Rating: 
Summary: A little over the top
Review: Hi! This book had potential apart from the... title, and so could have been better. The annoying thing about books like these is when they get a little bit too excited in their drum-beating and flag-waving. The principles that the book celebrates are real and important. But one attitude displayed prominently in is the conceit of falling into the trap of thinking we are the only democratic or free nation in the world. Other very successful democracies also uphold and illustrate important values and democratic and egalitarian ideals. Read books like this, but read them with an open and enquiring mind, and try not to be isolationist (or elitist) when you celebrate our American conceptions of democracy - otherwise you are in danger of betraying those very values!
Rating: 
Summary: History for dummies
Review: I bought and read this book based on the rave reviews given to it on the Don Imus radio show. What a HUGE mistake! The book is, quite simply, "history for dummies". If you know absolutely NOTHING about American history, then you might enjoy this book. Matthews simplifies everything and accepts at face value the myths and inaccuracies of American history usually taught to grammar school students. Quite simply, the book has no depth. (And I suspect that Matthews' knowledge of American history has no depth either!) As a Civil War "buff" of some 40 years (with a keen interest in America going back to colonial times), perhaps I was expecting too much from Matthews. I did not expect a comprehensive history in so short a book, but I expected some substance -- but there was none. If I were Matthews, I would be ashamed to have my name associated with it. Save your money!! This book is garbage.
Rating:
Summary: Skip the book, get the audio
Review: I enjoyed hearing Matthews on the G. Gordon Liddy show discuss this book so much that I bought it. Well, I read Stephen Ambrose's final book just before this one and found Matthews' somewhat lacking. The two books are essentially the same in their goals, short essays on important highlights in American History. Some of the same topics are covered in both books. Ambrose just did a MUCH BETTER job. Ambrose was a skilled writer and Historian by trade, Matthews is a gifted gabber. So my suggestion is to listen to Matthews on Audio, but buy Ambrose's "To America: Personal Reflections of An Historian".
Rating:
Summary: Skip the book, get the audio
Review: I enjoyed hearing Matthews on the G. Gordon Liddy show discuss this book so much that I bought it. Well, I read Stephen Ambrose's final book just before this one and found Matthews' somewhat lacking. The two books are essentially the same in their goals, short essays on important highlights in American History. Some of the same topics are covered in both books. Ambrose just did a MUCH BETTER job. Ambrose was a skilled writer and Historian by trade, Matthews is a gifted gabber. So my suggestion is to listen to Matthews on Audio, but buy Ambrose's "To America: Personal Reflections of An Historian".
Rating: 
Summary: Simple but Optimistic
Review: I read most of the reviews already posted, particularly the negative ones. I am not sure what people were expecting from Chris or the book but I found it to be an easy and enjoyable read. If I wanted a history textbook, I would have bought one. I wanted to read an optimistic, positive book about America that doesn't resort to the "liberals are traitors" thumping we hear from the Right. Chris mildy and briefly reveals his reservations about President Bush but he doesn't bash him. I don't expect Hardball to be sole source of political information, nor did I expect "Americans: Beyond out Grandest Notions" to be my sole source for American history. I probably won't refer to it again but it was a pleasurable read that stands way above the partisan name calling books we get from Coulter, Franken, Hannity, Limbaugh, and Moore. Casablanca may not be my favorite movie, but who cares? Some Americans identify with it. Chris did, and he's the author. I'm okay with that. Thanks for lifting my spirits Chris. America isn't as bad as some people say we are.
Rating:
Summary: sunnycarcinoid
Review: I recommend this book, it is only 200+ pages and very well documented. It could be very good resource material for a civic class, American history class, and should be required reading for American's. This book is NOT negative, but delves into why we are like we are and not like anyone else in the world. Chris comes up with ten, uniquely American notions and they are very interesting. IMHO (in my humble opinion) this is very worthwhile reading! Senator John McCain is one of his contemporary examples, but Chris goes back to before the Revolutionary War for other examples.
