The Idea of America Audiobook By Gordon S Wood cover art

The Idea of America

Reflections on the Birth of the United States

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The Idea of America

By: Gordon S Wood
Narrated by: Robert Fass
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The preeminent historian of the American Revolution explains why it remains the most significant event in our history.

©2011 Gordon S. Wood (P)2011 Penguin Americas Constitutions Law Political Science Politics & Government Revolution & Founding United States Capitalism War of 1812 Socialism US Constitution Suffrage Taxation United Kingdom
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Wood helps makes the mania of today understandable, but no less intolerable. Should be required reading for members of Congress.

Excellent primer for putting today in context and in perspective

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These essays are sophisticated historical analyses. A listener needs to be familiar with the major developments of the Revolutionary and early Republican periods as well as with the major historical interpretations of such periods. This is therefore not an introductory work.

It is instead an advanced scholarly work. The essays challenge some of the commonly accepted interpretations of our early history in some intriguing and well argued ways. I found them both convincing and enjoyable.

Sophisticated analyses

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This is a history of historian's views of the American Revolution and following years, not a history of those years per se. Very, very abstract and vague. Almost no names of individuals (except to say they weren't exactly mad)... A lot more mention of historians from the 1940s to 1970s than of the founding fathers or anyone else from circa 1800 AD.

MetaHistory

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