "America was a big hulking monster of war that sank its claws into the bloody corpse of Europe." That isn't in the book, but it could be. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.) I'm a student and even I think that this textbook has no business teaching me anything when it can't get its act together. Here's a tip for the authors: when the students are laughing out loud at some of your ridiculous language, it's a good sign that you probably aren't doing your job to the best of your ability.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible but worthy...if you have the Teacher
Review: I feel the Pageant doesn't live up to all the hype about it. Its put together poorly, and written in an odd way. reminds me more of a 6th grade history book with some satire, then an AP worthy text. The writters go out of their way too be funny. The book is kind of short... which is good in someways, but has 42 Chapters. it would be easier if they combined Chapters and one would read all about one thing in one chapter. a 30 chapter book would be excellent. Its easy reading, which allows for one to get through a chapter quickly, but sense its so easy to read, its easy to look over some things. Its not a terrible book, but doesn't live up to other books out there. Youll either like this book or hate it, depends on the person and what they like in a text book...
Rating: 
Summary: Worst. Book. Ever.
Review: I may not be able to write all I can about how this book is really bad but the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong -- by James W. Loewen does a really good job with it. I just can't believe some people found this book ok to read. I had this book in school and I absolutely hated it. This book personifies America A LOT for example on page 4 "The American continents were slow to yield their virginity." They uses a lot of metphors and flowery language. Everything is very biased. He refered to the English as Anglo-Saxans. Just like Americans are Christian. (note the sarcasm) The author likes to ignore some facts about history, like the existance of the Native Americans and believe me there was a LOT and their massacre is comparable to what happen to the Jews--- but more brutal. Of course I didn't learn that from this book. This book takes the existance of the Native Americans very lightly and passively.
-Page 4 "The American republic, which is still relatively young, was from the outset singularly favored. It started from scratch on a vast and virgin continent, which was so sparsely peopled by Indians that they could be eliminated or pushed aside."
-Page 10 "The English settlers, disagreeable though the thought may be, were more successful than the Spaniards in kiling off the Indians."
-Page 13 "The main attraction was hoped-for gold, although there was some desire to convert the heathen Indians to Christianity and to find a passage through America to the Indies." Once again there's more that is wrong with this book. Just that I have to go to sleep now. But if you like flowerly language, a biased opinion on history, and the glorification of America then go ahead. I don't know about you but I just can't learn history like that, its a terrible way to try to improve our country if we don't learn the flaws or the wrong things that our country does.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific survey of the REAL American History
Review: I read this book first in high school several years ago as part of an advanced placement U.S. History course. I hated it then - but love it now. Bailey captures the depth of the issues the nation faced in each step of its development. His accuracy and profound insight keep the subject matter from becoming too dry. What I loved most about the text is that it never over-simplifies the significant historical events such as the political struggles of the 1st and 2nd continental congresses, secession issues and America's position in both World Wars. He digs deep beneath the surface to paint a thorough understanding of what the root causes were of historic events. The 10th addition adds interesting subsections that profile the various immigrant cultures that influenced American history. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the nation's history and the people who made it.
Rating:
Summary: Best textbook I read in high school
Review: I think the people who criticize this book for its flowery languages are the same people who criticize other history textbooks for being dull and dry, and so for them, any history textbook would probably fail their standards. With that said, Kennedy and Bailey successfuly make American history come alive and accessible to students with their fascinating choice of phrases and subtle humor. The book reads more like a novel than a textbook, and I have to say it significantly improved my writing and reading abilities in sophomore year high school. For those who criticize this book for lacking important facts, they should remember that this is meant to serve as an INTRODUCTION to American history, getting students acquainted with important themes rather than presenting obscure facts and statistics in rapid-fire succession. This book does not insult your intelligence by printing key terms in bold, or over-glorify the United States by beating patriotic rants into your head. It has its leftist slant, but it is meant to educate you to see the whole picture, from the perspectives of the greatest statesman to the most disenfranchised slave, the wealthiest businessman to the poorest farmer, the most honored general to the humblest soldier. For me, it was the perfect blend of praise and criticism of American history. Give this book a try and you will soon see what makes it a compelling read.
Rating:
Summary: The best textbook I ever read
Review: I'm 32 now and this was my AP US History book in high school. I'm thinking about buying it and reading it again, as a refresher and a pleasure. The satirical quips made it a joy the first time around, and I still remember charming phrases like "Nebrascals" and Martin van Buren being a "veritable steam engine in breeches." I remember about nothing from the rest of my high school and college textbooks. The authors find their subject grand, tragic and humorous, and that's the way they present it. Even if you think the style is inappropriate, you remember what is said. Perhaps it's even gotten under your skin enough for you to spout about it online for fifteen minutes instead of cracking open a bag of Doritos and firing up the Playstation. I'd say that's a colossal achievement when it comes to high school textbooks. And in case you're concerned that the relevent facts are missing, I got a 5 on my AP test.
Rating: 
Summary: Kinda sucks
Review: No, I'm not some ultraconservative saying that this book has a huge leftist bent, because it doesn't. For example, while in the final chapters it focuses more on the negative impacts of Reagan's economic program than the positive ones, it also talks about how the idea of New World discoverers simply being savage murderers of perfectly innocent, starry-eyed Indians is an exaggeration - so, while the former could be described as a leftist bent, the latter could be described as a rightist bent. But anyway, the true reason this book is obnoxious is because...well...it's obnoxious! Cheesy phrases like "oil, the black milk of the world's economy" abound, and the book seems to obsessively focus on issues such as women's rights, almost like they're required by law to include information about minorities and women every X pages. I'm not saying that white men own the history of America, but it could've flowed better. This book is also anything but objective, but the biases seem to go both ways at times.
Rating:
Summary: American History at its Finest
Review: The American Pageant is absolutely the most engrossing and readable history textbook. This textbook presents all important facets of American History lucidly and concisely, combining essential facts with intelligent commentary, and more often than not, it features downright funny anecdotes and/or quips, which we soon dubbed "Pageantisms" in our AP class. I still remember how the book described the general public opinion of President Chester A. Arthur when he took office after President James Garfield was shot: he was considered nothing more than a "foppish dandy." What exactly a foppish dandy is, I'm not entirely sure, but the fact that my history book contained the words "foppish dandy" was enough to elicit a chuckle from myself, and to compel me to continue reading about this lesser-known president. For all critics out there who would say that such information in a history textbook of an AP course is silly, unneeded, and takes away from the must-know information at hand, I say you are wrong; it's entertaining asides such as this that make a history student such as myself have a desire to learn. A boring textbook that vomits facts at you can't provoke such desire. This is why the American Pageant shines; this is why the American Pageant is the best textbook for AP United States History out there. And if you're still skeptical, the American Pageant is largely responsible (my AP U.S. teacher also, but he's not for sale on Amazon) for my earning a 5 on the AP Exam. Take that, critics.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible - long and bombastic
Review: Throughout AP United States History, my school had the American Pageant, and the students unanimously abandoned it for "United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination."
The problem with the Pageant is that there is too much of it. We pulled out this book every once in a while just to look at the pretty pictures and maps in it, and to make fun of its "superfluous glory" - because that's what it is. Superfluous. If you're looking for a book that you can spend many hours reading like a novel, I guess this is it. If you just want the facts, or care about passing an AP exam, this is NOT the right book.
|
