History of the United States

[antdengineer]

Whats the best book on US History?

I want to learn in-depth information about everything from the 1700s to the 2000s.

Thanks

[acptulsa]

I would recommend you read several books.

Are you familiar with how binocular vision works. Your two eyes aren't in the same place. Therefore, each has a slightly different viewpoint. Your brain combines these viewpoints and uses them to produce depth of vision.

For depth of vision, you need as many viewpoints as possible. Enjoy!

[antdengineer]

Can you recommend any good ones with differing viewpoints?

[Fields]

Howard Zinn's history book is from the eyes of other people which people say is quite revealing. A People's History of the United States.

[bew2005]

I would also recommend Zinn's book. Be prepared for some things that challenge previously held beliefs and for an overall eye opening experience. As others have stated, more than one book should be read on the issue.

[antdengineer]

Great, thanks for the responses.

[slamhead]

May not be the best book but the first book writen about the history of the US was writen in 1790. It is writen in the book that the first settlers encountered blond haired blue eyed indians that spoke Welsh. It is believed that Prince Maddoc and explorer who disappeared in 1170 made it to America.

It is a very interesting alternative history. I always point this out to people on Columbus day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoc

[familydog]

If you're looking for an in-depth look at that much US History, you're going to have to invest in a lot of books. In fact, you might as well start a library, I did :p

If you don't want to read hundreds of books, might I suggest a survey like in your basic college US History class. Either both volumes of Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty! or both volumes of Liberty, Equality, and Power: A History of the American People by John Murrin et al. They aren't that boring to read, despite being textbooks.

[Individualist Mind]

The politically incorrect guide to American History by Dr. Thomas Woods Jr.

This is an excellent book and really opens your eyes to the lies that you were taught in history class.

[NightOwl]

If you're looking for an in-depth look at that much US History, you're going to have to invest in a lot of books. In fact, you might as well start a library, I did :p

If you don't want to read hundreds of books, might I suggest a survey like in your basic college US History class. Either both volumes of Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty! or both volumes of Liberty, Equality, and Power: A History of the American People by John Murrin et al. They aren't that boring to read, despite being textbooks.

I understand why you're recommending these -- they cover a lot of history. So please don't be offended when I say these books are utter propaganda, and exactly what is wrong with our educational system.

Two books on American history (not textbooks, unfortunately -- the good guys haven't written one yet) that Dr. Paul has recommended are The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask. He also recommends How Capitalism Saved America (a lot of history in there) and The Real Lincoln.

[acptulsa]

I understand why you're recommending these -- they cover a lot of history. So please don't be offended when I say these books are utter propaganda, and exactly what is wrong with our educational system.

Exactly why I'm not chiming in. I like going after history from perspectives that interest me, and seeing how it does or doesn't fit in with the propaganda as a way to digest it. Railroad histories, company histories, tribal histories, battle histories and the like add a lot more perspective to the "official line" than most things because they slip under the radar.

They aren't considered "revisionist", just "narrow". But they cover the nuts and bolts much better than a "general" history ever could without running into a dozen volumes.

[ARealConservative]

The politically incorrect guide to American History by Dr. Thomas Woods Jr.

This is an excellent book and really opens your eyes to the lies that you were taught in history class.

Agreed.

And although it doesn't go in depth on any one subject, it does give suggestions on further reading material that does.

And I will also add, it has a Ron Paul endorsement right on the cover.

[familydog]

I understand why you're recommending these -- they cover a lot of history. So please don't be offended when I say these books are utter propaganda, and exactly what is wrong with our educational system.

Two books on American history (not textbooks, unfortunately -- the good guys haven't written one yet) that Dr. Paul has recommended are The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask. He also recommends How Capitalism Saved America (a lot of history in there) and The Real Lincoln.

I'm not offended, I'm just not sure why you'd call them propaganda without giving some good evidence as to how they are. By the way, the books you cited (good books, I own them), have a certain purpose, to promote a certain point of view. You only need look at the chapter titles. So how those are not propaganda, I don't know.

