The United States: A brief Narrative History [Paperback]

Link Hullar (Author), Scott A. Nelson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0882952293 | ISBN-13: 978-0882952291 | Publication Date: January 30, 2006 | Edition: 2

Like its popular predecessor, the second edition of "The United States: A Brief History" is a basic, readable, and affordable core text for the introductory survey of United States history. The book is not intended as the only resource for students in such courses: its length, approach, and price encourage the use of supplementary books, research projects, and primary documents (many of which are now available on the Internet). Nevertheless, this innovative survey will come as a welcome relief to the average student, who may be intimidated, overwhelmed, and overextended financially by the massive texts that dominate the genre. Even many so-called brief editions can weigh in a nearly a thousand pages, leaving many student readers lost in a maze of confusing, daunting, and expensive information. The new edition boasts an introduction by Philip Weeks on the pre-Columbian American Indian nations who inhabited what became the continental United States - an important chapter in the history of the nation. Furthermore, the text has been refined or altered in places - both to accommodate new information and in response to the feedback of both students and instructors. In taking a cultural literacy approach to decide what to include in the text, Hullar and Nelson highlight names, terms, and concepts common to an educated person's understanding of American history. Big ideas, major themes, important events, and basic facts unfold in a chronological narrative that tells a lively story in user-friendly fashion. Each chapter concludes with a list of important terms for study and short-essay questions. The appendices include for handy reference an annotated text of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, and a list of the Presidents of the United States.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Link Hullar is from Decatur, Alabama, and received his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, with additional graduate studies at Ohio University. He is the author of a dozen western novels, and more than one hundred articles and stories. In addition, Link is a songwriter and co-writer/co-producer of a televised special on the Three Stooges. In a career that has spanned more than thirty-five years, Link has taught in middle schools, community colleges, four-year institutions, and in graduate programs. In addition, Link is a priest in the Episcopal Church. He has been married for over thirty-five years to Sharon, and the have two adult children. All currently reside in Spring, Texas.
Scott A. Nelson was born in California and raised in the Texas Panhandle. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Houston and two degress from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). He has taught history and government for 31 years at various schools, colleges, and universities in Texas. Scott has published one previous book, The Discourses of Algernon Sidney (1993) and a wide variety of articles in the Houston Law Review, the Texas Observer, the Houston Chronicle, and Texas Monthly, among others. He works for the Texas Community College Teachers Association and teaches history at Texas Women's University. He lives in Denton, Texas, with his wife, Jane. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Harlan Davidson; 2 edition (January 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882952293
• ISBN-13: 978-0882952291
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A succinct, "reader friendly" overview of American history, August 7, 2006

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The United States: A brief Narrative History (Paperback)

Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, The United States: A Brief Narrative History by co-authors Link Hullar and Scott Nelson offers students and non-specialist general readers with a succinct, "reader friendly" overview of American history beginning with the Native American nations, then the era of colonial discovery and expansion, followed by the development of an independent and democratic nation, through the years of civil war and sectional conflicts, to America's "Gilded Age", foreign wars, depressions, expansions, cultural revolutions, the ending of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terrorism. This "bite sized" approach to American history is as informed and informative as it is engaging and articulate. The United States: A Brief Narrative History is recommended for both school and community library collections, and an ideal read for immigrants new to the country and any others who are seeking a sound, easily absorbed grounding in the basics of American history.