Rating:
Summary: pretty much a long junior high essay
Review: I usually don't write reviews, and I am not much of a reader myself, but I am greatly disappointed in this book. First, the book has the style of a high school paper. The book has a lot of stories of individuals who kind fit the author's thesis, but no big picture analysis of America. In the end this book says nothing. The only reason why this book is so popular is because it says everything we want to hear. It has the author's main points of "some basic-and sometimes contradictory-precepts, are pugnacious but anti-militaristic; they admire gun-slinging loners and heroic men of action, but love the little guy and underdogs; they are optimists with a manifest destiny and an eye for personal reinvention." The book describes some Americans who were optimists. But there are equally important Americans, like Alexander Hamilton, who are not optimists. The book also claims that America loves the underdog. Why are the Yankees so popular then? Or that we are reluctant to go to war. Iraq, Spanish American War, War of 1812??? There are a lot of reasons why America is such a dominate power. In my opinion, the reasons why America has dominates is because we have a lot of natural resources, a lot of freedom that allows us to go from rags to riches, massive immigration, and a lot of luck. Rome lasted for over a millennium. America has barely lasted two centuries, and our dominance is more recent that that. I love this country; let's just keep things in prospective.
Rating:
Summary: Quick paced, entertaining, easy read
Review: If you are looking for an American History lesson, look somewhere else. This book has GREAT entertainment value. It shows American values by the media we produce. What a great insight on the American way of life. Matthews is right on the money with how he preceives Americans. It is a quick and easy read. Americans would have it no other way. "War and Peace" it ain't!
Rating:
Summary: pretty much a long junior high essay
Review: If you enjoy politics, American history, and movies, check out this read. What makes America great? Chris Matthews tells us. From the infinitely sagacious leadership of George Washington to the tantalizing, yet almost palpable, American dream symbolized by Jay Gatsby to the idealistic moral indignation of Jefferson Smith, Matthews smoothly runs the gamut of the great American landscape. Matthews exalts such seemingly common men as Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry Truman who exhibited, in what was no accident, truly uncommon leadership. Lincoln was said to have rebuked those who complained of Grant's heavy alcohol consumption. Find out what he drinks and give it to the other generals, the president told them. "I can't spare this man. He fights." Truman, sworn in to office as Vice President just 3 months prior to assuming the Presidency, was, as Matthews states, "a regular fellow who just as easily could be standing behind the counter when you went to buy a new pair of socks," became an extraordinary leader in a time of extraordinary crisis. Truman, along with Lincoln, had the guts to do what he thought was right. In using the atom bomb to end WWII Truman, in effect, avoided a million American casualties in an ensuing invasion. The result was a dismal 23% approval rating when he left office. As Matthews so aptly states, "Tough decisions don't always make friends." History, however, would be a better judge; Truman now is rightfully revered as one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century. Matthews, being intellectually honest, honors the maverick leadership of John McCain and the eternal optimism of Ronald Reagan as well. Overall, a fun and stimulating read that I recommend you check out.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun and insightful read
Review: If you enjoy politics, American history, and movies, check out this read. What makes America great? Chris Matthews tells us. From the infinitely sagacious leadership of George Washington to the tantalizing, yet almost palpable, American dream symbolized by Jay Gatsby to the idealistic moral indignation of Jefferson Smith, Matthews smoothly runs the gamut of the great American landscape. Matthews exalts such seemingly common men as Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry Truman who exhibited, in what was no accident, truly uncommon leadership. Lincoln was said to have rebuked those who complained of Grant's heavy alcohol consumption. Find out what he drinks and give it to the other generals, the president told them. "I can't spare this man. He fights." Truman, sworn in to office as Vice President just 3 months prior to assuming the Presidency, was, as Matthews states, "a regular fellow who just as easily could be standing behind the counter when you went to buy a new pair of socks," became an extraordinary leader in a time of extraordinary crisis. Truman, along with Lincoln, had the guts to do what he thought was right. In using the atom bomb to end WWII Truman, in effect, avoided a million American casualties in an ensuing invasion. The result was a dismal 23% approval rating when he left office. As Matthews so aptly states, "Tough decisions don't always make friends." History, however, would be a better judge; Truman now is rightfully revered as one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century. Matthews, being intellectually honest, honors the maverick leadership of John McCain and the eternal optimism of Ronald Reagan as well. Overall, a fun and stimulating read that I recommend you check out.
|