Anyway, based on what the OP said, the books that I recomended certainly fit the bill. Every book, especially history books, have bias. No matter who the author is, no matter what I think, you think, or Ron Paul thinks. There is always a bias to one point of view or another. I simply suggested the books that have the largest amount of history, in the least amount of books, with the least amount of bias, that are "good" in a scholarly sense. Just because Ron Paul recomended it doesn't mean that it's the only history book you'll ever need.

[NightOwl]

I'm not offended, I'm just not sure why you'd call them propaganda without giving some good evidence as to how they are. By the way, the books you cited (good books, I own them), have a certain purpose, to promote a certain point of view. You only need look at the chapter titles. So how those are not propaganda, I don't know.

Anyway, based on what the OP said, the books that I recomended certainly fit the bill. Every book, especially history books, have bias. No matter who the author is, no matter what I think, you think, or Ron Paul thinks. There is always a bias to one point of view or another. I simply suggested the books that have the largest amount of history, in the least amount of books, with the least amount of bias, that are "good" in a scholarly sense. Just because Ron Paul recomended it doesn't mean that it's the only history book you'll ever need.

Eric Foner was a Soviet apologist for years, and a reprehensible human being. If he ever wrote anything valuable (and his book on Tom Paine is actually good, for instance), it was by accident. Foner is an unrepentant Marxist. I suppose we could say that's a "point of view," but I'm on this earth a finite number of years, and I factor that into deciding what's worth reading.

No one is saying only books recommended by Ron Paul are valuable.

The other text is, again, a typical American history text. The heroes can be predicted in advance, the "great presidents" can be predicted in advance, etc. It's awful. But this is what our kids are taught -- and then we wonder why they're all zombies.

[Theocrat]

Whats the best book on US History?

I want to learn in-depth information about everything from the 1700s to the 2000s.

Thanks

This is an awesome book on U.S. history!

http://www.americanvision.com/ProductImages/CLandC.jpg

[familydog]

Eric Foner was a Soviet apologist for years, and a reprehensible human being. If he ever wrote anything valuable (and his book on Tom Paine is actually good, for instance), it was by accident. Foner is an unrepentant Marxist. I suppose we could say that's a "point of view," but I'm on this earth a finite number of years, and I factor that into deciding what's worth reading.

No one is saying only books recommended by Ron Paul are valuable.

The other text is, again, a typical American history text. The heroes can be predicted in advance, the "great presidents" can be predicted in advance, etc. It's awful. But this is what our kids are taught -- and then we wonder why they're all zombies.

So let me get this straight. You're accusing the books I recomended as being propaganda, and all you have to back it up is that? Can you cite several passages from the text to back up your claim? Have you even read the books? It sounds like you haven't, you're just going by who the authors are and what they say in their personal lives. You're not helping your case when you say that Eric Foner wrote a good book, but yet it was somehow by accident and everything else he wrote is rubbish. Just because you find something not worth reading, doesn't mean everyone else feels the same. All the books that have been mentioned should be read by anyone that cares about history.

Like I said though, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History is good, and people should read it. If one wants to get the most amount of history in least amount of pages though, one can't go wrong with a survey. I'm sorry, but Thomas woods did not author a survey.

But you're right. There is a lot of propaganda being taught to American students. I'm all about personal responsibility. If one is duped into believing everything their teacher tells them or a book tells them, without fact-checking to see if it's true, then who's fault is it? The lazy college student who doesn't want to work? I think so.

As a side note, I'm suprised you didn't rag on the poster who mentioned Howard Zinn's book. Zinn is on record as saying history should be about promoting certain agendas. He actively pursued that as president of the American Historical Association. He is as far left as you can get. Does that make his work bad? Even though I disagree with his assesment, I think his books should be read by anyone that cares about all Americans history. Not just certain peoples history.

For the OP: If you want books with differing view point, try Founding Myths: Stories that Hide our Patriotic Past by Ray Raphael. The author does a great job of debunking many myths that are taught in schools about our Revolution.
http://www.rayraphael.com/Founding_Myths.htm

[enter`name`here]

I would suggest Murray N. Rothbards Conceived in Liberty
http://www.mises.org/store/product.aspx?ProductID=96

"For anyone who thinks of Murray Rothbard as only an economic theorist or political thinker, these four spectacular volumes are nothing short of shocking. They offer a complete history of the Colonial period of American history, a period lost to students today, who are led to believe American history begins with the US Constitution.

