Customer Reviews

The Best American History Book in the World: All The Information You Need To Know Without All The Stuff That Will Put You To Sleep

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

 

 

Sorry to rain on the parade, but somebody's got to tell the truth about this book. It's written by a bunch of high school students, and it shows. The high school history teacher, Eric Burnett, did not even bother editing this book; there are countless annoying grammar and factual errors. Perhaps Mr. Burnett simply asked his students' permission to publish their history homework essays. What's next? High school music teachers selling CDs of recorded band performances, or drama teachers selling DVDs of high school Shakespeare productions? The student writers are obviously enthused about the material, which is great, but they are simply too glib to make this book of any real use to anybody, except as an example of bad history writing. Here's a sample: "His wife died in 1480 in childbirth, which was very sad and depressing for our friend Columbus so he decided to make himself rich and famous and go find the Indies." If you're looking for a fun and readable history of America aimed at younger students, take a look at Joy Hakim's "A History of US."

In fairness I should point out Mr. Burnett's claim that all royalties from the sale of this book go to charity, and I applaud him for that. But he would sell more books and raise more money if it were better written!

If you're going "Thomas Jefferson, who???" this would definitely be a good book to have handy. Perfect for someone who might not have much of a background in American history, this book lays out the important facts as well as adds interesting tidbits along the way, keeping the reader in tuned. In addition, the authors' simplistic writing aids in one's understanding of specific time periods, organized further into subtopics in each chapter. As a student, I feel as though I could jog my memory by quickly flipping the pages and spending hardly any time reading up on a topic that I may have forgotten or am simply confused on. Each chapter flows pretty easily and even the most obvious concepts are broken down and explained. You probably won't find yourself perusing through a dictionary or other reference book trying to figure out something this book is supposed to have made clear to you. It provides the reader with enough knowledge so you are able to discuss, make arguments and form your own opinions on events that took place in America's history.

This is a clever book, created mostly by the students of a teacher who's obviously empowering and educating his students. The writing is amusing, and informative. I'm impressed.

The Best American History Book in the World is a careful collaboration of 37 student authors starting with the first discoveries of America and ending with the elusive topic of terrorism. It is written in a style that holds the attention of youngsters while being factually accurate. Good read.

It was refreshing, funny, funny and informative. It gave us the facts and asked a few questions that really made us think. My kids kept asking me to keep reading. It is a great starting point to introduce a figure from American History.

Original artwork, creative (yet corny) titles and headings, but most importantly it is written by High School students. It's great for all you non-geriatrics out there that are struggling through the reading of your incredibly boring textbooks. It is written in lay man terms, but it is still packed with all the facts you need to know about the creation of our great nation.

Original artwork, creative (yet corny) titles and headings, but most importantly it is written by High School students. It's great for all you non-geriatrics out there that are struggling through the reading of your incredibly boring textbooks. It is written in [common] man terms, but it is still packed with all the facts you need to know about the creation of our great nation.

There is a need for a summary of American history that is interesting and well-written. This is not that book. It is cheap, full of "nudge-nudge-know what I mean" references, grammatical errors, spelling errors--a sophomoric effort by sophomores. I was embarrassed to have it in my library, and have given it away.

This book is INCREDIBLE. I had a C in US History, and after purchasing this book, it jumped up to a B+ in a matter of weeks. This book is an excellent resource. It contains information that helps even the worst of students. What i like most about it is it's layout and the text. It is so easy to read! If you don't have this book, your US History class is lacking something: INTELLIGENCE. Buy it now!

This book was the required text for my high school history class, and as one who regularly reads various texts as a self study method, I must say I was dissapointed with such a faulty book. You can indefinitely tell this book was written by kids, due to many grammatical errors, blatant attempts at humor and sarcasm, and criticsm of textbooks based on their inability to comprehend them. The content is vague,biased and sometimes even wrong. I read the first five chapters and was unable to contiune due to my discontent. If you are someone who prefers simplistic books which withholds information and is written by kids that don't have a degree, then you may enjoy this book, but by no means is this the "best" history book. What an egocentric name!