Thursday, August 24, 2006

The American Story reviewed in Booklist


"With 26 of the first 55 stories set in the northeastern states, readers may begin to suspect a certain regional bias; however, Armstrong restores the balance to some extent in the latter part of the book," is one of the less than entirely thrillingly enthusiastic comments in the review in Booklist. Without wanting to nitpick reviews I can only say, "well gosh, that's where the people were." And yes, I know, there were other people in the contiguous area that makes up the United States, but this book is about what made the American culture, if there can be said to be such a thing. The influx of European immigrants who displaced the Native Americans and created the American republic settled first in the east and then spread west, occasionally running into Hispanic settlers moving up from Mexico, etc.
And besides, I did the count myself and get a different number. East coast (original 13 Colonies) maybe, but not necessarily Northeast.
Well, let the book speak for itself.

This illustration, by the way, is from the story of the founding of San Francisco --- in 1776. Best Blogger Tips
  • Share On Facebook
  • Digg This Post
  • Stumble This Post
  • Tweet This Post
  • Bookmark On Technorati
Blog Bookmark Gadgets

No comments: