10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (History Channel Presents)
by Steven M. Gillon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steven M. GillonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-04-04
ISBN: 0307339343
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Reviews of 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (History Channel Presents)
Book Review: An unexpectedly thought-provoking book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book, the companion volume to a History Channel series with the same name, is an unexpectedly thought-provoking book.
The series and the book spotlight ten days in US history that triggered critical changes in the nation's development in an unexpected manner. That's an unusual concept. It means, for example, that Lincoln's assassination is ignored, while McKinley's is explored. That's because the impact of the former is well understood, while the impact of the latter-- Teddy Roosevelt unexpectedly propelled into the presidency, the sudden change in US foreign policy to an expansionist mode, the acceleration of the Progressive agenda, and the eclipse of the dominant conservatism at the end of the century-- is not.
Obviously, it's possible to quarrel with the ten events that were selected for the book and the series. Is the slaughter of the Pequot Indians by the Puritans really a critical event? How about Elvis Presley's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show? Gillion makes the case, and it's up to us to decide if he's right.
The book and the series were developed in parallel, not in tandem. That is, Gillon details the same events as the series writers did, but they didn't share sources. I saw only two episodes of the series, and there are differences in emphasis.
The book is brief, but Gillon is careful to summarize without endangering historical accuracy. The ten accounts are fast-moving, and the writing is crisp. The end result is a very entertaining and enjoyable read. At the end of every chapter, Gillon cites several sources for further reading. These include standard histories and source documents.
This book offered a lot to think about. I really enjoyed it, and I recommend it highly.
Summary of 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (History Channel Presents)
A companion book to The History Channel? special series of ten one-hour documentaries10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America pinpoints pivotal days that transformed our nation. For the series and the book, The History Channel challenged a panel of leading historians, including author Steven M. Gillon, to come up with some less well-known but historically significant events that triggered change in America. Together, the days they chose tell a story about the great democratic ideals upon which our country was built.
You won't find July 4, 1776, for instance, or the attack on Fort Sumter that ignited the Civil War, or the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. But January 25, 1787, is here. On that day, the ragtag men of Shays' Rebellion attacked the federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, and set the new nation on the path to a strong central government. January 24, 1848, is also on the list. That's when a carpenter named John Marshall spotted a few glittering flakes of gold in a California riverbed. The discovery profoundly altered the American dream. Here, too, is the day that noted pacifist Albert Einstein unwittingly advocated the creation of the Manhattan Project, thus setting in motion a terrible chain of events.
Re-creating each event with vivid immediacy, accessibility, and historical accuracy, 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America comes together as a history of our country, from the first colonists' contact with Native Americans to the 1960s. It is a snapshot of our country as we were, are, and will be.
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