A Brief History of America

Contradictions & Divisions in the United States from the Revolutionary Era to the Present Day

By: Dominic Haynes

Narrated by: Jared Zak

Length: 1 hr and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

A Brief History of America provides an overview of the modern history of the United States of America through the lens of the two-party political system. It explores the good, the bad, the right, and the wrong of one of the modern world's greatest superpowers.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, the world bore witness to the noxious political atmosphere in the United States and the deep divisions between its citizens. To those living in the present day, it would seem like American society is hurtling down a path of increasing incivility and polarization.

However, the cracks in the political and social lives of Americans have existed for generations, bursting open at different times throughout the nation’s history.

From the earliest disagreements between Founding Fathers to the Caning of Senator Charles Sumner just before the Civil War, the political climate in the United States has never been pleasant. There have always been two Americas: the one that claims to defend freedom abroad and the one perpetuating inequality and bondage at home.

Working from the aftermath of the French & Indian War up to the divisive climate of the present day, a pattern of progress and ensuing backlash comes into focus. Founded on the initial contradiction of a slave-holding society claiming that “All men are created equal”, the United States has continually struggled to fulfill that promise, but unquenchable American optimism and the hope for a brighter future persists with each generation struggling forward.

©2021 Dominic Haynes (P)2021 Dominic Haynes

Worth your attention

What's old is new again. The author does a great job discussing the history of America and the role our history had in getting to a two-party system that is definitely not without its flaws. He manages a semi-deep dive into key aspects of our history and demonstrates several examples of moments that could have come out differently under a different system for conflict resolution. All in an hour! Just scratching the surface and would love to hear more from this offer. The author explains all of the good and bad things that have gotten us to where we are today. CHeck it out, you won't be bored, but you will be hungry for more.

A transcendent audiobook with great insights!

This is a very informative and engaging listen that has been composed based on thorough research on the historical aspects of America. I finished this audiobook on a long drive back home with my family, and my kids loved it as they too have a thirst for learning history, just as I do. Such a revelation and a thunderclap on facts that we never knew before on the history of America. The content is very precise and straightforward, and I think that the future generation should listen to this as it simply sums up a history of 200 years. We enjoyed the listen a lot, and I completely recommend this!

Great for brushing up on my history

I really enjoyed the Brief History of Canada by this author so I wanted to try another by him. I love brushing up on history and learning new facts…it’s always interesting to me to hear about the history of different countries. Book did not disappoint…learned lots of new tidbits of information.

History At It's Craziest!

Wow, what an eye-opener. I absolutely loved this. My favorite parts were the bits about the great depression and WW1 & WW2. Lots of great information in there and very well narrated. Well done.

Great history book

I have learned SO much about American history in this book! As a immigrant I don’t know much about American history, but I have live in this beautiful land for decades now I feel like this is something I need to learn. I have definitely gain tons of American history knowledge after this, everything from civil war, Great Depression, WW1 and WW2 what a eye opener for me. I highly recommended if you want a quick read about American history.

Great Book!

After listening to this book I felt totally ignorant about modern US history ... I had no idea about many historical events such as the civil war and fight story between the two Americas throughout history, I highly recommend it to everyone interested in modern history and to expand his/her knowledge.

Must Read!

This is a great book! This is a crash course into American History from 1754 to the present day. This book explains why the formation of the two-party system and why it leads to division. I think everyone should read this book, especially if you want to understand our current policital system. Must read! Get this book so you can understand American politics!

I did not know this about the U.S. history until..

I did not know this about the U.S. history until I listened to this audiobook. Since I came to the U.S. during undergraduate, I have noticed the growing division and polarization among the citizens. However, I did realize how deeply rooted this was in the American history. This book was very eye opening. It would be great if there is a source or citation of resources that can be used to explore further reading.

Love this!

A very interesting listen. It’s an hour long but doesn’t feel like it because it catches your attention well and keeps you wanting to learn more about the American history. There’s so much that I learned in this audiobook that I unfortunately didn’t know about before. This book is organized extremely well and does a great job of going in depth on the most important topics.

Love it!

I love learning about American history. So inspiring I need to listen to it again!