American Greats [Hardcover]

Robert A. Wilson (Editor), Stanley Marcus (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1999

Offers in 81 essays illustrated with more than 250 images, a compilation of ideas, people, places and things that they believe help define America's greatness. Offers compelling evidence of the courage and character, invention and resilience, that help define this nation. DLC: U.S.--Civilization Miscellanea.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

American Greats is a big, beautiful book, and the timing of its release is impeccable: if ever there was a book to celebrate the end of the millennium, this is it. How can you not love a book that features essayists like David McCullough writing about the Brooklyn Bridge, John Updike on The New Yorker, Christopher Buckley on the Coca-Cola recipe, Gay Talese on The New York Times, and David Halberstam on West Point? Editors Robert A. Wilson and Stanley Marcus seek to celebrate American spirit and ingenuity in words and pictures--and do it wonderfully. The 80-plus people, events, and items chosen for inclusion may seem quirky, but American Greats doesn't claim to be definitive. The choices they make, though, are inarguable. Here's a sample: C-SPAN, the Corvette, Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the G.I. bill, the Gettysburg Address, Iditarod dogsled racing, the final episode of M*A*S*H, the Marshall Plan, National Geographic maps, the Oklahoma land rush of 1889, the pony express, the skyscraper, Sesame Street, the Smithsonian Institution, Tabasco sauce, ticker-tape parades, the women's suffrage movement, the Wright Brothers, and Yellowstone National Park. --Linda Killian

About the Author

Robert A. Wilson has more than twenty-five years of experience in advertising, public relations, graphic design, and film production. He is the author of Character Above All. Stanley Marcus is the chairman emeritus of Neiman-Marcus and recognized as a merchandising innovator who brought the excitement of show business to the specialty store he headed from 1950-1976. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 315 pages
• Publisher: Public Affairs; 1st edition (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620487
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620485
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great addition to my home library, November 24, 1999

By 

Barbara Hawn - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Greats (Hardcover)

This beautiful book occupies a place of prominence in my living room. The collected essays cover a wide variety of interesting topics that represent all aspects of American life and history. The photography is exceptional. I'm looking forward to "American Greats" part II.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Greats, January 19, 2000

By 

C. Lee (Brookline, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Greats (Hardcover)

This is an extraordinary compilation of the innovations, idiosyncracies, and icons of which this country should be proud. The editors exhibited incredible creativity and sense of adventure in choosing the "Great" items. I can't think of any book that comes close to giving Americans and others a terrific and positive view of this country's uniqueness.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book., November 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American Greats (Hardcover)

American Greats is absolutely fanastic. The reader learns about historical figures in American history in a really fun way. This book is a must for every elementary, middle and high school.