Customer Reviews

A Sense of History: The Best Writing from the Pages of American Heritage

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Among the masses of great writing here is Thomas Fleming's definitive biographical article on Jersey City mayor and political boss Frank Hague. In addition to being an excellent historian, Fleming's father was a ward leader under Hague, so Fleming had access to a lot of inside stories. Due to Hague not leaving much of a paper trail, this may likely be the best bio we ever have on the man, though it's also worth tracking down Thomas Smith's THE POWERTICIANS.

Some years ago I got this book as part of a come-on to join a book club. I finally picked it up with a casual attitude but was quickly given an attitude adjustment. This book is an excellent collection of essays that read more like short stories. The subject matter is quite varied but they all concern US history either directly or indirectly. Many of the subjects concern famous people and/or events while others focus on the obscure people and events of our history. One of my favorites was a biographical sketch of L. Frank Baum in which I discovered that "The Wizard of Oz" was just one of many books about that magical land. Other essays were about inventions, weather phenomena, social issues, etc. All of the essays were well written by a wide assortment of historians. It really was like reading a collection of short stories that just happened to be informative as well as engrossing. I was reminded of this book when I saw a book club offering it as a selection. I thought it was out of print but I'm glad to see it's going to be available again. It certainly was pleasure to read.