The Bold and magnificent dream covers U.S. History from 1492-1815 in just 500 pages. The book is well written and enjoyable to read. However if you are really trying to learn our very early history this book will not satisfy your thirst. On topics such as The Battle of Saratoga, The Battle of New Orleans, Prince Philips War etc. that I had already read about, I realized how lightly each topic was covered and how much really interesting history is being missed. Overall I really did enjoy the book. If you are looking for a well written overview this is a great book. You will certainly learn a lot more from it than I was ever taught in high school or college.