The Men Who United the States

America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible

By: Simon Winchester

Narrated by: Simon Winchester

“Simon Winchester never disappoints, and The Men Who United the States is a lively and surprising account of how this sprawling piece of geography became a nation. This is America from the ground up. Inspiring and engaging.” —Tom Brokaw

Simon Winchester, acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Atlantic and The Professor and the Madman, delivers his first book about America: a fascinating popular history that illuminates the men who toiled fearlessly to discover, connect, and bond the citizenry and geography of the U.S.A. from its beginnings.

How did America become “one nation, indivisible”? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators, such as Lewis and Clark and the leaders of the Great Surveys; the builders of the first transcontinental telegraph and the powerful civil engineer behind the Interstate Highway System. He treks vast swaths of territory, from Pittsburgh to Portland, Rochester to San Francisco, Seattle to Anchorage, introducing the fascinating people who played a pivotal role in creating today’s United States.

Throughout, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree. Featuring 32 illustrations throughout the text, The Men Who United the States is a fresh look at the way in which the most powerful nation on earth came together.

A melodious exploration of nationhood

Well written, thought provoking and a genuine exhaultion of the connection of American people from a British immigrant turned American. Not a comprehensive American history, no doubt, but a mellifluous ode of a land becoming a nation, indivisible.

fantastic

great listen. very detailed. awesome narration by the author. could listen to his voice all day

Extremely Informative & Well Read

I am often cautious when purchasing an audiobook that is read by its author; quite frankly, more often than not, they are not good readers. However, this is absolutely not the case with Simon Winchester; he masterfully reads his material, delightfully infusing it with a subtle wit and charm.

The myriad stories he tells are expertly woven together and endlessly fascinating. This is no boring history lesson. Quite the opposite, the book clearly shows the tremendous impact various immigrants—and their immediate descendants—have had on the development of the United States, covering a spectrum of infrastructure. Highly recommended!

Read on

I clicked on this audio book without having read any of the author’s other works. Despite its rather verbose tittle and sub title, I wasn’t exactly sure what the book was about in the beginning. The first few chapters were a bit tiresome, but I soon came to realize that they were establishing a much needed framework for the reader. I was hooked by chapter three and things just got more interesting and relevant from there.

Interesting but nothing great

The historical accounts are interesting though slightly superficial. There's potentially a massive amount of material here, so it was necessary to cut and to skim over quite a bit. Given that, why oh why did the author keep interjecting personal reminiscences of his various travels to some of the locations discussed in the book. These personal anecdotes added nothing but time/pages, felt grandiose and self-indulgent, and meant there was less time available to describe the actual subjects of the book. Also, Winchester notes at the beginning that he initially put off the project because he didn't know how to organize it all. He latches on to doing so according to five Chinese elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. That works, more or less, but feels arbitrary and does not afford any insight or broader perspective. More meaningful than alphabetical order, I suppose, but not by much. I don't regret reading this, but there was such rich material to work with it could have been a lot better.

Other reviewers have objected to Winchester injecting his political views. I thought he barely did so and was not bothered at all. If it feels too "political" to acknowledge that, say, Native Americans were badly treated, then maybe history is not for you.