Morrison and Zabusky have outdone themselves by gathering stories in immigrants own words and compiling them in this delightful book. It has been a long time since I've read any nonfiction, but because of this book and how well it captivated me, nonfiction is what I crave most. The stories are so detailed and I can honestly say that at times I actually felt the story-tellers pain. This should be required reading for all high school students. I am so glad I stumbled on to this gem!

This is a great resource and a priceless record of the immigrant experience in America. Morrison and Zabusky collected stories in people's own words and sets them down here, so we can all see first-hand just how the USA came to be such a melting pot. Stories of hardship and pride leap off the page. A terrific book to wave in the face of people who don't seem to remember that we were all immigrants at one point or another

James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic 2nd Ed. written by Jack N. Rakove is more than a biography about James Madison our fourth President of the United States. Reading this book you get a real feeling for Madison and his philosophy.

As Madison firmly believed, his record as a statesman should be a record of public deeds, not gossipy tale of ambitions, achievements, disappointments and revelations. Madison took care in to preserve his political papers as well as to ensure that the details of his private life would remain forever hidden from posterity.

Thus, it was only in the conduct of public affairs that his deepest talents and interests found expression. Madison was a political thinker of his generation... in the task of creating the extended national republic of the United States, he had many partners but very few equals. Madison played a key roll in every significant development in national politics: efforts to ratify and amend the Articles of Confederation, the adoption and ratification of the Federal Constitution, the framing of he first amendments, the organization of the first opposition party, the initial controversies over constitutional interpretation, and the long diplomatic and military struggle that ended with the War of 1812.

Madison's distinctive contributions to the American constitutional tradition were first and foremost a reflection of his remarkable capacity to reason abstractly about funamental problems of political life on the basis of lessions drawn from experience. We see the author taking Madison and showing us how ideas that began with books were shaped and elaborated and reconsidered through the experience of revolutionary, republican, and constitutional politics.

James Madison does not resonate nearly as deeply in our historical memory. Yet his lasting achievements are arguably no less important. As Madison deepest legacy for the American constitutional tradition, he helped to create the understanding of these two distinct problems of majority power and minority rights.

This is an excellent book and it really gets into the conscience of Madison and it gives the reader some analysis of the potent legacy for the statesman named James Madison.

A must-read for any student of United States History. Rakove's writing seems as effortless as it is informative. I thought I knew James Madison after reading this book.

If you want to feel what your ancestors felt after they landed, this is the book for you.
I have read many, many books of this type, and Handlin's is still the best.
He looks at the Great Migration from the point of the impact on the immigrants and their children, rather than the impact on Canadian and United States cultures.
This book goes into areas that the documentaries that we've all seen, do not. This should be the primer for anyone who is going to read about conditions in the countries that their ancestors came to the US and Canada from. Without this piece, what went before won't make as much sense.
Dispells the theory that we were taught in the 60s and 70s, that the immigrants came because they wanted to, and this was to them, the land of rags to riches. Handlin points out that if their very lives had nott been at stake, the vast majority would never have made the move.

Andrew Carnegie really epitomized the American Dream. His rags to riches story, while unusual in its extent, was the life every poor person's vision encompassed. His family was poor in Scotland, and even poorer after they immigrated to Pennsylvania. Carnegie's first job in a textile mill paid little, but it was a step in the right direction. Carnegie worked long and hard to support his family, and that hard work paid off eventually.
Once Carnegie had amassed enough money to be deemed 'respectable' he began his real climb to unbelievable wealth. He learned management skills while working for the railroad - a very complex business. It was while working for the railroad that Carnegie became obsessed with costs. It was by controlling costs that he was able to make such huge fortunes in the steel industry. His management techniques would probably not work today, because he was such a bully to his management team.
Carnegie's career mirrored the Industrial Revolution as a whole. He used the latest technology and the most efficient practices to make his factories grow. Unlike his competition, he was concerned with costs, not profit itself, because he knew that low costs led to greater profits. He also was different than the rest of the industrialists because he sold his steel mills and retired to become a great philanthropist.
When Carnegie was starting out, he tried to take care of the people who worked for him, but as his business grew, he saw them more as replaceable parts of a machine. He originally thought labor unions were a good thing, but later fiercely and violently resisted strikes. He needed to retain control over all the workers - hiring and firing, working conditions, even how fast workers were supposed to work. He did not allow his workers any control over their work.
Carnegie left a complex legacy. His many charitable gifts, especially the many Carnegie libraries built around the country, were a blessing for the less fortunate. However, his ruthless behavior in constructing his industry cannot be condoned by today's standards of ethical practices. He was definitely a man of his times and should be remembered as just that.
This book is short, readable, and contains interesting facts without overloading the reader.

the book is interesting i must say. everything pretty much deals with the anglo cycle. You will not read of Carnegie dealing at all with African American people or other Minorities. Everything revolves around the white world, [i am just saying, positively] The author will explain that his mom motivated him since he was little to become a man in life, because his dad was average or just fell short of the expectations his wife wanted out of life. it deals with connections, how the aikens and hogans assisted the carnegies to come to United states when things got bad. I recommend this book to all who want to know some things about this man and his empire that he built, and the people who shaped him to be the man that he became. Life was tough, but his hard work, and optimism helped him thru in life to achieve the rewards that he wanted to obtain. The book does not talk about the women that were in his life. it would have been interesting if the author had mentioned if this guy [CARNEGIE] had any pretty voluptuous ladies after him at the work place, or babes who wanted to marry this future tycoon in his last day. The in side stuff would have been a fascinating chapter on this man.

