Customer Reviews

A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History

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

 

 

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.

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.

"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.

The author ventures behind the scenes in the lives of some of history's popular, well known and oft times controversial players on the stage of American history, writing of the late 18th and 19th centuries including War of 1812, the War with mexico and Seminole War's. Parts of the writing wil be repetitious; to those of us less well steeped in American history there is much that is new, exciting and even amusing, for example John Fremont's ancestry. The chapters are inclusive, allowing the reader to pick and choose, completing the volumne at his leisure. I found the book from Amazon very interesting and time reading it well spent.

I do not specifically subscribe to notions of our founders and leaders being bigots who destroyed the rights and the way of life of those in their path to make the USA a nation. I do not necessarily believe in the bashing of our history
I do, however, think Kenneth Davis does paint an interesting, if not convicting case against our nation and the attitudes that were brewing in the minds of its leaders (intentionally or unintentionally.)
I am not sure if his motives were to pile on with the current trend of bashing our founding in light of more enlightened and progress thought. There were definite hints of this theme, and I must admit did find myself building a barrier to prepare for such allegations in the book.
As the USA matured, it did so at the expense of slaves, Native Americans and immigrants. The tales of natives and slaves together fighting for freedom against US forces are left off or skimmed over in the telling of our national story.
These stories, add to the scores accounts of civil rights violations and brutality in almost every chapter of our history, especially at the expense of slaves, Native Americans, immigrants and more than a few issues of religious bigotry at all faiths.
No matter what camp you follow, this is a compelling book that challenges you to investigate your notions of `the land of the Free," and your notions of how a country listens to the concerns of its people.
We are an imperfect nation, and our finding wasn't without compromise to what is right, but I think we need to have a clear head and clear heart as we continue build this country.

Simply put, Mr. Davis does an excellent job at illuminating moments in history that are left out of most of our education. I enjoy his style as it is very down to earth. Aside from facts (and yes some humor) it incorporates a more human "warts and all" view of past events.

Mr. Davis does use that age old technique that most good teachers use... Comparison... Drawing comparisons between these past and current events so that the reader has a better understanding. Some of these may even make a reader chuckle.

Bearing that in mind, there are folks out there who have provided reviews for this book that criticize Mr. Davis for having a political agenda. Yet it is clear to me (being that I have actually read the book) that these critics have their own political agenda to push.

It sad that we now live in a time that we have to spin, counter-spin, and even counter-counter-spin BOOK REVIEWS.

If you want to know more about this country and how we got to where we are, I recommend reading this book whether you're a T-Bagger, a moderate, or a flaming liberal. All of us (dare I say Americans) need to learn to open our minds' to new thoughts, facts, opinions and ideas if we are going to stop this great nation from circling the drain.

If your a fan of historical non-fiction or Ken Davis books in general, you will like this book. Unlike the broad style he uses in the "You Don't Know Much.." series, in this book he focuses in on 6 events in early American history. Some of the events described in his book are of the battles that history has forgotten and people that "main stream" history has over looked. I definitely recommend this book for history buffs.

This IS a must have in your library if you are student of American History. Kenneth Davis brings to life many "forgotten" sagas that helped build the framework of a nation whose merit, honor, and distinguishments has become a beacon of hope to the world. Thomas Jefferson stated, "A government that fears the people brings liberty, and a people that fear government brings tyranny." Our nation's history is quite murky at best in the first half of the 1800's. Sure, one may possess knowledge of the War of 1812, or perhaps the U.S. Civil War beginning in 1860. The California Gold Strike and the push into the great unknown of the American Frontier? How did all of this come about in the spanse of 50 years, roughly; yet more importantly, what do these events reflect in our modernized America of today? "A Nation Rising" will help fill in the gaps in our collective memories of a time and events long forgotten yet so crutial in who we have become as a nation. What was the longest and most costliest war that America was engaged in between the Revolutionary War for Independance and the Vietnam War? If you guessed the American Civil War, you may be surprised with the facts, presented in this book. This is only one of the many examples presented in this narrative. Names like Aaron Burr... Andrew Jackson... "Tippacanoe and Tyler, too!" what was all that about? Kenneth Davis sets the scene and the facts of history dance alive from one page to the next.

I have given this book only 4 stars, simply because it made me do more historical research. I got thirsty for more. This is what a "good" book ought to do, making it a "must" for any library.

Reading Kenneth Davis is somewhat like watching a re-run of an old TV show you have not seen in some time. It is very entertaining and enjoyable but at the same time you're not learning anything new. I did like some of his subject matter like the Bible War in Philadelphia which rarely sees coverage now and I also enjoyed the parts of the book which dealt with The Seminole War and treatment of Native Americans.

Again, neither of those stories are new or even untold, but they do not get the coverage or telling that they used too so it is nice to hear about them again. Read this if you're really into history and want to read something different. It's a good read.

Davis is a wonderful writer who moves a story. Some of his Ph.D. colleagues no doubt would classify this as "history lite," but I think he performs a service for those of us who either skipped this period in U.S. History or forgot what our teachers tried to teach.

Yes, I would have liked a little more depth and "the other side" on some of the subjects chosen. For instance, was there any validity to the claims that the Catholics were anti-independence? Davis skips the question and writes entirely about the injustices committed against them. These were atrocities, to be sure, but a good historian presents the facts and lets the reader decide.

That being said, I did enjoy this book. Davis unearths a lot of material and upsets our traditional views of Cowboys and Indians, Aaron Burr and Andy Jackson. I would read another book of his.