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Making Patriots 1st Edition

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Walter Berns (Author)
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Walter Berns (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 10 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0226044385
ISBN-10: 0226044386
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  • Making Patriots
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 164 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (October 15, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226044386
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226044385
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,740,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsDefinitely NOT the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel
By Steven Fantina on July 9, 2002
Format: Hardcover
In his short collection of essays, Walter Berns explores the history of patriotism and identifies why it has achieved such a unique plateau here in the United States. Occasionally, bordering on the esoteric due to its advanced discussion of ancient Sparta and more-than-passing mentions of some other abstruse historical topics, certain sections of the treatise may overwhelm some readers. Still those who must plod through the first few chapters will be handsomely rewarded with the book's later essays. The testimonials to Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas alone make it a beneficial read. In these two sections, Bern's ideas illuminate and his prose soars. Of our 16th president he rhapsodically ponders, "what Lincoln did at Gettysburg was to create new mystic chords, stretching from a new battlefield to new graves, to our hearts and hearthstones, all over this broad land, South as well as North, reminding us of the cause written in our book, the Declaration of Independence."
Analyzing Frederick Douglas' life and the impact he left behind, Mr. Berns offers some notions that defy longstanding, putative preconceptions. Mr. Douglas, himself rattles the established elite thinking when he is quoted as saying, "the federal Government was never in its essence anything but anti-slavery...If in its origin, slavery had any relation to the government, it was only as the scaffolding to the magnificent structure, to be removed as soon as the building was completed." Mr. Berns may not employ such majestic imagery but is nearly as profound when he deftly delves into present day race relations.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By C. Olson on January 12, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Great book and makes an excellent gift
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Dose of What We Need as a Nation
By Donald L. Linn on September 6, 2001
Format: Hardcover
This small book reminds me so clearly of my public education in the 1950's and '60's when God and country were so seamlessly integrated into the curricula of our schools that it would have been unnatural to think otherwise (though how quickly, it seems, those thoughts did turn in the mid-to-late '60's). Dr. Berns' thoughtful essay outlines clearly and persuasivley the case for reintegrating patriotism (not jingoism) back into American society and education. Required reading, filled with wonderful anecdotes, quotes and references.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Final Solution to the Youth Problem in America Today
By E. Solomonson on April 2, 2007
Format: Hardcover
The young men in America today seem much more concerned with baggy trousers, doing things with girls, Japanese automobiles, and crunchy snack food. This is all fine and dandy until your country needs your service and possibly your life to promote global democracy abroad.

Now what?

As a man of nearly 40 I wondered to myself "How can I get these kids to stop playing music so loud and ship them overseas without actually confronting them directly?" Well....Walter Berns has the answer. They need to be inspired by people like Abraham Lincoln, so that they may serve our nation, serve our ideals, and stop making so much noise and wear pants that fit properly (he doesn't discuss there noisy music or their pants..thats me..so help me the day I never see another 16 year old flaunting his boxer shorts again cannot come fast enough).

The important thing here is to read this book and get the youth of America out and doing something productive like dying for the ideas of old men who work for think tanks.
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5.0 out of 5 starsvery timely
By A Customer on February 11, 2002
Format: Hardcover
This slim little book answers some of the questions that have been raised since September 11 (although the book was published some 4 or so months prior to the attacks): for example, what is patriotism? how do we inculcate it in our youth? Berns's answer is one tempered with reason and logic, and he seems to posit--not without good cause--that patriotism must be taught in our schools. As the previous reviewer said, patriotism--rightly defined, as Berns approaches it--is not jingoism. In fact, he is quite critical (a little too much, in my opinion) of that famed patriot Stephen Decatur's aphorism "my country right or wrong." Moreover, to those who would question America's role in the world, to those who think we are a force for evil, Berns urges them to think of victory in World War II and an end to communism (at least as far as the USSR goes)--how could those battles have been won without the US. His brief discussion of the notion of being un-American is particularly insightful; for example, that has a meaning all its own--one never says something is "un-French" or "un-British." It is, indeed, right, honorable, justified, and expected that we love our country. Some folks in the media and academia would profit from reading this great little work.
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