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The American Story
He was a defender of free enterprise who adored the magnificence of the American genius for progress.
He was a champion of business who believed in profiting the old fashioned way.
He was a libertarian who deplored the rise of big government.
He was a constitutionalist who was aghast at how presidents and congresses shredded the document in times of economic crisis and war.
He was the last of the great old-time liberals who opposed FDR's welfare-warfare state.
Above all else, he was a brilliant student of the American experience who could tell a story like no one else of his generation.
Garet Garrett's last book was his own retelling of American history, with a special focus on the technologies and people behind them that transformed life for average people, along with a relentless and truth-telling story about the rise of the state.
These had been a theme of all of his work, from his novels of the 1920s to his case against the New Deal in the 1930s. His final work tells the story of the American people as its never been told, from an early experiment in freedom, and the fight against the powers in Washington that sought to suppress that freedom, all the way through the beginnings of a preventable Cold War.
The images that the author presses on the mind in The American Story--a complete biography of a country--are vivid and telling, the product of a lifetime of study and the wisdom of age.
The Wall Street Journal called this book "probably the most brilliant long historical essay on America that has ever been written."
A book this great should have been read by all high school students in this country, but instead it died an early death. The political culture of the time found it inadmissible with too many unthinkable thoughts. Garrett struck the budding conservative movement as too erudite and too principled to fit in with the organizing plan of new times. He was left to write for the ages.
He was a champion of business who believed in profiting the old fashioned way.
He was a libertarian who deplored the rise of big government.
He was a constitutionalist who was aghast at how presidents and congresses shredded the document in times of economic crisis and war.
He was the last of the great old-time liberals who opposed FDR's welfare-warfare state.
Above all else, he was a brilliant student of the American experience who could tell a story like no one else of his generation.
Garet Garrett's last book was his own retelling of American history, with a special focus on the technologies and people behind them that transformed life for average people, along with a relentless and truth-telling story about the rise of the state.
These had been a theme of all of his work, from his novels of the 1920s to his case against the New Deal in the 1930s. His final work tells the story of the American people as its never been told, from an early experiment in freedom, and the fight against the powers in Washington that sought to suppress that freedom, all the way through the beginnings of a preventable Cold War.
The images that the author presses on the mind in The American Story--a complete biography of a country--are vivid and telling, the product of a lifetime of study and the wisdom of age.
The Wall Street Journal called this book "probably the most brilliant long historical essay on America that has ever been written."
A book this great should have been read by all high school students in this country, but instead it died an early death. The political culture of the time found it inadmissible with too many unthinkable thoughts. Garrett struck the budding conservative movement as too erudite and too principled to fit in with the organizing plan of new times. He was left to write for the ages.
413 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
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About the author
Garet Garrett
61 books28 followersGaret Garrett was born in 1878 in Illinois. By 1903, he had become a well known writer for the Sun newspaper (1833–1950) in New York. In 1911, he wrote a fairly successful book, Where the Money Grows and Anatomy of the Bubble. In 1916, at the age of 38, Garrett became the executive editor of the New York Tribune, after having worked as a financial writer for The New York Times, the Saturday Evening Post, and The Wall Street Journal. From 1920 to 1933, his primary focus was on writing books.
Between 1920 and 1932 Garrett wrote eight books, including The American Omen in 1928 and A Bubble That Broke the World in 1932. He also wrote regular columns for several business and financial publications.
Between 1920 and 1932 Garrett wrote eight books, including The American Omen in 1928 and A Bubble That Broke the World in 1932. He also wrote regular columns for several business and financial publications.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2017
This is how history books should be written! Colorful, engaging, exciting, and fast-paced. It's a shame Garrett isn't around today to include the last 60+ years.
November 19, 2025
History of the United States mostly from an economic standpoint. The creation of a laissez-faire republic and its eventual collapse into a quasi-socialist democracy. Covers areas generally overlooked in most histories.
April 7, 2015
This is a great short, only 400 pages, history of America up to 1953(ish). The greatest benefit of Garrett is that he has a sound understanding of economics and this enables him, where most historians fall short, to provide an accurate picture of history.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews