26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Political issues, May 23, 2010
Kenneth Davis uses six incidents in American history for the `forgotten' period of history between Independence and the Civil War. He asks the question why don't we include them in our school curriculum? Given the current state of many school's time constraints; much of the history of WWI, II Korea and Vietnam are being forgotten too. That would be a better question addressed, than these events.
As for the 6 events chosen, they were Burr's trial, Weatherford's War, the Madison Mutiny, Dade's promise, Morse's code and Jesse's journey. These could have been interesting delving into events that were promised and their effects on history . But what happens is a jumpy historical rambling that goes back and forth and does not focus on the subject.
Two examples of what happens throughout the reading are: Dade's promise starts with the Seminole War then goes into Nat's Rebellion and the Indian removal. The facts and events jump back and forth instead of to a smooth conclusion. The last story which could have been an extremely appealing story of Jesse Freemont's journey to California across Panama, turns into a lesson on the history of California, the missionaries, John Sutter, then her father, Thomas Hart Benton, then back to Jesse's childhood, her husband, John Freemont and the War with Mexico and Freemont's military maneuvers in California. Poor Jesse and her journey, which was evidently looked on, by the nation with much interest is lost.
There are many political innuendos included which seem an unnecessary opinionated agenda tucked into this author's writing. No matter what your political philosophy is, it is somewhat disconcerting to have these asides about Bush and Obama being integrated to compare to past historical events. It just seemed an intrusion into the book.
The confusing style and jumpy narrative lose much of the track and aim of Davis' thought and the points he tries to make.
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Important stories, poorly executed, June 4, 2010
The Author tells informative, short, mostly readable, stories of an important period of history between the American Revolution and the westward expansion. However, he makes many unsubstantiated comparisons between the historical events and current conservative politics: 19th century anti-Catholicism burning of convents to current "Tea-baggers"; slavery, Indian wars and the Mexican war to the war in Iraq and the Bush administration "outing CIA operative" Valerie Plame. I understood Bush appointed Catholics to the Supreme Court, blacks to his cabinet and promoted immigration reform. The "teaparty" movement is too new to ascess its direction or significance although it has not yet been responsible for the burning of churches. I don't know where Joe Wilson or Valerie Plame fit into these stories. On either side of the political spectrum the historical perspective is completely lost. Incessant attempts to draw these tenuous analogies unfortunately makes the reader question the veracity of his history. Besides, it is just tiresome. It would be like reading a William Faulkner novel and in every chapter Faulkner saying "now let me tell you what you should really think about the modern South." Mr. Davis might try a political tell-all book or just try being a "talking-head" on the talk shows. Please leave the current political opinions out of objective history.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The U.S. as a dark star, not a bright, shining light among nations, August 18, 2011
"Each of these 'untold tales' reflects on the basic idea of how America truly came to be the nation it was by the mid-nineteenth century - and in many ways continues to be. The issues raised by these stories - ambition, power, territorial expansion, slavery, intolerance, the rights of the accused, the use of the press, disdain for the immigrant - all continue to reverberate in our headlines. So do the uses of fear and propaganda, which have been components of the American story from the country's earliest days." - from the Introduction to A NATION RISING
In order to illuminate a "black hole" in American history, i.e. the period from 1800 to 1850, and to ostensibly provide a more balanced view of that history than Americans are likely to learn it, i.e. as a version that is self-congratulatory and skewed towards the positive, author Kenneth Davis in A NATION RISING explores several historical themes of the period that are unflattering to say the least. Indeed, in the book's six chapters, the reader may be hard-pressed to find anything that paints America in an affirmative light. And Davis seems to relish his self-assigned mission.
Chapter I, Burr's Trial, tells the story of an individual, Aaron Burr, regarded by the central government as an enemy that it sets out to destroy.
Chapter II, Weatherford's War, pretty much portrays General Andrew Jackson as a racist killer who mercilessly slaughtered the "Red Stick" Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
Chapter III, Madison's Mutiny, describes several slave insurrections in the Caribbean and the U.S. that resulted in America's rabid fear - and the South's in particular - of such occurring (successfully), and the brutal measures that were taken to forestall such from happening.
Chapter IV, Dade's Promise, is a summary history of the U.S. government's war against the Florida Seminoles for the presumed purpose of stealing their land. The author is not shy about describing this as, essentially, "ethnic cleansing".
Chapter V, Morse's Code, illustrates the anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment that resulted in the 1844 Bible Riots in Philadelphia.
Chapter VI, Jessie's Journey, tells the story of "The Great Pathfinder" John C. Frémont, perhaps to be considered another individual persecuted by the central government. But this chapter also manages to allude to the Spaniard's brutal mistreatment of the native Indian population at the California missions and America's dubious territorial war with Mexico.
Davis describes historical events that, most certainly, are best not swept under the rug however disconcerting they may be to American sensitivities. They make for interesting, but not riveting, historical reading in a narrative that is frequently rambling when connecting events.
A NATION RISING would have benefited from an illustrations section, but that would've given the book a measure of added value that perhaps the author thought not worth the extra effort.
On a final note. When drawing the occasional parallel with similarly deplorable and despicable contemporary events, Davis manages to limit his comparisons to Republican presidential administrations.
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