Customer Reviews

Give Me Liberty!: An American History (First Edition, Seagull Edition) (Vol. 2)

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

 

 

I am a foreign student, and this is the first time that I study American History. The Seagull Edition of this book is great because it has all the written information and appendix from the regular volume and it costed less than half. Some people might miss the colored pictures, the maps or the extra margens to right notes, but this edition fitted my budget and i am enjoying it anyway.

Regarding the content, the information is presented clearly and very complete.

This book is in wonderful condition and arrived quickly. I am impressed at the quality, since it said Used I was not expecting it to be in such good shape. Very pleased. This was my first order on Amazon, and it will not be my last.

I got this book thinking it would have a little bit of wear and tear on it. Nope, looks like I just got it for new!! It also came in a timely fashion. Very satisfied.

Eric Foner is one of the mot avidly Marxist historians writing today. His political beliefs defiantly show in his writing, so it important for readers to know and understand this so they may understand the bias present in his writings. That having been said, it is a well-organized and clearly written book with excellent pictures.

This book is extremely easy to read and follow. It's easy to get lost in the wording of history books, but this one is very straight-forward.

it holds american history in one volume, from Colon to 9/11

great price

this books is very easy to read and it comes with a code to get premium access to the editorial, with videos and a long interview with the authors about each chapter, really cool !

Overall, this is a pretty poorly written book. Most of the important events are glossed over. The book is written in a list style, spending only one sentence on some important events and people, like the Glass-Steagal Act. World War I gets about 2 pages. Also, the organization leaves something to be desired. The author likes to skip around chronologically in favor of grouping by social, political, and economic topics. This works well in the case of the chapter on Progressivism, but fails elsewhere.
Written by only one author - most history textbooks have multiple authors - this books has the feel of getting only one viewpoint. Foner isn't even an expert in this time period; he writes about the Civil War and Reconstruction. There are much, much better US history textbooks out there. I would recommend American Pageant for this level (advanced high school, college survey).

they gave me 3rd edition VOLUME 1 text book. in their title AND picture, it says VOLUME 2. they gave me the totally wrong book. unbelievable...

Parents: If you've asked your child what he or she is learning in history and gotten a lecture on what a horrible country the US is in return, you might want to ask if "Give Me Liberty" is his or her history textbook. I read parts of it because it is my son's US History text, and this is what I found:

While the text itself is occasionally problematic, it is only one part of the "Give Me Liberty" experience. Unfortunately, there is a surfeit of agenda-ridden spin in the book's accompanying online activities. Opinion and commentary are peppered throughout the online video lectures which star Foner himself and, since the online quizzes are multiple choice, the answers are all Foner's as well. Since he seems to have no problem inserting opinions into the answers, kids have little choice but to assume that the opinion is actually part of the correct answer.

I did some research on Foner because I wanted to find out if he might have a reason for wanting to indoctrinate students rather than encourage them to think with more open minds. What I learned was that several members of Foner's family were active in the Communist Party in mid-20th Century America. This wasn't too much of a surprise and I think it's reasonable to believe that Foner was either brainwashed accordingly himself, or is engaged in a personal quest to justify his family's politics and bring them honor, even if it means rewriting history to do so. I only wish he had decided to write a novel instead, but guess it's only fitting that he chose the same method preferred by Communists worldwide: classroom indoctrination.

The only suggestion I have for parents who might be stuck with this text and yet are interested in raising open-minded, free-thinking kids is to read a more conservative version of US History, such as Paul Johnson's, along with Foner's, and then just do your best to encourage the open discussion and debate that is lacking in the classroom.

For parents who wish to foster close-minded, Leftist resentment toward America in their children, you should make sure your child's history teacher is using one of Eric Foner's books and then greet, with wild enthusiasm, whatever it is that your child says he or she is learning about America.