Rothbard's ambition was to shed new light on Colonial history and show that the struggle for human liberty was the heart and soul of this land from its discovery through the culminating event of the American Revolution. These volumes are a tour de force, enough to establish Rothbard as one of the great American historians.

Although a detailed narrative history of the struggle between liberty and power, Rothbard offers a third alternative to the conventional interpretive devices. Against those on the right who see the American Revolution as a "conservative" event, and those on the left who want to invoke it as some sort of proto-socialist uprising, Rothbard views this period as a time of accelerating libertarian radicalism. Through this prism, Rothbard illuminates events as never before."

[rancher89]

I know you wanted books, and this probably won't help, but I like this site

http://www.trueworldhistory.info/

[dannno]

HERE:

http://www.addictedtowar.com/atw1a.html


It is a history of our "empire".

You can read the ENTIRE book online for free, and then I would recommend buying a copy for other people to read.

This is an excellent book about the history of our military and how it has been used to protect global enterprise. 1700s - 2000s just like you requested.

It is in "comic book" format, very easy to read, but it is chalk full of citations for everything.

I really think this is what you've been looking for. I highly recommend it.

This book is actually deserving of it's own thread.

[ARealConservative]

HERE:

http://www.addictedtowar.com/atw1a.html


It is a history of our "empire".

You can read the ENTIRE book online for free, and then I would recommend buying a copy for other people to read.

This is an excellent book about the history of our military and how it has been used to protect global enterprise. 1700s - 2000s just like you requested.

It is in "comic book" format, very easy to read, but it is chalk full of citations for everything.

I really think this is what you've been looking for. I highly recommend it.

This book is actually deserving of it's own thread.

that comic book is awful IMO.

The pictures themselves depict many of the ridiculous talking points of marxism - including the muckraker slander claiming standard oil was a sleazy corporation.

It is anti-capitalism drivel to be blunt.

[yongrel]

May not be the best book but the first book writen about the history of the US was writen in 1790. It is writen in the book that the first settlers encountered blond haired blue eyed indians that spoke Welsh. It is believed that Prince Maddoc and explorer who disappeared in 1170 made it to America.

It is a very interesting alternative history. I always point this out to people on Columbus day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoc

Whoa... awesome.

[OhioMichael]

The politically incorrect guide to American History by Dr. Thomas Woods Jr.

This is an excellent book and really opens your eyes to the lies that you were taught in history class.

+1

Great Coffee Table Book

[dannno]

that comic book is awful IMO.

The pictures themselves depict many of the ridiculous talking points of marxism - including the muckraker slander claiming standard oil was a sleazy corporation.

It is anti-capitalism drivel to be blunt.

That's bologna. It's a great book, you didn't even read much of it, no way you could have.

Your statement reaks of neoconism. What, are you going to call Ron Paul an isolationist now? Cause it's basically the exact same thing. The book is NOT anti-capitalism, it shows how we used our military to further economic profit while destroying other countries and cultures.

I really wish you would actually sit down and read it, you would learn a lot. Once again it's more a matter of what you know. I should mention once again, that this book is chalk full of citations.



HERE:

http://www.addictedtowar.com/atw1a.html


It is a history of our "empire".

You can read the ENTIRE book online for free, and then I would recommend buying a copy for other people to read.

This is an excellent book about the history of our military and how it has been used to protect global enterprise. 1700s - 2000s just like you requested.

It is in "comic book" format, very easy to read, but it is chalk full of citations for everything.

I really think this is what you've been looking for. I highly recommend it.

This book is actually deserving of it's own thread.

[ARealConservative]

That's bologna. It's a great book, you didn't even read much of it, no way you could have.

Your statement reaks of neoconism. What, are you going to call Ron Paul an isolationist now? Cause it's basically the exact same thing. The book is NOT anti-capitalism, it shows how we used our military to further economic profit while destroying other countries and cultures.

