Product Review

In this revised, expanded, and updated second edition, Paul Swendson - in a series of comprehensive essays - puts into written form what he has spent more than thirteen years doing as a community college history instructor: making American history “manageable, meaningful, and relevant” for everyday people. In addition to breaking down the fundamental topics of American history in a concise, easy to read fashion, this is a work of political and social commentary, relating the experiences, struggles, and decisions of past Americans to life in the United States today. As stated in the book’s introductory essay: “If history teachers – and historians for that matter – make no effort to draw lessons from the data and to bring the facts to life, then we are merely engaged in a trivia exercise.” The goal of this book, like all good history teaching and writing, is to help its readers become a little wiser, and raising the essential questions is often more important than providing the “right” answers.