CityView Magazine

44 July 2021 GOOD READS Books to Help Us Understand Our Nation's History BY DIANE PARFITT M ost Americans probably believe they are patriotic, defined by Webster as "love for or devotion to one's country." But there is so much more to patriotism than that. It means supporting and loving our country while recognizing its faults during the bad times as well as the good. It means hanging in there even when the other party is in power, and doing what we can to help our country live up to its destiny. How did we arrive at this sense of patriotism to the United States of America? We learned it in school, from our parents and we read about it in books. Now, in these difficult and challenging times we are experiencing, when patriotism seems to be waning, some well-written, fact-based books can help us understand how our country came to be home to the greatest democracy on earth and how we can help preserve this precious gi. 1. "MAYFLOWER: A STORY OF COUR AGE, COMMUNITY AND WAR" BY NATHANIEL PHILBRICK Where better to start on our journey than at the beginning? Nathaniel Philbrick takes us back to the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony when the early colonists came to the New World. Philbrick explains that the story of the pilgrims does not end with the First anksgiving, but instead, continued for decades that were both tragic and heroic, and still carries meaning for us today. is compelling portrait of the dawn of American history reveals that the pilgrims were confronted with the same controversial issues we still face today – race, violence and religion. 2. "THE SOUL OF AMERICA: THE BATTLE FOR OUR BETTER ANGELS" BY JON MEACHAM, FRED SANDERS, ET AL. Reading history can oen be depressing, especially when you think we just don't seem to learn from it! In "e Soul of America," Meacham shows us that our humanity, what Abraham Lincoln called the "better angels of our nature" has repeatedly won the day. Meacham will surprise you with his insights on Lincoln and other presidents, from Ulysses S. Grant to Lyndon B. Johnson; his portrayal of the courage of activists like Martin Luther King Jr., early suffragette Alice Paul, civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; and his explanation of critical turning points in American history. His description of these dramatic hours in our national life compels us to look forward rather than back and to assert hope over fear. 3. "WASHINGTON: A LIFE" BY RON CHERNOW e wonderful Broadway musical "Hamilton" ignited a new interest in the Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers. Founding father, George Washington is portrayed in many biographies as being without fault, almost god-like. In Chernow's well-researched and documented book, we see Washington as a real person. It is an unvarnished look at how our nation's founders somehow won the war against superior British forces and then grappled with issues like slavery while forming a republic where all men are supposedly created equal. 4. "1776" BY DAVID MCCULLOUGH We all have learned what happened in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. But do we really know how the American Revolution was experienced by the people, American and British alike? McCullough's book helps us understand that our road to independence was not just difficult but actually quite miraculous. 5. "WHAT UNITES US: REFLECTIONS ON PATRIOTISM" BY DAN R ATHER, ELLIOT KIRSCHNER "I find myself thinking deeply about what it means to love America, as I surely do." – Dan Rather Many of us watched Dan Rather on TV reporting the news, covering major events in America and 1 2 3 4 5 7 6

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