Inventing American History (Boston Review Books) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Constitution Center, Pete Seeger, Freedom Rising (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

American public history—in magazines and books, television documentaries, and museums—tends to celebrate its subject at all costs, even to the point of denial and distortion. This does us a great disservice, argues William Hogeland in Inventing American History. Looking at details glossed over in three examples of public history—the Alexander Hamilton revival, tributes to Pete Seeger and William F. Buckley, and the Constitution Center in Philadelphia—Hogeland considers what we lose when history is written to conform to political aims.

Questioning the resurrection, by both neocons and the left, of Alexander Hamilton as the founder of the American financial system—if not of the American dream itself—Hogeland delves deeply into Hamilton's brutal treatment of working-class entrepreneurs. And debunking recent hagiographies of Pete Seeger and William F. Buckley, Hogeland deftly parses Seeger's embrace of communism and Buckley's unreconstructed views on race.

Hogeland then turns his attention to the U.S. Constitution Center in Philadelphia (the location of Barack Obama's speech on race), comparing its one-note celebration of the document to the National Park Service tours of nearby Independence Hall. The Park Service tours don't advance any particular point of view, but by being almost purely informative with a kind of hands-on detail, they make the past come to life, available for both celebration and criticism. We should be able to respect the Constitution without being forced to our knees before it, Hogeland argues; we can handle the truth about the Framers' intense politicking and compromises. Only when we can ground our public history in the gritty events of the day, embracing its contradictions and difficulties, will we be able to learn from it.

Praise for William Hogeland:

"For William Hogeland, thinking about history is an act of moral inquiry and high citizenship. A searching and original voice."
—Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland

"Hogeland writes like a novelist, reports like a newsman (he is one,) and makes [the] historic judgments of a man who has done his homework."
—Blue Ridge Business Journal

A Boston Review Book

About the Author

William Hogeland is author of The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (April 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026201288X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262012881
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #853,333 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Intriguing Reading, May 3, 2009

By	James Halverson (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These essays all exhibit erudite scholarship, imaginative insights, a passionate involvement in American history and culture, and superb writing. Hogeland makes every page dramatic with telling details and little-known facts. Who would have imagined that two charismatic figures as disparate as William F. Buckley, Jr. and Pete Seeger had anything in common, but Hogeland's account of their often intentionally obscured early years elicits important similarities. And a walk with him through The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia is eye-opening and somewhat disturbing.
I considered withholding one star from my rating only because I was frustrated that there were only three sections in this superb book. I wanted more!