Friday, October 03, 2008

The Ultimate "American History" Reading List

The recent Carnival of Genealogy :: 56th edition focused on the indespensible genealogy books in the libraries of the contributing genea-bloggers. It was a very good exercise and Lori produced a valuable list of essential resources we all can use for future reference.

The following article could be considered "old news" since it was published nearly four years ago, but I thought it appropriate in light of the recent COG.

American Heritage Magazine published the article America Unabridged in December 2004 drawing "on the knowledge and enthusiasm of leading historians, writers, and critics to offer a compendium of the very best books about the American experience."

The list is divided into chronological and subject categories with each section presenting "the writer’s choice of the 10 best books in a particular field, along with lucid, lively explanations of what makes them great."

The chronological periods covered are The Colonial Era to 1776, The Revolution 1776 to 1787, The Young Republic 1787 to 1860, The Civil War 1861 to 1865, The Industrial Age 1865 to 1917, Modern America 1917 to 1941, World War II 1941 to 1945, The Postwar Years 1945 to 1974, and Modern Times from 1974.

Subject categories are Biographies, Historical Novels, African-American History, The West, The Immigrant Experience, Popular Culture, Business, Technology, Indispensable Photographs, Sports, Women’s History, and Historical Movies.

There is something for everyone on this list. I know I'll be adding some of them to my reading list, particularly those covering the Colonial Era, as I prepare to research my New England ancestors!

A tip of the hat to footnoteMaven. Her article this morning on Shades of the Departed included a link to American Heritage. Be forewarned, don't go there if you don't have a lot of time to spare!

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