The American Century, Volume I [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio Cassette)

~ (Author), Ira Claffey (Reader), (Contributor), Kevin Baker (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although most of this sprawling book is set in the 20th century, it begins on April 29, 1889, when Benjamin Harrison commemorated the first centennial of American government. This 11-year jump-start allows Harold Evans to write about the last major push to settle the Western territories, the gradual dwindling of Native American societies, the rise to prominence of William Jennings Bryan, and other quintessentially American moments of the 19th century.

But make no mistake about it--The American Century is very much rooted in the modern world. Evans's tight, journalistic prose marks the significant events and personages in America's rise to superpower status and offers several educational surprises, such as a two-page spread on too-little-known naval historian Alfred Mahan, whose The Influence of Sea Power upon History shaped foreign policy in America and several European nations. His treatments of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the Watergate crisis are substantial highlights. Juxtapositions such as Ralph Nader and Rachel Carson or Jimmy Hoffa and Cesar Chavez make for a lively overview. The book essentially ends with the inauguration of George Bush in 1989, although brief mention is made to some of what has happened since then. Filled with photographs and contemporary editorial cartoons, The American Century is an excellent one-volume chronicle of a rather momentous 100 years. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The principal author of this very fine and handsome popular history is the editorial director of the New York Daily News, Atlantic Monthly and U.S. News & World Report, and former president and publisher of the Random House Trade Group. Evans was born in Britain and moved to America only in 1984, so his retelling of the American story from 1889 to 1989 bears the refreshing stamp of a non-American sensibility, with some surprising focuses among the hundreds found in the textAEisenhower's engineering of coups in Guatemala and Iran, for example. Evans employs a tolerant, skeptical, dispassionate tone that makes for consistently absorbing reading, but what elevates his book above the (also laudable) The Century, by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster (reviewed above) is Evans's intellectual acuity, as exemplified in his strong thesis, which views the century as one concerned with, primarily, the struggle for democracy, both within the country and without. Evans's treatment of relations among the American racesAnot just black/white but all racesAand of the labor movement is particularly impressive, full and candid. The organization of the book is user-friendly. Each chapter begins with a commentary that sets out the theme of the chapter and is followed by a series of two-page spreads touching on different aspects of the era. The photosA900, but none in color as in the Jennings/BrewsterAare evocative and telling, and there are some seldom-seen gems among them, such as a photo of Ho Chi Minh at the Versailles peace conference in 1919. Like the Jennings/Brewster, this is a book more for browsing than for serious study, reminiscent of, though less weighty than, Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States. Both this book and the Jennings/Brewster are admirable productions, but readers looking for the deeper, more unexpected text will find it here, while for pure visual splendor the Jennings takes the prize. First serial to U.S News & World Report; BOMC alternate; History Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio; Abridged edition (November 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559275243
• ISBN-13: 978-1559275248
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,141,151 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than Jenning's book, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Century (Hardcover)

While Jenning's "The Century" book has some interesting stories, it's written like a script for a news report, i.e. uninformative sound bites. In contrast, "The American Century" is much better written, and has its own set of insights not covered in Jenning's book. They may complement each other, but if you must have one, this book is much better.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book that should be read, October 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Century (Hardcover)

Don't let the "coffee book table" size or look of the book fool you; "The American Century" is a very well written and very well thought out book. Its central thesis: Through political, economic, and social changes, the promise of American democracy (along with freedom, equality, and justice) slowly became a reality for all Americans.

Some criticisms leveled at this book are quite off the mark. One reader slammed Evans for imposing his own views and opinions on the past and thus committing a "cardinal sin." Ridiculous. No history is free of judgement or opinions. Whether it is in an overt statement or how the facts are presented, history is never impartial or neutral. Another criticism is that the book is a product of leftist revisionism. Perhaps, but a closer reading reveals otherwise. Evans, for instance, claimed that Ronald Reagan was "no racist" despite the fact he opened his 1980 campaign in the Deep South in the town where the three civil rights workers were murdered. He was also quite easy on Richard Nixon, describing his handling of the Alger Hiss case as "fair" and dismissing any notions that Watergate was part of some Oliver Stone-esqe conspiracy that somehow involved JFK's assassination.

The pictures alone make this book a good buy. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a solid grounding in American history but would like to get a different perspective.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book for home educators, December 16, 1999

By	[e-mail] (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Century (Hardcover)

This is a real tour-de-force in terms of the extensive material it covers with wonderful text and pictures. I had the opportunity to personally interview the author, Harold Evans, for our website. Despite its incredible volume and depth, it is accessible to the reader because it is written almost as if it were a series of magazine articles taking you through 100 years of US history. For many of our readers on the homeschoolzone, each of the bite-size pieces would make a wonderful jumping off point for a discussion or a research report for their children. I would strongly recommend this book not only for your children, but for yourself. As the author put it, "This is History for Browsers," and I most certainly agree with that and am continuing to pick the book up and browse.