Of the People: A History of the United States, Volume II: Since 1865, with Sources

by Michael E. McGerr, Jan Ellen Lewis, James Oakes

Of the People: A History of the United States, Fourth Edition, does more than tell the history of America--of its people and places, of its dealings and ideals. It also unfolds the story of American democracy, carefully marking how this country's evolution has been anything but certain, from its complex beginnings to its modern challenges. This comprehensive survey focuses on the social and political lives of people--some famous, some ordinary--revealing the compelling story of America's democracy from an individual perspective, from across the landscapes of diverse communities, and ultimately from within the larger context of the world.

Genres: History

816 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2009

About the author

Michael McGerr is an American historian working at Indiana University in the History Department, a unit of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2005 he was appointed the Paul V. McNutt Professor of American History, an endowed professorship at Indiana University. In his career, Michael McGerr has worked at MIT, Yale and Indiana University.

Reviews

[Tonya's Turning Pages]

This book was required for my history course, but I really enjoyed it. This is a very good source of historical information.

[Sonya]

Really makes history come to life-I enjoyed learning things that I was not taught in US history-if you need a refresher or just love history this is a great book to read.

[Beth]

Dry and occasionally biased but overall seemingly accurate and informative.

[Lee]

It was OK. It segued into non-white guy history sometimes. But reading it highlights everything that is wrong with the way we teach history in the US. Cramming over 100 years into a couple months teaches students next to nothing about it, particularly about parts the authors didn’t want to emphasize. Of course, a book with a chapter on the Triumph of Capitalism to describe the deeds of Rockefeller, et al, and the Return of America to describe Reagan and the Moral Majority can’t be expected to emphasize the horrors of the country’s treatment of minorities and workers. The funniest part, however, was the short section on Trump. They brush him off as if he is an anomaly and absolutely nothing we should worry about.

[Rebecca]

This was a satisfactory history textbook, but it fails to deliver in some areas. It puts too much focus on some historical events, while not covering others in enough depth. There is a vague leftist political bias about this book, especially in social progressiveness and labor relations, but I suppose that is to be expected. I did like how this book included primary sources for historical periods, however.

[Meghan Stewart]

Only history textbook to catch my attention, even if only for a little while.