The American Pageant: A History of the Republic, 12th Edition

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Summary: THE book to read if you want to learn U.S. History
Review: The American Pageant does more than provide the reader with a dry recital of the facts and figures of U.S. History. It addresses the way our ancestors lived and died in all its human foibles. It presents a holistic approach to history, never forgetting how events in other areas of the world have both benefited and harmed our country. I first became acquainted with the book in the 1970s while in high school, having been given a copy of the 1958 edition of the book by my mother (a high school history teacher!). I found myself reading it strictly for entertainment sake! Later, while in college, I took the CLEP tests in U.S. History, and the book proved invaluable! I easily passed both directly as a result of my exposure to The American Pageant. Now, I find myself with a son about to take high school history, and this is the ONLY book I'd recommend to him.

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Summary: A History Textbook That Reads Like a Novel
Review: I enjoyed this textbook in high school so much that, almost ten years later, I hope to buy it so I can re-read it -- FOR FUN! This survey of American History had an amazing impact on me. Incidentally, if you are looking for a history book to study for an AP exam, I made a 4 out of 5, and all I studied was this book.

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Summary: Worst book ever
Review: This book contained many bad jokes and lengthy paragraphs and is probably the worst book that i have read. It does contain alot of information and is rather comprehensive for a high school class, but it makes you sleepy and forces you to take a nap, which is a waste of valuable time. It takes about an hour to read each chapter. It may seem that it takes more since the book is very boring and lacking any spark. Don't take me as a history basher since i love history and may major in history at college. The book is a very boring book and you can't really study for your finals with it since it is very boring and you will take a long time to read the evil book.

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Summary: Good for the Lay History Student
Review: This new edition with the addition of author Lizabeth Cohen presents US history in a broad sweep that proficiently covers all of the basics in a manner that is proper for the lay high school history student. Anyone more serious then that would probably find this title a little lacking in in depth historical solidity. The facts of US history are given but not thoroughly analyzed as they are in some other books. However, they are clear, concise and easilt readable, making this is a quality choice for anyone wanting the basics, but little more. This edition does cover the social and revisionist topics with greater depth than the last editions, and it does give a sometimes leftward biased view, but that really doesn't detract from the book that much.

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Summary: decent book
Review: This book was pretty decent. It surely wasn't spectacular, but it was manageable. I used this book in my ap us history class, and there was a ton of required reading from this text. Fortunatly, I found many portions of the book to be humorous, and the descriptions were very readable. There is good distribution of images and political cartoons throughout the text as well. At one point, in review for the ap test, I managed to reread about 30 chapters in 2 weeks. That's about 600 pages. That should tell you something about the entertainment value of the book. It's not exciting, but it goes along pretty well.

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Summary: Worst History Book Ever!!!
Review: I have loved history ever since I was born. I hated my AP US History Class because of this book. It is very leftsided. I would recommend not using this book!

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Summary: Good Book!
Review: It is a very well-written book. It helped me get a 5 on the AP United States History Exam.

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Summary: Needs Work
Review: The highly esteemed College Board for the A.P. test proclaims that Thomas A. Bailey's American Pageant is the best textbook for those who wish to ace the A.P. American History exam. The American Pageant is a titanic work of nothing but gibberish and useless drivel. One must swim through a jungle of invented nicknames and opinionated conclusions in order to find a central thesis. Not only are many of the passages inherently biased, but they are basically inaccurate and set out to perpetuate age-old generalities and myths. Bailey get his facts wrong on many occasions and his work carries an intense, nationalistic theme througout. He staunchly defends our imperialist motives in China and always denounces Europeans as decietful and intervening. It seems as if none of our misfortunes are our fault and Bailey always seems to find a foreign power to decry and debase. I find it hard to believe that this man chaired the history department at Stanford University. These qualities also appear in another of his works,"A Diplomatic History of the American People,"which is also bigoted and peppered with glittering generalities. Contrary to what others reviewing this book have said, this book is littered nationalistic undertones (in some cases, overtones) and patriotic drivel. This book is garbage and it disturbs me to know that many history teachers, including the College Board, believe it to be a credible source.

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Summary: Too wordy; doesn't get the point
Review: I am taking AP US History and have been getting a C, not because of my laziness or anything like that, but because of this wretched book. While there are many people who enjoy history being told like a novel filled with witty analogies and overblown descriptions, I believe history books should get to the point. Bailey is too opinionated to tell you exactly what happened and just what happened. In fact, Bailey gives me a headache. For those who want relevant details and analysis, read AMERICA by George B. Tinball and David E. Shi. They get to the point and don't beat around the bush. But there are some who strangely enjoy that...

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Summary: Sadly inadequate
Review: I'm using this book right now for my APUSH class. I usually enjoy reading about history, but this book makes it terrible. The constant "witticisms" seem to trivialize what the book describes, and even worse, it seems to be not nearly in-depth enough to provide any decent insight into what happened, as if it were not even skimming the surface, merely looking upon it. (The writing style has rubbed off on me.) It leaves me very unsatisfied, and my understanding of the concepts is left with huge holes that my teacher constantly has to clarify in class. If you really care about learning the material well, find another textbook that actually gives the details with thoughtful analysis rather than an overgeneralized, almost fictionalized "account" of the basic events.