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美国的故事
在《美国的故事》中，作者以其渊博的学识，简洁、流畅的笔触叙述了从哥伦布发现新大陆至20世纪30年代在北美大陆上的风云变幻。对美利坚合众国的形成、诞生和发展叙述颇详。对历史事件，西方文明、科技发明对人类生活的影响、美国的政治生活都有祥尽的阐述，内容丰富、资料翔实、涉及范围广泛、知识量大，非一般美国历史书籍所能及。本书文笔生动、活泼，写人述事，栩栩如生，不乏奇文妙语，读来饶有趣味。
这这本书中，房龙说了很多历史学家不敢说的真话：“历史如同生活，总是充满了讽刺意味。你若参与了政治动乱，抓住后就要被当作叛徒处死；而你若带头进行暴动并赢得了胜利，那么日后世世代代都将尊你为国父。”
“上帝总是站在最大的大炮一边。如果双方都得到了火炮，胜利必定属于在争吵中有着切身利益的人。跟随华盛顿经历过特拉华州的雨雪天气，这些佛蒙特州人和罗得岛州人深深明白，如果他们不竭尽全力，他们的农场将被敌人烧毁，他们的牛就会被牵走，他们的妻小则很可能被送到加拿大或新斯科舍。”总之，全书妙语连珠，十分深刻睿智。
这这本书中，房龙说了很多历史学家不敢说的真话：“历史如同生活，总是充满了讽刺意味。你若参与了政治动乱，抓住后就要被当作叛徒处死；而你若带头进行暴动并赢得了胜利，那么日后世世代代都将尊你为国父。”
“上帝总是站在最大的大炮一边。如果双方都得到了火炮，胜利必定属于在争吵中有着切身利益的人。跟随华盛顿经历过特拉华州的雨雪天气，这些佛蒙特州人和罗得岛州人深深明白，如果他们不竭尽全力，他们的农场将被敌人烧毁，他们的牛就会被牵走，他们的妻小则很可能被送到加拿大或新斯科舍。”总之，全书妙语连珠，十分深刻睿智。
- GenresHistory
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 1942
1 person is currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Hendrik Willem van Loon
298 books80 followersHendrik Willem van Loon (January 14, 1882 – March 11, 1944) was a Dutch-American historian and journalist.
Born in Rotterdam, he went to the United States in 1903 to study at Cornell University. He was a correspondent during the Russian Revolution of 1905 and in Belgium in 1914 at the start of World War I. He later became a professor of history at Cornell University (1915-17) and in 1919 became an American citizen.
From the 1910s until his death, Van Loon wrote many books. Most widely known among these is The Story of Mankind, a history of the world especially for children, which won the first Newbery Medal in 1922. The book was later updated by Van Loon and has continued to be updated, first by his son and later by other historians.
However, he also wrote many other very popular books aimed at young adults. As a writer he was known for emphasizing crucial historical events and giving a complete picture of individual characters, as well as the role of the arts in history. He also had an informal style which, particularly in The Story of Mankind, included personal anecdotes.
Born in Rotterdam, he went to the United States in 1903 to study at Cornell University. He was a correspondent during the Russian Revolution of 1905 and in Belgium in 1914 at the start of World War I. He later became a professor of history at Cornell University (1915-17) and in 1919 became an American citizen.
From the 1910s until his death, Van Loon wrote many books. Most widely known among these is The Story of Mankind, a history of the world especially for children, which won the first Newbery Medal in 1922. The book was later updated by Van Loon and has continued to be updated, first by his son and later by other historians.
However, he also wrote many other very popular books aimed at young adults. As a writer he was known for emphasizing crucial historical events and giving a complete picture of individual characters, as well as the role of the arts in history. He also had an informal style which, particularly in The Story of Mankind, included personal anecdotes.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 10, 2018
Covers American History from the explorers to the probable start of WWII. This is not a book to be used for teaching history, it is interesting, due to his view point and commentary for people who know this history already. He does not explain what happened, he analyses it and he is funny and interesting but not useful for those just learning the story of our country. He likes to start each chapter by describing an event or person without disclosing the name, but if you don't know what he's talking about you get confused. I enjoyed it but not a favorite. If using it for part of a classical education you'd need to supplement and lots of discussion.
June 28, 2023
(I couldn’t find a Goodreads listing for the version of the book I own; it’s simply titled “America” and was published in 1927. Presumably Van Loon updated it and it was published as “The Story of America” in 1942.)
What a fascinating old book. It is a historical survey of American history, which itself is almost a hundred years old. Hendrik Van Loon is a highly entertaining writer, and his simple drawings and maps add a great deal of charm to this book. He’s quite intelligent and insightful, and also quite opinionated. Some of his opinions I heartily disagreed with, for example, his dislike of the Reformation in general (it ruined the Renaissance), and of Puritans in particular (they caused the “deadening blight of Calvinism” to stymie American arts & letters); but I genuinely enjoyed reading this entire book. I don’t think I’ll be using it in my homeschool, partly because of those aforementioned opinions but also because Van Loon has an unfortunate tendency to make oblique references to historical people/events which he assumes his readers know all about…and those of us, like me, who went to public school start to become very confused.
What a fascinating old book. It is a historical survey of American history, which itself is almost a hundred years old. Hendrik Van Loon is a highly entertaining writer, and his simple drawings and maps add a great deal of charm to this book. He’s quite intelligent and insightful, and also quite opinionated. Some of his opinions I heartily disagreed with, for example, his dislike of the Reformation in general (it ruined the Renaissance), and of Puritans in particular (they caused the “deadening blight of Calvinism” to stymie American arts & letters); but I genuinely enjoyed reading this entire book. I don’t think I’ll be using it in my homeschool, partly because of those aforementioned opinions but also because Van Loon has an unfortunate tendency to make oblique references to historical people/events which he assumes his readers know all about…and those of us, like me, who went to public school start to become very confused.
Did Not Finish
May 26, 2024DNF, setting this aside for the summer, unsure if I will continue next year.
Read with my 8th and 9th graders ch 1-37 for part of our early American history. We all enjoyed this rather opinionated (but in an interesting and not very political way) overview of basic American history. I would use it again.
Read with my 8th and 9th graders ch 1-37 for part of our early American history. We all enjoyed this rather opinionated (but in an interesting and not very political way) overview of basic American history. I would use it again.
August 11, 2012
FRESH VIEW POINT WRITTEN BEFORE WWII
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews