A Patriot's History of the United States

By: Larry Schweikart, Michael Allen

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 50 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Since the liberal revolution of the '60s and '70s, American history books have been biased toward the negative. They overemphasize America's racism, sexism, and bigotry while downplaying the greatness of her patriots. As a result, more emphasis is placed on Harriet Tubman than on George Washington, more on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II than on D-day or Iwo Jima, more on the dangers we faced from Joseph McCarthy than those we faced from Josef Stalin.

This book offers a long-overdue acknowledgment of America's true and proud history. The authors reexamine America's discovery, founding, and development with an appreciation for the principles of public virtue, personal liberty, and private property that have made this nation so uniquely successful.

©2004 Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"A welcome, refreshing, and solid contribution to relearning what we have forgotten and remembering why this nation is good, and worth defending." (National Review)
"There are a thousand pleasant surprises and heartening reminders that underneath it all America remains a country of ideas, ideals, and optimism: and no amount of revisionism can take that legacy away." (Humane Studies Review)
"Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen remind us what a few good individuals can do in just a few short centuries....A fluid account of America from the discovery of the continent up to the present day." (Wall Street Journal)

About What You Would Expect

What did you like best about A Patriot's History of the United States? What did you like least?

It was a refreshing departure from the "History" that is taught in colleges these days. It focuses less on racism, prejudice, and bigotry and more on politics, war, and the home. The obvious conservative bias makes it a little difficult to take seriously primarily due to the author's treatment of Clinton and George W Bush. Up until that point in the story, I was right with him in what seemed like a pretty fair assessment of major events in US history. The events of the recent past (with the exception of 9/11) don't seem as critical in the story of the country as other major past events, but one would not be able to make that determination based on the relative amount of time spent by the author in recounting this period.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

This volume contains only stories you've heard before... occasionally with some new insight, but basically the same stuff you learned as an elementary and junior high schooler. Weren't there any unsung heroes in American History that aren't household names?

Which scene was your favorite?

The depictions of the Civil War and the New Deal provided insights and opinions that I had never heard before.

Was A Patriot's History of the United States worth the listening time?

It was quite long... but I spend a lot of time in the car. I wanted a start-to-finish history of the United States, and that's what I got. This can't be done in a shorter time period and still be worth listening to.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this for the younger generation who probably hasn't heard some of these stories due to the changing curriculum in primary schools and to anyone who is tired of hearing that American is history is simply a story of racial bigotry and hatred.

Excellent comprehensive history of the USA

Where does A Patriot's History of the United States rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably top 10

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how PHotUS stuck with the facts and historical events of our country's founding and growth rather than leaning on political bias and socio-economic side items. I thought that this was a great, comprehensive look at America's history and seemed like a fair snapshot of all the people who have influenced the shaping of this great nation.

Which scene was your favorite?

World War II

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"Come see America's Heritage & History come to life!"

Any additional comments?

"A Patriot's History of the US" was an incredible and exhaustive history of the United States and was exactly what I have been looking for in terms of a comprehensive look at our nation's history.

I previously read the highly recommended "People's History of the US" by Howard Zinn and found it biased and preachy - constantly promoting socialism and anti-capitalist view points. It spoke very little to the actual historical events and instead used them only as a platform to make a point.

With "PHotUS" I thought it did a fairly decent job of keeping to the historical record of events and attempted to stick with the facts. I know at times it would be hard to not go into detail with motivations or even political bias (especially when dealing with presidents); however I think that it was at least fair and balanced.

"PHotUS" was able to cover everything from America's involvement with world wars/conflicts and also the early expansion of America, basically Manifest Destiny. It also provided great insight into our nation's founders, leaders, and influential citizens that brought about innovation, advancement, and change (for better or worse).

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the events that have shaped the United States of America into one of the greatest societies in our modern age.

Pros: a comprehensive read of our country's history and heritage.
Cons: when writing about presidents, it's hard not to cover their activities without some type of political bias.
Bottom line: highly recommended read for anyone looking to get a refresher of our history and to also get a better understanding of what has happened 'then' that has gotten us to 'now'.

A Patriot's History of the United States

Excellent overview (and thorough) of the history of the United States, an accurate and balanced approach you will appreciate. Audio book is the way to go since the book itself is about 900 pages!

Starts strong, but devolves into partisan rant.

While this book is overtly an "answer" to perceived "left wing" recountings of U.S. history, the account up through the end of the 19th century is broad an informative. Yes, there is a point of view--an interpretation of US history from the perspective of the contemporary hard right--but there's a real attempt at presenting history of the evolution of American politics and society. But starting at the Civil War, the narrative gradually starts to move away from a recounting history, per se, toward more and more critiques of centrist and left wing economic, social and political ideas, and less and less history. By the time it reaches the 1980s and nineties, there's barely a pretense left. Instead, there's a selection of events, cherry-picked to provide a soap-box for elevating the right and dismissing the center and left, with unsupported pronouncements abounding (one of my faves: racism ended in the ninties!), until the final two chapters which are really nothing more than rants. It's disappointing. As a liberal, I was hoping for a well-supported conservative take on history, to better understand the point of view. The first half of the book does that; the second is about as factually informative as a Sean Hannity broadcast -- which is to say, not much.

Easy to listen to, great to hear.

The narrator does an amazing job of keeping even stride and bringing emphasis where needed. I am very happy I made this purchase and look forward to both of this books sequels being translated to audio book, hopefully by the same narrator.

My Assessment

This book confirmed many suspicions I had about American history and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. well written and we'll narrated, I would recommend this.

Fantastic Story about America

This book from start to finish was filled with great accounts of American ambition, innovation, faith, determination, and hope that drives this country forward. The authors were wonderful in their vision create an accurate portrayal of American events showing both America's faults and its greatest achievements. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys history. It is a long book, but well worth the time. The narrator keeps you listening and the stories are not dull because the authors do not drown you with names and dates every other sentence. If you have the time and truly want to learn about American history than look no further.

Finally a Counter balance

What did you love best about A Patriot's History of the United States?

A history that counterbalances the perpetually "America is bad" histories you usually read. There are always two sides to any coin and if you are looking for a way to have a balanced view of history this book is a must read.

What did you like best about this story?

The WW II piece about the turn around of the aircraft carrier Yorktown. 2 week repair completed in 48 hours by a group of pissed off Americans that got the job done faster than anyone thought possible.

Finally!

Finally an American history book that is both thorough and objective. Lawlor does a superb job in the narration

The American History I did not learn in School

This was my summer listening book. There are a lot of hours of relevant interesting perspective of the United States. It is the history I did not learn in school given the liberal biasing I was taught. This book had me in tears as it covered Sept 11th...This book made me proud to be an American. Biased, yes but we need this book to counter the other biased history books out there. Well spoken, well covered, well done!