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An Illustrated History of the USA
This is a companion volume to "An Illustrated History of Britain". It traces the history of the USA from the time of the Amerindians, through to the arrival of the Europeans, to the present day. Topics covered include colonial life, the Civil War and the American involvement in Vietnam. Each chapter consists of two or three double page spreads with inset material highlighting some of the characters or events mentioned in the main text.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 17, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 18 reviews
January 26, 2016
It's a great book if one wants to have an overview of the American history ! Too many details, doctrines, stories, and pictures ! <3
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May 13, 2023well that was an ordeal
November 1, 2013
J'avoue que lorsque le prof de civilisation américaine nous a conseillé des lectures générales et divers recueils d'histoire et de civilisations pour "réviser", j'ai automatiquement focalisé sur une introduction aussi mince qu'illustrée que possible... Oui, oui, la quantité de "révisions" en civilisation du monde anglophone me parait bel et bien insurmontable et la flemme prend vite le dessus.
D'où mon choix initial d'An Illustrated History of the USA... Deux mois plus tard, j'avoue m'être procuré "A People's History of the United States", bottin plus complet pour compléter cette introduction.
Une histoire illustrée est effectivement une excellente entrée, mes souvenirs de civi étant particulièrement lointains, datant d'une voire deux décennies. Ce petit livre (en épaisseur) est un bon début, contenant des résumés, divisé en cinq périodes (A new world, A new nation, Years of growth, Twentieth century Americans & Superpower), chaque chapitre est illustré par divers documents iconographiques dont certains essentiels tels que la Déclaration d'Indépendance, quelques cartes, photos et tableaux de d'événements et de personnes essentielles et quelques anecdotes historiques sur les périodes.
Mais il reste une entrée dans la civilisation. Le manque de précisions saute aux yeux après quelques chapitres et la vision de l'histoire est parfois très simpliste, comme adressée à des enfants.
Je le conseille cependant pour une vision générale, plus ou moins chronologique, avec un autre recueil beaucoup plus documenté à l'appui pour compléter celui-ci.
D'où mon choix initial d'An Illustrated History of the USA... Deux mois plus tard, j'avoue m'être procuré "A People's History of the United States", bottin plus complet pour compléter cette introduction.
Une histoire illustrée est effectivement une excellente entrée, mes souvenirs de civi étant particulièrement lointains, datant d'une voire deux décennies. Ce petit livre (en épaisseur) est un bon début, contenant des résumés, divisé en cinq périodes (A new world, A new nation, Years of growth, Twentieth century Americans & Superpower), chaque chapitre est illustré par divers documents iconographiques dont certains essentiels tels que la Déclaration d'Indépendance, quelques cartes, photos et tableaux de d'événements et de personnes essentielles et quelques anecdotes historiques sur les périodes.
Mais il reste une entrée dans la civilisation. Le manque de précisions saute aux yeux après quelques chapitres et la vision de l'histoire est parfois très simpliste, comme adressée à des enfants.
Je le conseille cependant pour une vision générale, plus ou moins chronologique, avec un autre recueil beaucoup plus documenté à l'appui pour compléter celui-ci.
August 30, 2012
Good for teens and beginners!
April 5, 2018
An illustrated history of the USA is a great quick read for those wo want to have a brief and simple overview of the United States history. Starting way back from the native inhabitants of the land to the present day.
It is very detailed yet in short simple paragraphs and chapters supplied with illustrations which make it easy to read and not boring, though it gets repetitive sometimes. By the latest chapters I found myself reviewing everything I have learnt about the world in History classes in Secondary school from the American point of view and that enabled me to understand things better and perceive the American policy and how Americans think in general.
What I didn't like however were the occasional contradictions and biased opinions. The author would speak of the various involvements of the U.S in foreign affairs, often causing wars and massive destruction and deaths of innocents, all the while boasting about the "Great Nation" and what it contributed to the modern world as we know it today.
History is written by the victors indeed. What I concluded in the end is that in a lot of times, people are driven to do horrible and selfish acts guided by feelings of self-righteousness, thus creating pretenses that with time they themselves start to believe.
It is very detailed yet in short simple paragraphs and chapters supplied with illustrations which make it easy to read and not boring, though it gets repetitive sometimes. By the latest chapters I found myself reviewing everything I have learnt about the world in History classes in Secondary school from the American point of view and that enabled me to understand things better and perceive the American policy and how Americans think in general.
What I didn't like however were the occasional contradictions and biased opinions. The author would speak of the various involvements of the U.S in foreign affairs, often causing wars and massive destruction and deaths of innocents, all the while boasting about the "Great Nation" and what it contributed to the modern world as we know it today.
History is written by the victors indeed. What I concluded in the end is that in a lot of times, people are driven to do horrible and selfish acts guided by feelings of self-righteousness, thus creating pretenses that with time they themselves start to believe.
May 7, 2022
It's a book for kids and it shows. It's a summarised version of American history, glossing over certain people/periods, and sanitising others (Henry Kissinger presented as a great foreign policymaker)
October 19, 2017
exacting book
June 28, 2018
A great introduction to American history. Even though it was just an overview it provided many details and made it possible to organize all pre-existing knowledge about the history of the US.
Want to read
November 26, 2019Good
May 9, 2021
Interesting book! It covers the most significant events in the history of the U.S. Starting from the arrival of Columbus through the civil and revolutionary wars up to America as a superpower.
November 5, 2017
Excellent review on the history of the USA.
February 12, 2017
Definitely one of the most well written and structured historical books I've ever read!
This book is great for readers who are interested in the history of the USA. It gives a lot of details about almost everything they mention. It starts when the USA (the new world) was found up until the 20th century.
What I really liked about this book is that it doesn't really defend the wrongs the USA did towards other countries or people. The games they played to cause wars in other countries are just written in here. They have caused wars between several countries but didn't envolve themselves. Meanwhile other countries were bombing each other, USA started to develop itself.
This book is great for readers who are interested in the history of the USA. It gives a lot of details about almost everything they mention. It starts when the USA (the new world) was found up until the 20th century.
What I really liked about this book is that it doesn't really defend the wrongs the USA did towards other countries or people. The games they played to cause wars in other countries are just written in here. They have caused wars between several countries but didn't envolve themselves. Meanwhile other countries were bombing each other, USA started to develop itself.
August 25, 2013
Gives the reader a good overview. However, it gives a very biassed account of the history of the USA and is a bit repetitive. As always..."History is written by the victors".
October 9, 2014
Really interesting, with vivid images, very useful information. It is recommended for those studying American or (USA) history. It's a very rich manuel.
February 7, 2016
Gripping
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February 15, 2016Very well written. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 18 reviews