History

History Order Description Book Review Assignment REQUIREMENTS Due Date: Thursday, December 11 Format: Hardcopy (in-class) or Electronic (upload to Blackboard) Length: minimum 3-4 pages, double-spaced, typed DESCRIPTION First, it is important that we draw a distinction between a “book review” and a “book report”. Many of you have experience writing book reports in which your principal task is to summarize a book in a concise manner. In a book review, summarizing a book is just the beginning of your job and is really preparatory to the main task: critically appraising the quality and value of the book for our historical understanding. Critical appraisal operates on a number of levels. Most importantly, a strong book review will discuss how the reviewed work relates to other historical works or established historical knowledge more generally. The aim of this discussion is to identify the ways in which the book challenges or supports existing interpretations of a particular event, actor, or development in history, and therefore its significance for historical understanding. Less often, but equally important, some books introduce events that have received little to no attention by prior historians. Here you will want to appraise whether the author does a good job of connecting their study to related events and whether their study illuminates larger events or themes in United States history. Critical appraisal also includes an evaluation of the strength or plausibility of the claims made in the book by looking at the evidenced used to support them. This is not a question of whether we like or dislike a particular argument, but whether the historian mobilizes enough evidence to convincingly support their claims. A history book can challenge a common historical interpretation – for example, that slaveholding was the source of huge profits for southern planters – and stand to radically shift our historical understanding, but may ultimately fail because it does not mobilize sufficient evidence to make its claims convincing. Finally, critical appraisal should speak to the overall quality of the book as a whole. Does the book engage the reader, making them excited to reach its conclusion or is it dry and ponderous, requiring effort rather than pleasure to get through. The aesthetic quality of a book is important to its overall value – even if a book represents a major accomplishment of historical research, its significance will be greatly reduced if no one can bear to read it. Fortunately for you, all the books on our list are enjoyable! As with the other avenues of critical appraisal, when evaluating the quality of the work it is important to support your own arguments with evidence and examples from the text rather than simply stating your verdict. Was a book engaging because it quoted liberally from primary sources, allowing you 2 to gain perspective on historical actors and the flavor of the past? Was it pure drudgery because the author used a lot of words that are only found in dictionaries and referred to obscure theories that our only recognizable by specialists? You should describe which devices worked and why. Writings a strong book review begins not when you sit down to write but when you begin to read the book. To write a strong review you need to be an active reader that poses critical questions and records your reactions to key passages. These questions and reactions will form the material with which you build a strong review. STRUCTURE There is no single correct model for a book review, although all good book reviews contain the type of critical appraisals discussed above. Similarly, the structure of a book review can take many forms, especially as one becomes a more experienced writer. Below is a suggested structure that is easy to work with and will help you to organize your thoughts and their presentation. Please feel free to adopt it or attempt your own structure. Part I Briefly summarize the book. Describe the main subject and its scope in terms of time and place in history. Part II Identify and expand upon the book’s main argument or the overarching themes that emerge to interpret the book’s subject. Part III Discuss the book in relation to other history books, including textbooks you may have read, or to conventional understandings of United States history more broadly. Specifically state how the book challenges or supports existing historical knowledge, or introduces a subject that has received little or no attention. What does the book contribute to our understanding of history? Part IV Focus in on the quality of the book in itself. Does the author adequately support their claims with evidence? If so, what types of evidence or examples did you find convincing? If not, what kind of evidence or examples would you need to have seen to be more convinced? Briefly discuss the aesthetic quality of the book. Is the author’s writing style enjoyable? Does the narrative build anticipation or merely recount events. Be specific about what did and did not work and why. Part V Conclude by summarizing Part II-IV. Conclusions are important – they are the last chance you get to make an impression before you receive a grade!!! History 109: History of the United States I Book Review: The book review is a typed, double-spaced, 2-3 page, formal writing assignment in which you will critically but also constructively review a history book of your own choosing. On the second week of class I will provide you with a list of classic historical works from which you will select one and will be responsible for obtaining it. All books are readily available, either online, at the Mesa College library, or your local library. I will also provide you with suggested guidelines for writing a strong book review. The book review will be due in-class on May 7th. Color-coding: • Red Books: very long, but very good • Blue Books: difficult, written for historians • **Starred Books: my personal favorites Book List Early Colonial Period • Anderson, Fred, The Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 • Appleby, Joyce, • Bailyn, Bernard, The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction • **Bailyn, Bernard, The Barbarous Years • Cronon, William, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England • Merrell, James H, Into the American Woods: Negotiations on the Pennsylvania Frontier • Horwitz, Tony, A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadores, Lost Colonists, and other Adventurers in Early America • Mann, Charles C., 1491: New Revelations About the Americas Before Columbus • Morgan, Edmund, American Slavery, American Freedom • Philbrick, Nathaniel, Mayflower: A Story of Community, Courage, and War • Richter, Daniel, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America Revolution and National Formation • Berkin, Carol, Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for Independence • Breen, T. H., The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence • Breen, T. H., American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People • Calloway, Collin, The Scratch of a Pin: 1763 and the Transformation of North America • Chernow, Rob, Alexander Hamilton• **Chernow, Rob, Washington • Ellis, Joseph, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation • Ellis, Joseph, The Character of Thomas Jefferson • Ellis, Joseph, His Excellency: George Washington • Ferling, John, A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic • Fischer, David Hackett, Washington’s Crossing • Holton, Woody, Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia • Meacham, John, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power • Maier, Pauline, Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 • McCullough, David, 1776 • McCullough, David, John Adams • Morgan, Edmund, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-1789 • Philbrick, Nathaniel, Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution • Robert, Cokie, Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation • Waldstreicher, David, Slavery’s Constitution: From Revolution to Ratification • Wood, Gordon, The Radicalism of the American Revolution Early National and Jacksonian Period Politics • Freeman, Joane, Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic • Howe, David Walker, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1849 • **Meacham, John, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House • Millard, Candice, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President • Taylor, Alan, The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies • Unger, Harlow, The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and the Nation’s Call to Greatness • Watson, Harry L., Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America • Wood, Gordon, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 Abolitionism and Slavery • Berlin, Ira, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America • Demos, John, The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America • Douglas, Fredrick, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas • Genovese, Eugene: Roll Jordan Roll: The World the Slaves Made • Horowitz, Tony, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid the Sparked the Civil War • **Johnson, Walter, Soul by Soul: Life in a New Orleans Antebellum Slave Market • Mayer, Henry, All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery • Northrup, Solomon, Twelve Years a Slave• Rediker, Markus, The Slave Ship: A Human History • Reed, Annette Gordon, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family • Reyonolds, David S., John Brown Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights • Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Westward Expansion, Exploration and Native Americans • Ambrose, Stephen, Crazy Horse and Custer: Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors • Ambrose, Stephen, Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869 • Ambrose, Stephen, Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America’s Wild Frontier • **Brands, H. W., The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and The New American Dream • Brands, H. W., The Lone Star Republic: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence • Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West • DeLay, Brian, War of a Thousand Deserts: Indian Raids and the US-Mexican War • DeVoto, Barard, Across the Wide Missouri • Dolnick, Edward, Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon • **Gwyne, S. C., Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History • Lewis, Merriweather, The Journals of Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery • Morgan, Dale L., Jedidiah Smith and the Opening of the West • Merry, Robert W., A Country of Vast Designs: James K Polk, The Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent • Philbrick, Nathaniel, The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Bighorn • Philbrick, Nathaniel, Sea of Glory: America’s Voyage of Discovery, The US Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 • **Sides, Hampton, Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West • Stegner, Wallace, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the American West • Vestal, Stanley, Jim Bridger: Mountain Man • Zesch, Scott, The Captured: A True Story of Abduction Indians on the Texas Frontier • Secession, Civil War, and Reconstruction• Ayers, Edwards, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1864 • Blight, David, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory • Brands, H. W., The Man Who Save the Union: Ulysses S. Grant • **Foner, Eric, A Short History of Reconstruction • Foner, Eric, The Fiery Trial • Foote, Shelby, The Civil War: A Narrative • Faust, Drew Gilpin, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War • Gallagher, Gary, The Union War • Goodwin, Doria, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln • Horwitz, Tony, Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War • **McPherson, James, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era • McPherson, James, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War • **Potterd, David M., The Impending Crisis: America Before the Civil War, 1848- 1861 • Royster, Charles, The Destructive War: William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans • Shaara, Michael, The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War • Standiford, Wes, Meet You in Hell PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT :)