Customer Reviews

Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History: 1585-1828

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Did we need one more history of the US? Even McDougall isn't so sure about that. But he manages to find a path that hasn't been beaten down.

Where the tendency of American historians has been to find One Big Peg on which to hang their histories, McDougall pitches a big tent and tries hard to fit everybody under it. He works hard to tell the whole story without trying to shape it to lead to a particular moral.

For example, McDougall's approach to America's Christian roots. He doesn't try to minimize them and pretend that they weren't really there or didn't really matter, but neither does he try to elevate them into a thesis about Americans being God's Chosen People. He acknowledges them and presents them thoroughly without trying to shape them to prove something.

If McDougall has a point of view, it is that of a mild cynic. His one thesis is that Americans have always been hustlers in both senses of the word-- hard workers and scammers. This gives the work a tendency to shy away from Big Deep Ideas and philosophical cant. Where many historians have tried to layer American history in fancy clothes (This cigar is really a symbol of the repressed oppression of growing economic anti-humanistic struggling), this book leaves the impression of a more direct view (This is a cigar).

Beyond that, most of his organizational tools are about analysis rather than interpretation. His language is relaxed, cleasr and sometimes even colloquial, and his reach is considerable. There's a great deal of information here, but explained and organized so that the reader comes away with a clear view of a large picture.

If I were a high school history teacher, I'd be begging for sets of this book to teach from. A great and clear read.

In his foreword, McDougall is candid about his own doubts about whether America needs yet another multi-volume set of tomes chronicling its history. As the existnece of this book indicates, McDougall answered his own doubts.

The book is built around the central thesis that "America is a nation of hustlers". McDougall's central insight proves to be fresh and interesting enough to carry subject matter that has (as the author admits) been covered many times before.

His sythesis of recent scholarship in the field of American History is top notch, and the notes alone make the book worth the cover price. Interested readers will find hundreds of jumping off points for further exploration in the field of merican history.

McDougall is cognizant of the diversity of "histories" which have multiplied in recent years. He includes citations to and summaries of gender and ethnic histories that demonstrate his familiarity with recent scholarship.

At the same time, he drops footnotes lauding Huntington (a historian favored by conservatives) and certainly doesn't shy away from the "great man" school of scholarship.
I especially enjoyed the treatment of the links between intellectual history in Britain in the pre-revolutinary era with the developments in America leading up to the revolution.

On the whole, this is a balanced, nuanced reading of American history and I anticipate the next chapter(this is projected to be a three volume set).

McDougall's new spin on Americans as a nation of hustlers is an interesting one. For some time I myself have struggled to find a definition of just what it is that makes Americans "American" and makes them so distinctive as a culture. Perhaps hustling is a large part of that recipe. Some may view it as cynical, but if it is true, it has clearly been a liberating characteristic that has served us well. Nowhere in the world is their such a large capacity for innovation and such a vitality.

Not that America doesn't have its fair share of contradictions and hypocrisies, as McDougall generously points out. No, this is no gilded history, with perfect Founding Fathers and benevolent leaders. It is a very honest history, that makes the reader reflect upon themselves and ask "Am I a hustler?"

It is a fun and entertaining read, but it assumes that the reader knows a little something about American and world history. Therefore, it is not a "History for Dummies". The only minor annoyance I have with the book is McDougall's liberal sprinkling throughout the text of Latin and French phrases with no translation. It is assumed that the reader can decipher these phrases, and they present themselves at critical times in the discussion, especially when McDougall is seeking to make a clinching or final point about an event or issue. Some of his most important points, therefore, might be "lost in translation" as the reader trys to figure out what the phrase means, but instead gives up and moves on. Personally, I've always thought that writers who use unfamiliar phrases and words are just showing off and acting superior (George F. Will comes to mind). Regardless, I don't believe such a practice serves the reader quite as well as it may serve the writer's ego.

This minor flaw is not a deal-breaker, however, and I recommend the book to anyone who wants to know why Americans are the way they are. I'm looking forward to the next installment. I just hope McDougall dumps the romance languages and just sticks with good old American English.

McDougall offers an account of the American experience distilled to its essance, our irresistable enterprising nature. Though we are a nation comprised of immigrants, he asserts that the prior legacies of new arrivals are quickly supplanted by the unleashing of human nature...to pursue that which is in our own self interest. That is what powers our drive for innovation, for progress, and above all profit.

It is refreshing to find a bold central thesis to such a sweeping historical account. This is not a textbook regurgitation of well worn historical fact. In this book you will enjoy an articuate perspective of the unique character of American ingenuity woven through a narrative of the major figures and milestones of our nation's history.

This is obviously a well researched book. Mr. McDougall does not only a good job of presenting the reader with the actions and prevailing sentiments leading up to the American Revolution, but he also gives more in-depth explanations than you'd find in 'standard' American history books. The motives for revolution were far more complex and varied than the popular conception in this country. Additionally, Mr. McDougall reminds the reader that independence from Britain was not an overwhelming choice for all members of the thirteen colonies. And the author traces the backgrounds of the people who make up those colonies to provide the reason for this. My only (minor) problems with the book were that the included maps did not live up to the quality of the text and I think the author tries a little to hard to make his point that America was built by 'hustlers.' But this is certainly a book I highly recommend for anyone interested in the forming of the country. For a real treat, read it in conjunction with Alan Taylor's American Colonies.
Also recommended: American Colonies by Alan Taylor, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose.

The book is very informative and beautifully written. It tells of our history before "it all started" and encompasses every event that took place and had an impact on the foundation of America, the United States. I'm very pleased with its reading!

I love this author. As a former history teacher, I think his view of American history is refreshing. The used price was good and the delivery was quick. I'll buy from this supplier again.

Mr. McDougall delivers a vigorous and illustrative American history. His use of themes for each chapter (eg, Barbadians, Yorkers, and Quakers and Germans, and Four Sorts of Britons, and Africans) allows for a seamless history allowing for a pleasing, and at some points, charming multiplicity of perspectives. McDougall prefers the "warts and all" descriptions of America's founding, but does so with grace and understanding. "Freedom" is a good primer on American history and recommended. I found myself objecting to his necessary generalizations (with such a broad task, this could not be avoided) surrounding the development and ratification of the US Constitution. For fans of a "warts and all" version (that is also a very quick read), turn to Bill Kaufmann's Drunken Prophet, Forgotten Founder---Kaufmann manages to portray the proponents and the opponents to the Constitution in a more realistic light: nationalists versus anti-nationalist. In McDougall's defense, his version is more the popular/received interpretation that most Americans would recognized.
This book is highly recommended...I have his second volume on my short list.

I've read a lot of different history books, and I would say this is my favorite. This book truly brought to life this huge span of American history for me. I learned a lot about the complex relationships between the original immigrants to America, Canada, the French, the native Americans, and Britain. It opened my eyes to the various legal documents that established our country as well as the balancing act between the Republicans and Federalists of early America. It helped me understand what an amazing achievement it was to traverse into the original North American wilderness and tame it.

For sheer intelligence and insight, coupled with stunning articulation, few can match the ability of Walter McDougall. In fact, I am not sure that there are any better living historians.

This too will delight and inform and offer a lifetime's food for thought.