The Patriot's Handbook

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational -- and it IS complete
Review: Altogether, a very good collection. Not just single-sided -- I noticed both Roe v. Wade and a recent pro-life speech, for example.

To correct the earlier post... this book DOES include all Constitutional amendments. What may have confused jraven is the fact that the amendments are grouped in chronological "chunks"... one for the 18th century, one for the 19th century, etc.

Along with the unfortunate (and surprising) lack of an appendix, the chronological ordering of the documents makes it a little more difficult to trace a common theme (e.g. individual rights). But grouping documents together with others of their period makes it easier to grasp the historical context of a given speech.

And somehow, the fact that it's in paperback makes it a little less intimidating to read.

I plan to get a copy for each of my kids, next.

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational -- and it IS complete
Review: Altogether, a very good collection. Not just single-sided -- I noticed both Roe v. Wade and a recent pro-life speech, for example.

To correct the earlier post... this book DOES include all Constitutional amendments. What may have confused jraven is the fact that the amendments are grouped in chronological "chunks"... one for the 18th century, one for the 19th century, etc.

Along with the unfortunate (and surprising) lack of an appendix, the chronological ordering of the documents makes it a little more difficult to trace a common theme (e.g. individual rights). But grouping documents together with others of their period makes it easier to grasp the historical context of a given speech.

And somehow, the fact that it's in paperback makes it a little less intimidating to read.

I plan to get a copy for each of my kids, next.

Rating:
Summary: A Superb Tome
Review: Any student of American history should read the source documents in this book and be inspired to stand up for freedom.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but incomplete.
Review: Eloquent. I have no other word to describe the works in this book. This book may seem to be a compilation of important documents and speeches, but it's also a insight into the men who made history.

This books presents American history parsed into chronological order and told through the speeches and documents themselves. There is no narrator and no need for one, the explicit ideals expressed in each masterfully written document from their eloquent clarity.

One only has to sit and read the Declaration of Independence outside of the classroom to fully appreciate the hard choices or ancestors had been forced to make. The courage required to write and sign the Declaration of Independence only shows itself when the document is read entirely without inteferemce.

The book also includes hymns and ballads from our history, covering songs for the Union and Confederacy during our Civil War. I have yet to hear of a history class in which the students are able to actually know what the common men were singing to maintain their spirits.

A page is written on each of the founding fathers, fortuneately it goes into a respectable level of detail on the lesser known founders. The book brings the founders into the light and displays them as what they truly were, normal men with grand plans, strong convictions and the courage to see it through.

One place where the book could have improved however is by listing all of the amendments to the Constition, rather than only the first ten. All told it is a book that will inspire the reader when he is faced with impossible odds.

The closing cover of the book reads "Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." -John Quincy Adams

George Grant has made good use of his freedom by writing this book, it's strongly suggested that you use your freedom to enjoy this book and stop to appreciate at what cost our prosperity has come.

Rating:
Summary: For Everyone Who Loves America!
Review: Most people, (me included - until I read this book),are most likely unaware of many of the documents contained in this book. Writers from Christopher Columbus through Alan Keyes are featured. They discuss what they were thinking when they helped form our nation. Many of our greatest documents are contained. If for nothing else this is a great resource book to have in the house. I am a radio talk show host at Newsradio 780 KOH in Reno (www.therustyshow.com)and have used this book often for my show. It is FANTASTIC!!

Rating:
Summary: For Everyone Who Loves America!
Review: Most people, (me included - until I read this book),are most likely unaware of many of the documents contained in this book. Writers from Christopher Columbus through Alan Keyes are featured. They discuss what they were thinking when they helped form our nation. Many of our greatest documents are contained. If for nothing else this is a great resource book to have in the house. I am a radio talk show host at Newsradio 780 KOH in Reno (www.therustyshow.com)and have used this book often for my show. It is FANTASTIC!!

Rating:
Summary: A TIMELY BOOK FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD
Review: This book is a wonderfully complete anthology of the writings and spoken words that have shaped America - its ideas, its culture and its politics - from the earliest colonial settlements in Virginia and New England through to the present day.

In the aftermath of the September 2001 catastrophe in New York and the related tragedies in Washington and Pennsylvania, this book will be of outstanding value to Americans as they refresh their sense of identity and renew their familiarity with the core values that they share with their friends around the globe.

In speaking of America's friends, we British will not be alone in finding strength and inspiration in this remarkable body of thought and expression. However it is you Americans who have most to gain by re-discovering the spoken and written words of the foundational geniuses of your national spirit.

Take the opportunity now to read or re-read the Declaration of Independence - the moment of your birth as a nation. Remind yourselves what your Constitution actually says, and rejoice in your astonishing Bill of Rights (we have neither in the UK).

Draw strength from the righteousness and resolve of the heroic characters in your history. It may be fashionable to discount the epic poems about (say) Miles Standish and Paul Revere as divorced from the reality of their lives, but that is to miss the point. Revere's importance is not so much in what he historically did, as in the light that his legend sheds on the American character. It was in fact in these embellished accounts that the great poets most truly captured the spirit of the American people and passed the snapshots on for posterity.

There is so much more here - too much to list. The book contains all the most important documents, essays, sermons, speeches ("Give me liberty, or give me death!"), poems and songs that have shaped America's view of itself and of the world. So much more than just a civics text, this is a brilliantly selected and edited encapsulation of the U.S. identity.

Over the next few months, America is going to begin rebuilding its faith in God and its faith in itself. That is going to involve reflection on the successes and the mistakes of the past, and a rediscovery of the core values that America has built itself on (and to a large extent passed on to the world). In that process, "The Patriot's Handbook" can be of incalculable value.

America's friends should read it. Even America's enemies should read it - they might find understanding and the hope of reconciliation. Every American should own it.