The History of the United States, 2nd Edition

By: The Great Courses, Allen C. Guelzo, Gary W. Gallagher, Patrick N. Allitt

Narrated by: Allen C. Guelzo, Gary W. Gallagher, Patrick N. Allitt

This comprehensive series of 84 lectures features three award-winning historians sharing their insights into this nation's past - from the European settlement and the Revolutionary War through the Civil War, 19th-century industrialization, two world wars, and the present day.

While American history spans not much more than two centuries, it is filled with a wealth of leaders, wars, movements, inventions, and ideas - each of which contributed in its own unique way to America's transformation from 13 disparate colonies on the east coast of North America into a global superpower.

These lectures give you the opportunity to grasp the different aspects of our past that combine to make us distinctly American, and to gain the knowledge so essential to recognizing not only what makes this country such a noteworthy part of world history, but the varying degrees to which it has lived up to its ideals.

The lectures chart the five predominant themes that run throughout the chronicle of U.S. history:

• The American passion for freedom-including religious, political, and economic freedom.
• The pursuit of education, which has been the quintessential way for Americans to invent (and reinvent) themselves.
• The unquestioned faith in the value of popular government.
• The willingness of Americans to experiment with and adapt to new environments and situations.
• The belief that the United States is a "city on the hill," a country the likes of which the world has never seen before.

Placing familiar historical events in the context of these overarching themes will help you see American history less as a series of separate events and more as a mosaic in which everything is interconnected.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

Exceptional

As good a lecture series as any given the breadth of the material and the detail with which it is discussed.

I particularly liked the last lecturer, who ironically was an English fellow. He was very knowledgeable and very animated at times which made the lectures very enjoyable.

Informative!

The information was great, easy to follow, and kept me interested. These professors did a great job delivering the content.

Excellent listen

The lesson's narration and flow were superb. The content was very engaging and extremely interesting. And, most importantly, educational

Great Overall American History Primer

At 32, I wanted to refresh my US history. This was clear and even-handed, perfect.

Fantastic

This is a good overview of the history of the USA. It points to areas a person may wish to look deeper.

Wonderful History Lesson

This is a very comprehensive history of the USA. It covers quite a bit and does a great job

Very Insightful

Each professor has his own personality, all of them are great. You can hear their enthusiasm about American History. The material presented covers from Columbus to Clinton, and goes in the perfect amount of depth. I never felt like the pacing was slow, and I found an interesting take away from every lecture. Anyone interested in American history should listen to this course.

Good review of American history

Overall a good book but seems to stray into areas that parallel the history making it difficult to follow at times. Some of the parts of filler make it harder to follow the historical timelines.

Outstanding

Very full and thorough. I did find the Vietnam era lacking in detail. I also appreciate the interpretation of the civil war.

I thought I knew US history

Before I had listened to this book, I had taken a college course on US history. By all means, I learned a lot in that course, but I learned not nearly as much as these lectures contain. I knew of some of the stuff included in these tomes, but the lecturer goes into reasonings and logic that I had never thought of before. This series of lectures is worthy of a good listen from any history buff.