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| |  | Literature & Fiction | Home » » » America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I): From the Age of Discovery to a World at War | | | | | | | Description: | | This is a thriving account of the virtues of our great country and the many brave, virtuous men and women who have made it the proud, powerful nation it is today. Telling a sweeping tale of human initiative, struggle, vice, and victory, Bennett conveys what is unique about America. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| William J. Bennett | | Hardcover:
| 592 pages | | Publisher:
| Thomas Nelson | | Publication Date:
| May 23, 2006 | | Package Length:
| 9.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.1 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.1 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 78 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Great Book, Great ConditionNov 03, 2009
This was a great way to get the book I wanted in great condition for less money.
Everyone's Favorite History BookNov 02, 2009
Reading this book is like unrolling a scroll and discovering it is actually a treasure map. The more you read, the more you realize that this country is absolutely unique. America is the treasure and too valuable to toss off as a failed experiment. There is no other like it.
History in Real LifeApr 02, 2009
My seventeen year old son loves this book. Its history told in a relevent way with actual facts, no bias.
1 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 America The Last Best HopeMar 25, 2009
This is amateur "history buff" history at its finest. William Bennet is not a historian and it shows on every page of this so called history book. His intentions are good, at least what he outlines in his introduction. He says Americans need to fall in love with their country's history once again. OK, I can buy that because I'm trained as a historian. Then he adds that we must take a critical look at those things (i.e., slavery) which are contradictory to our basic beliefs and values (i.e., freedom and liberty). Again, good idea. But then he seeks to promote further the myth of American exceptionalism, that somehow our nation is favored by God to do great things and set a proper example for the world. Why does the right wing cling to this myth? We are no more set apart by God as a nation than, say, Angola, or Indonesia, or any of the other 200+ nations in this world.
Even if we can forgive Bennett for perpetrating a myth, his glossing over of those things he wants us to take that critical look at is inexcusable. Past generations of people in this country committed genocide agains native tribes. Slavery was condoned with Biblical references. Bennett does not take a critical approach to either of these issues. Then, he glosses over the founding of Jamestown merely stating Pocahontas cartwheeled naked in front of the first Virginians. What about the starving time? What about alleged cannibalism? He says nothing of Spain's quest for empire at the expense of the Aztecs and Incas other than what can be contained in a short summary paragraph. This book is not scholarship.
One of Bennett's primary mistakes is the sources he used. For each chapter he quotes books from "consensus" historians like Daniel Boorstein and Samual Eliot Morison who wrote back in the 1950s. Bennett cites very few, if any, primary sources. He neglects modern scholarship completely. Not even a high school social studies teacher (and Bennett is quite critical of the term "social studies" in his introduction) would accept a paper whose only sources date from 50 years prior.
I really can't believe this book made the best seller list, unless right wing "history buffs" wanted to confirm their age old belief in the very myths Bennett orignally said he was going to question. I also cannot believe people give this book a positive review. We all share a common history in this country, but writing it should be for those who have been trained to do it, and done in a way that advances knowledge. This book is not a critical history, it is a pat on the back for right wingers who only see our history as Ronald Reagan would have had it taught. Oh, Bennett was in Reagan's cabinet? Imagine that.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A brief introduction to early U.S. history opens the door to discoveryMar 02, 2009
Having read a number of articles, inspired by the historical nature of the last election, I went searching for a good general U.S. history book. I am indeed lucky that I found William J. Bennett's America: The Last Best Hope.
The work consists of two separate volumes; the first covers 1492 (the 'age of discovery') to 1914 ('a world at war'), while the second from 1914 (a world at war) to 1989 ('the triumph of freedom'). I'll speak here of the first volume only.
While I can't say I've read much in the way of general U.S. history, Bennett's work is to be applauded. He splits up his work into fairly bit-sized pieces (although some are longer than I'd recommend for a normal sitting), making it fairly easy to read pieces of this work each day, to completion.
While it seemed the beginning chapters were more detailed, and the last less so, I wonder if that's not best; after all, what he covers could easily span tens of thousands of pages. Unfortunately, I was expecting a greater amount of detail, due to the first chapters, so I was a little disappointed.
Otherwise, I found Bennett's work truly captivating. As someone who just wanted to learn a bit more, generally, about U.S. history, this was the perfect work for me. I therefore highly recommend this as an introductory work that should sufficiently cover this period of time, in relation to the U.S., so that you can either have that backing, or have an idea of where you'd like to prefer additional information.
As for me, I purchased volume 2 at the same time as volume 1, and am looking forward to reading it.
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