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)

Thorough and interesting

There were a couple if glitches in the audio, but overall clear. Also, at least one factual error. Ford was seriously challenged by Reagan in 1976.
Nonetheless, illuminating book.

Must read!

This is a must read for those wanting to understand how Americans came to be.

A good history of US until

This was an excellent book until reaching FDR. The bias against FDR is so absurd, and so glaring in light of the even handiness exhibited to that point, that I decided I couldn’t continue with the book. Subsequent investigation on my part revealed that this bias would remain for the remainder of the alternate history of the United States as depicted by Johnson.
I am glad that I listened as long I did and stopped when I did

Spare me

The author of this book feels that Norman Rockwell eventually will be be remembered in the same category as Rembrandt and Nixon will be compared to Jefferson. I couldn't read any more after this. Save your credits.

A somewhat misleading title

This book may have been more aptly titled a political history of the American people.
While massive in its size, it's scope was rather narrowly restricted toward a lineage of the American presidents and the events surrounding their election and terms of office.

A well-balanced history of the United States of America

The author Paul Johnson is not an American, but he does present a thorough and very engaging history of the American People as his title correctly states. His detailed research is very evident, and his research is combined with a narrative writing style that I find very engaging. He does not shy away from the many challenges America has faced through the years, but he balances the account of the challenges with the many successful achievements in overcoming those challenges. The strength of any good story is the development of the three basic elements: setting, characters, and plot (conflict and resolution). In the book A History of the American People I find fascinating stories of all kinds of people not afraid to take on problems and to continually succeed in the face of all kinds of adversity.

an amazing work, very educational

I listened to this while doing a bathroom demo at work with my Bluetooth ear buds. never have I learned so much at work!
it really captures the truth on how religion founded this country, and how today we have moved away from religion. liberal movements and literature want to hide that facet of America, but this history book covers it unbiasedly, in an informative way. it is wrong to change history according to your beliefs. slavery is an example. we all agree it is wrong, so should it be erased from our history? no. instead we have learned from it and have made better choices.
this book seems to follow the president's and general cultural ideas, zooming in periodically on interesting characters, though rarely.
what I have learned is that the corruption we see in political persons today, is actually common throughout American history. it is unfortunate, but is comforting in a way. at least we're not all going to hell in a hand basket from recent events, in fact we've been moving in that direction from the beginning..!
my favorite section is on the western expansion and how the cowboy era really was only 25 years, but has been immortalized from romanticizationalism. yes, a new word.

The American Story is One of Challenges Overcome

Paul Johnson's fair treatment of U.S. history and his endless good humor make him an ideal popular historian. No one asked, but I suggest you read / listen to this book within a year or two of another survey of American history. Paul Johnson leaves much unsaid, but no one can say it all. Read a few histories, choose a few subjects for deep dives, and remember that America is, for good and ill, exceptional (not in the modern "great!" sense - but in the older sense of being an exception on the world stage). The narration also matches the book well.

America from a different perspective

Because of his different perspective, the author provides interesting stories and facts that are not necessarily covered in our own US history. This is what made the story much more appealing.

A British conservative's view of American history.

Absolutely wonderful. Covers history of the US from the first English settlers through the middle of the 1990s when the book was written. Very well read by Nadia May whose clear voice and pronunciation I found suited the book very well. One of the things I found most interesting is that Mr Johnson covers not only the facts but also the background philosophical views at the time as they pertain to the issues being covered. Thus Emerson and others come up not only as poet or writer, but also how their views supported or ran contrary to the then current American thinking.

While I found the entire book fascinating and full of nuggets of information I did not already know I found the treatment of the 20th century most interesting. Johnson's view of the years from Coolidge through Nixon is at odds with the views prevalent 30 years ago, but he makes his case very well indeed with facts, quotes and statistics. I heartily recommend this to anyone with an interest in US history.

Highly recommended.