A History of the American People

By: Paul Johnson

Narrated by: Nadia May

Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.

Anne Hutchinson, Cotton Mather, Ben Franklin, Tom Paine, George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, among others, are all presented in a fresh perspective. Wherever possible, letters, diaries, and recorded conversations are used to ensure a sense of actuality.

This is an in-depth portrait of a great people, from their fragile origins and struggles for independence, to their heroic efforts and sacrifices to deal with the "organic sin" of slavery and the preservation of the Union, to their explosive economic growth and emergence as the world's greatest superpower.

©1997 Paul Johnson (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Johnson is a lively writer (more so than nearly all other historians), and May's reading is sensitive to Johnson's wit and sharp comments....Her reading is lively, crisp, and sharp throughout." (AudioFile)

"A magnificent achievement...brilliantly combines broad sweep with extraordinary detail." (Wall Street Journal)

Excellent

I loved the overall history especially the reading by Nadia May. I thought the outlook was a bit biased towards the right of the political spectrum. However, that doesn’t take away from my general opinion of Paul Johnson or his history. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves their big history books.

A better understanding

There are so many times in history books or news articles where what happened was spun to serve someone purpose. This is the kind of book which will dig deeper and shed some light on these subjects and they suddenly seem less "black and white". Overall an amazing book with loads of information, although hard to stay focused on at times because of its thoroughness.

Superb history.

I am a longtime fan of American History and Paul Johnson's "A History of the American People" is the most insightful and as well researched as any I have encountered. I can recommend this book as an excellent source for the novice and advanced connoisseur. In addition the book is very entertaining and engaging.

Not de Tocqueville

One can almost hear George III thinking out loud about the loss of all the vast open spaces of America. There is a total lack of any sense of awe of America in this Englishman's very long book. He strives to show how American Exceptionalism was merely the result of happy and brutal coincidence. Reading between the lines we see a typical European Liberal (in the modern vile sense of the word) green with envy that they lost their colonies.

I am about 15 hours into this long thing. Perhaps if he traveled the country like de Tocqueville he might have gotten a real sense of the American people. Instead we can imagine him up to his elbows in obscure research sources at Cambridge or at Cambridge West (Harvard).

So, to read this, you must endure continual subtle and overt leftist bias and his criticism of what is thinks is the American tendency to over react to imaginary threats (i.e. the silly red scar of the 1950s - which we have known since the fall of the USSR was real indeed).

I suppose this tendency to graft one's political biases onto past events is what makes many history books highly suspect.

But if you can hold your nose and get past the liberal bias, the book is interesting and has some original in-sights.

Too bad it was read by some lady with a stuffy British accent. This is another substantial negative.

Fabulous

Yes, fabulous... but above all necessary and balanced. A counterweight to today’s most harmful narratives about a success story

The Text is Outstanding, Narration is Average

This is a very readable book, however it is a book that I found easier to read, than listen to. The narration is often too quick for the listener to absorb what is taking, and keep up with Johnson's transitions from one topic to another. My recommendation is to buy the text, rather than the audio.

A sweeping perspective on America’s past

Paul Johnson’s 1997 History of the American People does the difficult work of summarizing 400 years of American history, from its earliest colonial stirrings to the triumphant period of unipolarity at the end of the 20th century. Johnson strikes a delicate balance of focus between American society, economics, government, and other factors, giving readers a holistic picture of the nation as it has evolved.

Listeners with any political sensitivity will quickly notice that this book does not pretend to be politically neutral: Johnson is a conservative and this fact is evident throughout the book. It remains a history, however, and avoids becoming a partisan screed. Indeed, Johnson’s willingness to give his honest thoughts on matters (notably his appreciation for the much-maligned Richard Nixon) is at times a valuable counterpoint to some interpretations of American history that have become orthodoxies. On rare occasions it can elicit eye-rolling (Johnson insists on derisively labeling the educated classes as “right-thinking”, for instance) but even for those of liberal bent these moments are far from overwhelming.

Well read by Nadia May (a performer whose British accent is less discordant once one realizes that the author is also British), this book is an excellent addition to the libraries of those who wish to learn about the history of the United States, or those who are already familiar but who seek different angles on a subject they know well.

a good book for long travels

This book is well written. History is told in a perspective not told in any school I ever attended and was refreshing. I listened to every hour of it and might even listen to it again in a year or so. The narrator has an english accent which made for easy listening.

I am indebted to Paul Johnson

I cannot think of when I would ever say that I’m “indebted” to an author. Certainly I appreciate the many of the authors of books I’ve read and have been impressed by their talents and the works they have created. However, the emotional reaction that I have after reading Paul Johnson’s A History of the American People is one of gratitude and indebtedness. With the continued assault on our history with pop culture and political correctness it is refreshing to hear a well researched history that has not been tainted or biased as so much of what is promoted as history today. Johnson does not tell a one sided story, rather he tells a balanced version with a great deal of background perspective that both strengthens the credibility of the material as well as gives the reader a great deal of insight that most history books miss. I have already recommended this book to many of my friends and recommend it to anyone who wants to hear a fascinating story of the American people. I am indebted to Paul Johnson.

Excellent Information for all Americans

At almost 80, I learned a great deal that I had never known before about the United States and also corrections about all the miss information I have been given throughout the years. I listened at .75 to a good deal: the result was the reading gave me time to mull over the facts. It is great for insomnia as you set a timer and a great companion on a walk. V