Portrait of America

by Stephen B. Oates, Charles J. Errico

Portrait of America is an anthology of essays written by some of America's most eminent historians. Suitable for U.S. history survey courses, the collection maintains a loose biographical focus. The essays in this secondary-source reader humanize American history by portraying it as a story of real people with whom students can easily identify. More than 20 percent of the essays in the Ninth Edition are new. Each selection is preceded by an introduction for context, and a helpful glossary identifies important individuals, events, and concepts. Study questions follow each selection, prompting students to make comparisons between the readings.

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction, Textbooks

Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

An expert on 18th century U.S. history, Stephen B. Oates was professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught from 1969 until his retirement in 1997. Oates received his BA (1958), MA (1960), and Ph.D. (1969) from the University of Texas.

Oates wrote 16 books during his career, including biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton, and John Brown, and an account of Nat Turner's slave rebellion. His Portrait of America, a compilation of essays about United States history, is widely used in advanced high school and undergraduate university American history courses. His two "Voices of the Storm" books are compilations of monologues of key individuals in events leading up to and during the American Civil War. He also appeared in the well-known Ken Burns PBS documentary on the war.

Oates received the Nevins-Freeman Award of the Chicago Civil War Round Table for his historical work on the American Civil War.

Reviews

[David J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the 7th edition, complete version of this book, but can't find it on Goodreads.

This was my first college textbook, and I still love it. I am not an American History buff, but these essays are short (typically around 20 pages) and focus on the theories of why rather than the simple facts.

Every now and then I pick it up and spend 30 minutes re-reading an essay.

[Stevie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is basically a collection of articles dated up to 1877. Not very interesting, unless you're extremely interested in the personal sides of some stories you may have heard about developing people back then.

[Kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative essays. Again, I had to read this as a textbook for my class.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ewwwww I hate doing Oates assignments. The articles arent all that bad, they have some actual interesting info, but overall this book should be prescribed to insomniacs because it can put anyone to sleep.