Students Guide To U.S. History: U.S. History Guide (Guides To Major Disciplines) [Paperback]

Wilfred M. Mcclay (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1882926455 | ISBN-13: 978-1882926459 | Publication Date: September 30, 2000

No nation in modern history has had a more powerful sense of its own distinctiveness than the United States. Yet few Americans understand the immensely varied sources of that sense and the fascinating debates that have always swirled around our attempts to define America with greater precision. In this introduction to the study of American history, Wilfred M. McClay invites us to experience the perennial freshness and vitality of this great subject as he explores some of the enduring commitments and persistent tensions that have made America what it is. Author: Wifred M. McClayPages: 96, PaperbackPublisher: Christendom PressISBN: 1-882926-45-5

Product Details

• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute (September 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882926455
• ISBN-13: 978-1882926459
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Study Guides

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great starting point or thematic overview, November 16, 2002

By 

Yalensian - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Students Guide To U.S. History: U.S. History Guide (Guides To Major Disciplines) (Paperback)

Over the past several years, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has published a series of guides to college studies, ranging from history and literature to the core curriculum and liberal learning more generally. In this slim volume, Professor McClay develops a framework through which we might begin to view the unique entity that is American history (and America itself). McClay laments, with some justification, the fact that students at the high school and college levels are usually taught U.S. history as a string of facts or periods; as a corrective, McClay selects a (non-exhaustive) set of themes, "windows" as he calls them, which undergird the discipline: equality, religion, liberty, nature, urbanism, the frontier, and federalism, to name but a few. It is a work neither of the philosophy of history nor of historiography; nor is it jargon-ridden or overly abstract. Rather, its simplistic treatment of the basic building blocks of American history easily serves as a solid starting point for more detailed studies of our past, not to mention the many fine books to which it refers the reader for further perusal. Indeed, this is its purpose as well as its strongest element.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, balanced introduction to thinking about history, May 22, 2007

By 

amg2008 "GradSchoolSufferer" (Northern VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Students Guide To U.S. History: U.S. History Guide (Guides To Major Disciplines) (Paperback)

I came across this valuable little book by way of a recommendation, and have been most pleased. As a first-year graduate student (albeit in European history) I was searching for ways of thinking about "doing" history. McClay offers many insights delivered in thoughtful, reasoned, and balanced prose. Although his focus is American history, I believe students of any field of history might benefit from his ideas. His central conceit consists of metaphorical "windows," or themes, through which American history is to be viewed. These serve to guide students in thinking about the key issues that our country has faced since its founding.

The book has its limits, of course. It is an introduction, so do not expect an in-depth discussion of historiography or methodology. As well, his audience appears to be the underclassmen of college or upper-level high school students, more than graduate students.

While McClay is a political and ideological conservative (the book is published by ISI), he does not, to my thinking, let this bias him to a negative degree. He is seeking to teach students to think honestly and rationally about their nation's past and what that means for the present and the future.

I have returned to this book on more than one occasion throughout my graduate studies and will no doubt do so again. If he publishes further volumes like this one, I will be first in line to buy.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McClay is an excellent teacher, November 26, 2003

By 

Matthew Bailey (Sparta, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Students Guide To U.S. History: U.S. History Guide (Guides To Major Disciplines) (Paperback)

I took two classes from Prof. McClay before I read A Student's Guide to U.S. History. I highly anticipated reading this volume since he was an excellent classroom teacher. My expections were met and then some. He is one of the best at classroom teaching and one of the best with the written word. I highly recommend this book!