Volume Two of The Americans trilogy covers the period between the Revolution and the Civil War when America was shaping a national identity with boundless faith in the future. Like the young Mark Twain in Roughing It, many Americans felt that westward movement alone would give them purpose and that the future would somehow take care of itself.

History books which have bored me have relied excessively on the indiscriminate accumulation of detail. While this obsessive desire to be thorough might be necessary for the education of students, quantity of detail alone fails to give the complete, balanced view of reality that I look for in all kinds of reading. One reason I like Boorstin is that he writes narrative history, favoring theme over chronology, thus allowing the continuities and significance of history to emerge. His American story comprises many smaller stories. What I thought were signs of the times often turned out to be peculiarly American characteristics.

Boorstin writes, for example, that government paid for railroads and colleges in order to serve the growing community. Spencer's dichotomy of "The Man Versus the State" in 19th century Europe was meaningless in 19th Century America because distinctions such as public and private were often blurred. It is fitting that Boorstin divided his book into "Community" and "Nationality" because community preceded government. Contrary to the myth of the rugged individual explorer, Americans traveled in groups. Settlers who headed west, regardless of motive, wrote their own Mayflower Compact before loading the wagons. Venturing into lawless areas, they formed laws for their protection. Even vigilantism was a way of maintaining order rather than flaunting it.

The second half of the book examines vagueness as a source of strength. The country grew and prospered before its geographical boundaries had been explored. Here are also passages on American ways of talking, the creation of myths and legends, the establishment of the national holiday, and the importance of political parties.

Nearly every page of Boorstin's history contains some nugget of Americana which in isolation appears to be trivial but in historical context emerges to reveal something profound about American life.

Both this book and its counterpart, The Democratic Experience, offer an anecdotal and entertaining approach to American history. In The National Experience, Boorstin focuses on the development of a national character and national customs. Rather than trying to force history to fit into a deterministic and logical mold, Boorstin shows just how the disconnectedness of American history has contributed to American development.

I find Boorstin's works very readable, and the style enjoyable. My only concern is that sometimes it seems that some complexities are ignored in favor of developing an overall theme. However, this remains one of very few histories I pick up for fun to read a few chapters.

This really is a great book. From the American Industrial revolution to the western expansion, this book opened my eyes to many factors in the building of our nation. In lectures, I often quote Boorstin and his observations.

I also found it amusing when he exploded some common myths concerning our history. You really should read this book.

This book really helped me understand the aging process, hold onto my empathy and compassion, balance my life better (I was starting to lose myself), and gave me a sense of calm because I have the knowledge of how to manage it all so much better. You'll gain so much insight from this book. My entire family noticed the difference in my attitude after I read it, calmed me down so much and gave me specifics of how to cope. "Elder Rage" is the other book I recommend for coping with aging parents, particularly if you have one who is real difficult to manage.

Book is aimed at creating an understanding of the psychological impact to aging parent and family unit. Provides insight into how the family must act together and what pitfalls to avoid. Works on preserving the dignity of the parent, and finding ways to help the parent and still allow family members to maintain lives of their own.

This book should be read by every adult child with a healthy parent over seventy. How do you know when a parent needs help? When it's time for a nursing home, how do you find a quality facility? Joseph Ilardo provides all of the guidance needed to help parents through the stages of needing assistance at home, moving into an institution , and preparing for the end of life. Beyond the specific practical advice, the book explains the psychological processes involved for the aging parent and for the adult child. I have just assisted my parents with moving my ailing father to a nursing home. As a result of my using this book, my father made the transition to a quality facility with good will, and the entire family was involved in a positive, supportive fashion.

A very good introduction to a beautiful sounding language. It helps if you speak and understand Italian as the basics of the grammar are similar. Another advantage being that a lot of Sicilian utilises Italian with a different inflection. I recommend this book to anyone who loves Sicilly and its culture.

Beginnger's Sicilian is indeed a great tool for learning the Sicilian language. There are a great number of exercises and real dialogues listed. Once you finish doing all the exercises, you will be able to speak and understand basic sicilian. However, it seems that the grammar itself isn't complete, especially the part of verb conjugation. I recommed this book to people who would like to chista bedda lingua

This excellent book by the author "Basic Sicilian: A Brief Reference Grammar" provides for some of the exceptions noted by "A reader" (from Idaho Falls ID). There are exercises in learning basic phrasing to deal with specific needs (e.g., accommodations, transportation, restaurant service, asf). The brief grammatical entries are presented in parts of speech order (articles, adjectives [several], aumentatives and diminutives, numerals, pronouns [several], cojunctios and prepositions, adverbs, and finally verbs (no specific section seemed needed on nouns which are dealt with in context. Vocabulary is introduced with each lesson. The book doesn't pretend to do more than introduce, but it does that well.