I really wish you would actually sit down and read it, you would learn a lot. Once again it's more a matter of what you know. I should mention once again, that this book is chalk full of citations.

it's a fucking comic that takes the worst quotes from individuals and attempts to make it sound like that is our unified policy.

Your love of this communist drivel is sickening.

"behind the marines came legions of U.S. Business Executives, not only to sell their goods, but also to set up plantations, drill oil wells, and stake out mining claims" :rolleyes:

The book does have a ton of citations, none of which can be easily collaborated and are most likely taken out of context.

Its view on manifest destiny contradicts the view found in the Politically Incorrect Guide to American History......Ron Paul endorses that book, not your retarded comic strip.

[dannno]

it's a fucking comic that takes the worst quotes from individuals and attempts to make it sound like that is our unified policy.

Your love of this communist drivel is sickening.

"behind the marines came legions of U.S. Business Executives, not only to sell their goods, but also to set up plantations, drill oil wells, and stake out mining claims" :rolleyes:

Uh, ya, didn't they?!

Though I wouldn't call them "business executives", I would call them what they are, thieves and murderers. They simply let them have the title that they gave themselves.




The book does have a ton of citations, none of which can be easily collaborated and are most likely taken out of context.

Its view on manifest destiny contradicts the view found in the Politically Incorrect Guide to American History......Ron Paul endorses that book, not your retarded comic strip.

Manifest Destiny is a very small part of the book, and I don't really have a terribly strong opinion on the subject... On the one hand 96% of the native americans were murdered, on the other hand my ancestors traveled west back then, and my family has done enough research to know that they were well intentioned folks.

So, I don't find it nearly as relevant as the rest of the book, which is outstanding.

[dannno]

Either way, the books shows we should not be using our military unless it is to protect our own country. It shows the disastrous effects of using our military for business purposes (which is all it has really been used for since we've never really been attacked). That is NOT anti-capitalist... again it's the exact same thing as calling Ron Paul an isolationist, it just isn't true.

You are saying that Marxists complained about Standard Oil, and this book complains about Standard Oil, therefore the book must be communist.

You are saying that this book condemns using our military for capitalist purposes, and therefore it is anti-capitalist.

You need a logic check.

[constitutional]

I hear people saying read this x book because it will open your eyes to lies.

Any history book would work; you just need facts... then you can explore the other side of history by reading opiniated books.

[ARealConservative]

Uh, ya, didn't they?!


Didn't they what? We engaged in commerce before and after the "Marines arrived".



Manifest Destiny is a very small part of the book

It is the beginning of the book and has the same theme as the rest of the book, everything we do is and has always been evil.

No wonder Chomsky endorses it - it hates on America and capitalism sufficiently for his liking.

It's really just an extremely biased timeline and doesn't really fit into a thread of history books.

[OhioMichael]

I hear people saying read this x book because it will open your eyes to lies.

Any history book would work; you just need facts... then you can explore the other side of history by reading opiniated books.

Well said. The more educated that you become, the more resolute you become in your convictions. Armed with facts, you have much more ammunition to fire back at the other side.

The environment today produces a lot of 'factual history' books are biased in the first place. Take Lincoln for example. Lincoln scholars tend to paint a picture of the man that is completely untrue, despite the facts. The facts are there, but the historians twist them around, fitting them into their own thesis.

The more you know, the more you understand that a square peg cannot fit into a round hole. It is our job to educate! In this dumbed-down intellectually barren environment, it is we who are the custodians of the truth.

[kpitcher]

I like Joseph Ellis - look him up on amazon / B+N/ etc.

'Founding Brothers', and also 'American Creation' are nice works describing the behind the scenes efforts of the founders.

The biographies he's done on the early era are also very good.

I think it matters on how much you want to read, there are some very good authors and some are very prolific ;)

[Pedro TT]

good books

[Joseph Hart]

Best of US History can be found only in the President's Book Of Secrets... We all know that.:D

btw: im a dork and cant wait for the bluray version to come out so i can pause during the book scene.