Customer Reviews

1001 Events That Made America

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An informative and captivating journey through American history, ending with a heartbreaking collapse into partisan bias. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and still do. Its year-by-year paragraph format makes it a great little book when you have just a few minutes to read. You can open it up to any page; that is, except the final 30.

The presentation of recent history reads like a compilation of New York Times headlines. The author's personal opinions and passions mar the presentation of events that occurred during his own lifetime.

Axelrod falters with an otherwise delightful book. It is still worthwhile, but don't bother reading past 1982, unless you can tolerate excerpts like this:

"At 10:28, the north tower of the World Trade Center collapses. In the meantime, President George W. Bush, who had been visiting a Sarasota, Florida elementary classroom during the attacks, is flown from one 'secure location' to another, finally returning to the White House shortly before 7pm, by which time the 47-story Building 7 of the World Trade Center has also collapsed."

Good grief! It's likely that responsible analysis of our time may only be available long after our time is over.

This small book is a good place for someone who is starting to learn about U.S. history. It is a compilation of various important events by date. It is in the format of an outline with a short narrative after each event. So those that find a time in U.S. history interesting will know how to find a book that goes into depth on the time period.

It is not designed for the historian, but is a good collection of talking points for conversation on events that affected the U.S. I found it useful that there is an index arranged alphabetically in the back by subject matter or persons of interest. So if you know of an event or the name of a historical figure you will be able to find what you are looking for.