No doubt, a very useful guide to methods of financing a college education. Also check out "WEST POINT", by Norman Thomas Remick, which clues you in about West Point, the college at which everyone is there on full scholarship paid by the government.

This book unlocks the secrets of saving for college like the 401k plan did for saving for retirement. A real must for all families to understand. Makes a great present.

This book should be read by anyone planning to send a child to college.After reading this book, I started college savings accounts for my daughterin New York and New Hampshire. This is definitely the "sleeper" tax break which everyone should know about. Forget the pitiful Education IRA. The 529 plans are where it's at!!

This book is great for reading to Toddlers, and self reading elementary school students up to at least 9 years old. Longer than you think it would be, it gives you an example of the daily routine of a fireman. Lots of fun and educational too. The fireman is full of personality due to great writing and wonderful detailed illustrations!

I agree with the other reviews. My 2 year old will be getting many years enjoyment out of this book. I especially like it because it keeps his rapt interest for much longer than most 'pre-school' aged books, but is simple enough for a toddler. But my absolute favorite part, is the fact that Our Hero, Fireman Frank, has lunch and a nap as part of the book. With an active toddler, you need all the reinforcement you can get for those sticky areas!! :-) Great role model!

I am an art teacher and the father of a four year old little boy who has fallen in love with this book. Not just because it is about big fire trucks, but because it is a wonderfully illustrated synopsis of an admirable man doing his job well along with a team of firefighters that represent other cultures and genders without making it seem forced (unlike public education). This is one of the finest children's books we have purchased and it is because of the wonderful detail of the illustrations and how they compliment the writing. This book could stand on it's own without the writing (Good Dog Carl) just because of the illustrations, but it is wonderful to see art and text compliment each other so well n children's books. Buy this book now if your boy (or girl) loves trucks, pictures, and a story that weaves the two together in a magical way. You'll see!

As a student, I think authors did a good job on explaining the subject. It doesn't go too details about every topics it covers but it seems that authors give more emphasis on some topics(should say more interesting ones). Every chapter opens up with a discussion or phenomenon that is addressed in the chapter or at the end of chapter. My university uses this book as a text for NON-MAJOR biology class. I read every single line(no joke) in the book and find the chapters to be stimulating, interesting and cover what students ought to know. The book comes with a CD that helped me out in the learning process (things like simulation of an event, figures, tips and techniques) . Very satisfied with this book.

I don't have any at this moment. I will get back at you soon.

This book is great for the classroom and also for pleasure reading. It explains many topics in great detail and leaves the reader with a great understanding and enthusiasm for the topic. Even if you're not a student taking a class, this book is a great buy! The CD-ROM is useful, but not necessary. The content of the book is more than worth the cost! I HIGHLY recomend buying a used copy of this book and reading it!

This book has a wealth of information about a wide variety of bird topics. It has bird anatomy, songs, how to build a nest box, etc. The main chapter of this book, named 'The Habitat BirdFinder' is a field guide to about 100 of the most commonly seen birds in North America, and isn't in any specific order, but by which habitat it is most likely to be seen in. It is very useful, with a large photograph and colour drawings with text for each bird. The range maps are very clear and easy to use. In the back of the book there is a good selection of other books and resources, including local birding organizations.
If you are looking for a first birding book, to get you started and familiar with birds, then this is a great start.

This book has been an excellent addition to my library on birding. Splendid photography! Helpful tips!Interesting insights and all at a great price. The book is beautiful and is clearly of high quality. You won't be disappointed!

This is a wonderfully put together reference book for bird watchers. I also gave one to my father as a gift and he just can't put it down. The pictures are teriffic and there's a lot of information about each bird. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys birds.

I bought this book in conjunction with a very very primary Italian language course, and ended up getting more from the book than I did from the course. The book is well laid out in the sense that every chapter is the logical followup to the previous one, and you get a great sense of confidence because it's such a great teacher, and makes it so easy to get to love the language. By halfway through the book, I was able to hold conversations with native Italians. I must find out if there's a similar book on Spanish!!!

I would recommend this book to anyone just starting to learn Italian because the book gives a great summary along with lists of eveyday vocabulary with timely quizzes to test yoour memory of the material. Although I speak Molise Dialect this book really helped and is helping me on my formal Italian. My father Henry DiOrio who was born in Italy and speaks Italian, Swahili, Hebrew,and English fluently says this is a great book to use if you are someone who wants to start learning Italian. I am using this book in a night school class I am currently enrolled with my friends Sandro DiFrangia and Tony Rinella,two other Italophiles who also share a high opinion of this great book. Buona Fortuna e Arrivederla

Great book for learning how to get around in Italy. I am currently using this book in a nightschool I am currently going to, and it is helping out greatly!!!!!

