Customer Reviews

The American Heritage Encyclopedia of American History

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I beg to differ with the reviewer disappointed ... Can a one-volume work on a broad subject be anything but broad brushstrokes? No other specific objections are given. This is an excellent collection of articles covering an immense topic....American Heritage's alphabetical arrangement makes it exceedingly easy to find an article among the nearly 3,000 included. Some are as long as 2,000 words, others are quite brief. The American Heritage might be characterized as a dictionary of American history. It is packed with biographic sketches, articles on events, and concise overviews of trends and major topics. The World War II article has three pages of text plus a photograph and two maps (Europe and Pacific). The sexual revolution has two pages of text. Four articles on slavery cover five and one-half pages with text, illustrations and cross references to articles on African Americans, Antislavery Movement, Cotton, David Walker, Fugitive Slaves, Gabriel Plot, Manumission, Middle Passage, Nat Turner's Insurrection, Plantation System, Proslavery Ideology, Stono Rebellion and Vesey Conspiracy. Broad? That's pretty fair for a one-volume work. The Literacy Acts of 1917 get one paragraph, and a reference to immigration. Oh, yes: many articles have brief bibliographies and the type and layout make this easy to read. It's a fine reference.

This is an entertaining read, and I keep in our guest room for company. It's loaded with information, but some of it was a little biased. I was surprised to discover this unnecessary slant on, what should be, benign information. I wouldn't buy it again. There are too many other "bathroom books" out there.

Good for those who know next to nothing about American history. For those who associate "American Heritage" with quality publications, a big d-i-s-a-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t. I waited a long time to see this reviewed - and nothing. Try finding something about Hellen Keller in this volume. (Well, maybe someone ripped out my Hellen Keller page, but I wonder.) If you are a teacher with a wad of someone else's money to spend, this won't be a waste. The broad brushstrokes are fine for those with little or no fundamental knowledge of what makes America tick and how it got to be what it is. But calling this an encyclopedia is a bit ambitious and misleading. The Reader's Companion to American History is much better.