Customer Reviews

America: The Last Best Hope Volumes I & II Box Set

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great, and much needed, update of our great Nation's history. We have very little to be ashamed of in this country and Dr. Bennett brings that forth with wonderful prose throughout the book. As a teacher of US History I would strongly recommend the book to any and all.

I purchased this set for my dad as a Father's Day gift. Here is his slightly editted (to avoid names of others) email review:

I HAVE NEARLY FINISHED VOLUME TWO OF "AMERICA, THE LAST BEST HOPE" BY WILLIAM BENNETT (PAST SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, DRUG CZAR AND CURRENT RADIO TALK SHOW HOST ON MORNING IN AMERICA), BOTH VOLUMES HAVING BEEN FATHER'S DAY GIFTS...

I HEARTILY RECOMMEND THIS READING FOR ALL! YOUNG, OLD, IN BETWEEN, THE DISENFRANCHISED, THOSE UNHAPPY WITH GOVERNMENT, PATRIOTS, ANARCHISTS, COMMUNISTS, FASCISTS, WHOEVER AND WHATEVER YOU ARE, AND WHATEVER BELIEFS YOU ESPOUSE PER YOUR INALIENABLE RIGHTS GUARANTEED IN THE CONSTITUTION.

THESE VOLUMES PRESENT OUR HISTORY IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, AND OF COURSE, IN CONTEXT RELATIVE TO ITS JUXTAPOSITION WITH EVENTS AS THEY OCCURRED IN THE REST OF THE WORLD, IN A MANNER OF RELEVANCE AND CONCISENESS I HAVE NEVER BEFORE SEEN.

HIS LAST COMMENT IN THE BOOK:

"EACH AND EVERY ONE (CITIZEN) HAS PLAYED A ROLE IN MAKING THIS COUNTRY, AFTER ALL, AND IT IS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US WHO IS GIVEN THE TASK TO KEEP IT"

PS: I WAS PUSHING THAT MESSAGE ~40 YEARS BEFORE THESE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN.

PS2: IF PEOPLE DO CHOOSE TO THROW THIS PROGRAM AWAY, THEY OUGHT AT LEAST LEARN WHAT IT WAS THEY WERE DUMPING.

I would love to write a great review for this book however after reading it I am at a loss for words. It is simply not possible for me to write a review that would do it justice. This is truly a must read for anyone who loves history!!

This is the best of the best - a must read for all Americans (and foreigners wishing to learn about the United States. Get both volumes - share them with friends.

I learned more American History in the first five chapters of this book then anything I learned in college. Secretary Bennett is a major asset to this country.

I have just begun reading Volume I of "America, The Last Best Hope," and it is a page turner. It is a wonderfully entertaining chronology of America's history, with all of the "warts" included but with accuracy and no political correctness. I recommend it highly for everyone, especially students.

I just finished reading both volumes, and I must say I am impressed. I'm very glad that the author stopped with Reagan, as I feel that the other is too much in the recent past to be a good history.

Bennett does a good job of going through the historical documents and producing a readable, interesting narrative. This is NOT a boring textbook, by any stretch. Every summer my kids have a reading list for when school gets out. These volumes will be on that reading list.

As a History Major in College, I would have to say that if Bill Bennett had written the texts in my day everyone would have studied American History. The writing and subject presentation was excellent. A bargain at twice the price !

I enjoyed these books so much that I bought a set for all three of my grown children. What a great reminder of the rich history of this God-blessed land. We and our descendants have quite a responsibility to continue the heritage of the heroes and heroines who went before us, and to the city on a hill, shining light to the rest of the world.

This work is immensely readable for a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. My advice: Buy a BUNCH of them! :-)

I was surprised and quite pleased with William Bennett's two-volume America: The World's Last Best Hope. Originally getting the books through The Conservative Book Club, I have to admit I approached them with a somewhat wary eye. I suppose I half expected to see Joe McCarthy hailed as an unsung American hero or read that the Depression would have ended by late 1933, had Hoover been re-elected.
Instead, what I found was a thoughtful, fair and well-reasoned trip through US history, from the Founding Fathers, into the Clinton era. True, as the title suggests, Bennett has a traditional, pro-America take on US history - a view that has fallen out of favor during the past generation. Still, he is not shy about criticizing those he most respects or praising those with whom he disagrees. Everything from the foundation of the nation through the turbulent Jacksonian era, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Great Society and Watergate is discussed rationally and without any appaerent axes to grind.
I would call this work moderately conservative and immanently level-headed and would strongly recommend it for personal reading or classroom use.