Joseph Gonsalves makes a distinct contribution to a Korean War genre that has multiplied during the conflict's 50th anniversary years (1950-53). This isn't a personal reminiscence or an exploration of personalities and strategies. Rather, Gonsalves uses his old outfit--Easy Company, 17th Regiment, 7th Division--to illustrate how it was to fight and survive, and sometimes die, in a backwater country that, while geographically significant, no one cared much about, save the North and South Koreans, the Chinese, and the United Nations forces sent there to oppose the Reds...
Gonsalves offers enough geopolitical background to put the conflict in context, but concentrates on telling of a rifle company's experiences during the last year of the stalemated fighting. It's a GIs' world of war, where the action in 1952-53 was a dug-in, frustrating, freezing, sweaty, muddy, bloody exchange of propaganda and lethal ordnance, with counterpoints of crushing boredom and mindless terror. For the American soldiers--18- to 21-year-olds made up the bulk of Easy's ranks--"the experience became a time that lived with them forever," writes Gonsalves.
Ex-GIs, whether or not they served in Korea, will find the book engrossing. It will serve others equally well: those who had sons, brothers, fathers, uncles and cousins in Korea. With textbook thoroughness, Gonsalves presents the makeup of a rifle company, its armament, combat assignments, and life on the line. Through the voices and letters of enlisted men and officers, the book reflects what they were thinking, how they were reacting, and echoes the ebb and flow of human spirit as peace talks droned on at Panmunjom only a few miles away from Easy's sandbagged bunkers...
This book is more about dogfaces than heroes ("grunts" is a Vietnam-era term). There were heroes, to be sure, and citations of their exploits are interspersed in the text. But the GIs of Easy were Everyman, and could be found in any regiment...
The back pages offer a chronology of the peace talks with concurrent front-line action and Easy's involvement. In July 1953, for instance, Easy was committed in a major battle over Pork Chop Hill, a month after the Communists had accepted a U.N. peace proposal! It's picky to say more maps would have helped; that's true of most books. But if you know of Pork Chop Hill, have read the book or seen the movie, there's a photo of it--a rare good one--on page 158...
In straightforward but gripping fashion, Gonsalves and the boys of Easy Company offer a book-full of reasons to remember a war we forget at our peril.

I have read a lot of books about the Korean War. This is one of the best. I read it from cover to cover in one day. It's an extraordinary account of the experiences of an infantry company in Korea during the last year of the War. The book is exceptionally well written by a veteran of Easy Company, 17th US Infantry Regiment, one of the most colorful and significant units that fought in Korea.

I was an infantry officer in H Company of the 2nd Battalion when most of the actions reflected by this book took place. I not only learned some things from the book I didn't already know about the actions there, but anxieties and feelings of forebodings encompassed me as nothing has since I left Korea some 49 years ago. If anyone wants to find out what was going on in the mid-section of Korea in the fall and spring of 1952-53, he should read this book. I think that most will agree that this was something more than a "police action".

Overall, this book provides lots of great exercises and a lot of information about the Esperanto movement itself. My only criticisms are: (1) The format of the book is a little difficult to read (the publishers use almost no white space to separate one exercise from another, so everything just runs together. This gives it the appearance of not being well organized and certainly not easy on the eyes), and (2) The English translations of the Esperanto texts are word-for-word. This was probably done intentionally, to give the student a literal translation of Esperanto's word-building rules, but it can also make the translations seem stilted and unnatural. However, if you can overlook the less than ideal textual formatting of the book (the publisher's fault, not the author's!) and don't mind literal, word-for-word translations, then you'll certainly benefit from the lessons, readings and detailed information (including addresses) of various organizations in the Esperanto movement.

This book was effectively used in an Esperanto Workshop (credit available)at University of Hartford,CT, a very few years ago. The author was obviously a talented teacher, and his experience at teaching shows in the book. It may not be ideal for the absolute beginner self teaching, but it is not easy to fault. The references and examples interspersed add greatly to understanding the language, its purpose,and its functions. As a college professor emeritus (University Of Connecticut) I have read this book and seen it "in action" although I have not directly used it in my limited teaching of Esperanto. I truly like Conroy's book. (I've been familiar with the language for many years, and have used it a few times outide the United States. )

Studying Esperanto is most enjoyable and a relatively easy language to learn. However, gathering information relating to this international culture was a daunting task until I discovered Beginner's ESPERANTO by J.F. Conroy. It was like finding 'gold'! Not only is it a comprehensive text book, but also an inspirational reference guide into the world of Esperanto. My only criticism is that, while each of the lessons has its own helpful word list, a dictionary at the end of the book would have been extremely useful.