What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848

Perhaps it's because I knew so little about this era, but this is one of the two or three greatest books I've read on American History. I think one can't really understand the United States as it IS today without understanding what occurred during this pivotal, transformative era. Howe does a fantastic job explaining the large, more well-known events that still affect us today as well as providing dozens of smaller subplots and odds and ends that help fill out what life was like during this era. For the most part, he doesn't judge the actors, except when they really deserve judging (E.g., it's hard for Andrew Jackson to avoid the label of actual, or aspiring, autocrat.) Howe also sets forth a compelling case that many of the large events early in the period were facilitated by the lack of communications technology (Jackson's rise, for example, is clearly tied to his reputation gained in the Battle of New Orleans that was unknowingly fought after the war's official end); while the most dramatic transformative movements and counter-movements that arose later (namely around slavery and women's rights) were facilitated by the revolution in communications and transportation technology. I can't recommend this highly enough, and it fits well in the outstanding Oxford History of the US series.

I am a casual history fan and I've always had trouble keeping track of the Taylor's and the Tyler's in the first half of the 19th century. This book is comprehensive, well-read and detailed, sometimes to the point where it can be hard to follow, especially if you listen while commuting. There are many themes, and he jumps back and forth between them. I found myself backing up several times to make sense of things, but it was not too much of a chore. As the author says in the conclusion, he is telling a story, not asserting a thesis--this type of history I think is the most fun to listen to. I never found it tiresome, and that is a lot to say about a book this long. The other reviewer is correct, there were a lot of changes in the recording, sometimes in the middle of a sentence. While this is unusual in audiobooks, I did not find it very distracting.

When writing a period survey, it is extremely difficult to be both comprehensive and cohesive. This book, however, succeeds marvelously at both. Howe has incorporated the breadth and inclusiveness of a period survey with in-depth critical analysis, and the result is a compelling story. Howe disclaims an attempt to present a thesis, yet he does identify several themes in his analysis, such as what he calls the revolutions in communications and transportation. He does a wonderful job maintaining his themes throughout the book, explaining how various events and trends influenced and were influenced by the themes. He also explains how many of these trends influenced the periods following 1815-1848, especially the lead-up to the Civil War, and continuing into the present.

Good book, good narrator, but the editing was horrible... leaving no pauses where they should be, running all the sentences together unnaturally. A tedious chore to listen to..almost as if the editors were trying to make the book as short as possible by crunching the sentences together as closely as they could. Never had the problem before with any other book -- I hope I never run into it again.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of US history from the end of the War of 1812 to just after the admission of California to the Union. The ebb and flow of politics provides the main narrative framework for the book, into which Howe weaves detailed discussions of the competing social, economic, religious and technological forces that slowly transformed the coastal states of the founders into a continent-spanning empire riven by internal disputes that would erupt in the Civil War and reverberate for more than a century after. Howe makes the entire era come alive by drawing on a wide variety of primary sources, from census data to the writings contemporary diarists and newspaper accounts, and incorporating many engaging quotes.

This would be a perfect listen for an avid student of American history, since it covers a frequently overlooked period (overlooked, I would add, for reasons which Howe discusses at length towards the end of the book) were it not for the truly horrible quality of the recording. The narrator is overall quite good, but the editing is probably among the worst I have ever encountered. There are noticeable jumps in audio quality and speed throughout, sometimes even within the same sentence. These imperfections are substantial enough that at times I found myself listening more to the atrocious mixing than the actual content, which was a shame.

While I am enjoying this book, there are some issues. There is a LOT more about religion than I thought. From the description, I thought it was going to be about technology and politics. I'm a casual reader of history. It seems that this book is written for someone with a more than casual love of history. Be prepared to ocasionally pause this book and do a Google search for terms that the author assumes the reader is familiar with. While this book is read well, it doesn't seem to be edited well. I can imagine that it takes days if not weeks to record these books. In other books, you can tell when they have stopped and started recording by the suttle changes in pitch or tone. Usually this happens at the end of pages, chapters, or parts. In this book, it happens mid-sentence. A lot. While it doesn't make the book unlistenable, it is annoying.

This period of history always gets the short stick. We go from revolution to civil war to WWI and 20th cetury without a pause into the largest technological, business, political, religous and social changes which enabled our 21st century ethics around the role of government, equal rights, the use of technology which seems so natural to us was quite different in 1812, but much closer to our current world in 1850. The discussion of women's rights, the revolutions of 1848, the great awakening, the war against Mexico, the development of the Whig's, and the anti-slavery movement are particualry engaging. Central is the change from the world of the horse to the technology of the railroad, telegraph, newspaper and strong federal government, complete with the central bank. This period of change rivals the change we feel has ocurred in the 20th century. Enjoy a great book.

I am a political conservative who likes honest, even critical history. If you are partial toward historians that are apologists for and who white wash past mistakes and wrongs, I would not recommend this book.

Though in many ways the American experiment may be exceptional, America's history of conquest, expropriation and displacement of natives, of chattel slavery, etc., is in no way exceptional nor remarkable. It is the history of the world.

This is an interesting, well-written history that provides more information about 1815-48 than you thought could fit into one book. Yes, it covers religion, as one reviewer said, but then again, it covers everything: electoral politics and newspapers of the 1830s, technological innovations, and even the execrable American diet and levels of drinking that had foreign visitors like Frances Trollope commenting on our peculiar ways.

Several heroes emerge, including John Quincy Adams in the Amistad trial, but there's one villain glowering over every bad decision that the U.S. made in this period: Andrew Jackson. Not that Howe isn't scrupulous in his reporting of history--he seems to be--but if this book were a melodrama, Jackson is its malign guiding force.

The editing is poor, as a few reviewers have commented. All the natural pauses have been snipped out, which makes the narration seem breathless. In fact, although the material is fascinating, it's hard to listen to this book for a long stretch of time without feeling tired, given the dense level of information and rushed delivery.

From the opening dedication to the final word of the narration, I found this book to be without equal as a history of a time period. It covers all aspects of American life from the close of the War of 1812 to the end of the Mexican War. Because of the scope of coverage, one learns of the religious, political, economic, and technological advances and other changes shaping the era.
Howe dedicates the book to John Quincy Adams and I have a new admiration for him. I found it difficult to hold Jackson in esteem; the development of the Democratic Party I found saddening but certainly inevitable.
I have listened to this book three times now and expect I'll do it again as each listening gives me new insight and appreciation for just how much our forefathers accomplished.
I bought the book for my son as a gift and I do look forward to being able to discuss it with him.