I have to say that the book is well written by the author. The inner world lives of the Carnegies is explained. The leaving of Scotland due to the machine factories putting the commoners out of work is explained in detail. The goals of Andrew when he is a teenager are also explained, and the man who molded Andrew to become successful in life. The whole world focuses on him, and it is good. The only thing I found interesting was that the book did not say at all if Andrew Carnegie interacted with African Americans at all. It also did not emphasis the women who fell in love with the man[at the work place]. It is bound to happen . Those inner details are not explained , but alot is said in detail in how he got to be at the top. This book does not have any photographs at all inside the book. The book is of good size. book is recommended to all[WOMEN & MEN] who want to know about the man, and the time century-the nineteenth century.

This particular portrayal was a mandatory reading in a History course in college, and by far, the depiction from Campbell is astounding, and amazing. He brings to the surface far more than just the fable you hear about in junior high Texas history. The man was tall, but this piece makes him larger than life.

Texas's Savior Ever since Texas was a territory in the middle of no where, one man stood up to lead the way to statehood. That man who rose above the rest and conquered endless, unimaginable barriers was Sam Houston. Rudolph B. Campbell wrote a chronologically correct book about Houston entitled Sam Houston and the American Southwest. He became the most popular and most honorable man in Texas. The battle of San Jacinto, acquiring Presidency of the Republic of Texas, and obtaining a place in the United States Senate all proved that Sam Houston was a competent and trustworthy leader. First and foremost, the battle of San Jacinto was one Houston's greatest accomplishments, defeating Santa Anna and shamefully returning him to Mexico. This battle turned out to be the turning point in Texas's becoming a Republic and Sam Houston's popularity beginning to soar across Texas. Even though the revolution was a failure and Mexico still didn't recognize Texas as a republic, Houston still received the recognition that he deserved. It happened "...at three o'clock in the afternoon, Houston ordered his 'effectives' into battle formation that stretched across the prairie" (Campbell 68). After this strategic move, Sam Houston attacked and eighteen minutes later ended the battle. With this fight under his belt, Houston slowly arose to become a powerful and noteworthy man. This rise in power enabled Houston to become the first President of the Republic of Texas on September 18th, 1836. He was basically the only man for the job, supported by a landsliding "5,119 vote to Smith's 743 votes" (74). Houston saw himself as the candidate who could bring unity to Texas, despite its ambiguity and immense size. With Mirabeau B. Lamar at his side as vice president, Sam Houston would find as much

money for Texas as he could, balance the budget, and keep good relations with Mexico. In order to make and save money, Houston sold Texas's navy. Even the money gained from this sale didn't help the budget at all. By the time Houston's term of presidency was over, the debt had grown to roughly two million dollars. As far as keeping relations with Mexico, Houston must have apparently done a very good job because they did not attack again for a long period of time. Plus, he helped the Indians, especially the Cherokee, as much as he could, considering how he U.S. was driving them farther and farther away from their land. After Houston's three-year term was over, he resigned and moved to a higher position. In addition to already being President of the Republic of Texas more than once, Sam Houston became one of the first senators of Texas as well. Nothing is more suitable for a man with Houston's recognition and fame than to represent "his" state in the United States Senate. Even a more powerful and demanding job than president of a republic, Houston represented Texas better than any man possible. As a senator, and included in his inaugural address, Houston believed that "...finance, Indian policy, and relations with Mexico" were the most important things needed to be taken of in Texas and all over the United States (93). In the interest of finance, Sam Houston recommended that suspending all payments of interest and principal on the debt should be done. In addition, signing treaties, describing boundaries, with the Indians would depress war and bring on peace. Finally, the Texas senator thought it would be best to "...leave the Mexican nation alone," since "diplomatic relations had not been improved" (93). Overall, Sam

Houston improved Texas by taking its troubles all the way to Congress by using his intelligence and popularity to serve as a weapon for political listeners. Rudolph B. Campbell showed how Sam Houston became the most prominent, influential, and powerful man of his time. Houston basically devoted his entire life to serving other people's needs and wants. There wasn't a man during his time that was even close to becoming as great a hero as Sam Houston.

In 192 pages and with no footnotes, this is not a book which will tell you all you may want to know about Al Smith. But it tells his story well, and shows that up thru 1928 Al Smith was a progressive and able statesman. After 1932 the author admits that he appeared to have lost his empathy for the people he had done so much for. There are poignant passages in the book, including the account of the funeral in 1944, according to this book attended by 200,000 people--which seems hard to believe. If you want a more thorough study of the subject, I recommend Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton.

This is a great book when it comes to writing a paper. It is in chronilogical form and houses many interesting facts on this activist.

While many people try to depict the lives of our past Presidents in four or five hundred pages, this abbreviated view of the life and associations of James K. Polk is a refreshing change. As a history major, this book provides all of the pertinent information required to gain an insightful depiction of this man. It is a must read for anyone interested in Jacksonian America and an entertaining read for thinkers from all walks of life.

I read this book for a history class. It was my favorite read of the semester. The author has a good style that keeps your attention, but really that's not hard to do when detailing Mr. Long's life. His story could be a great novel - truth can indeed be stranger than fiction. Huey came very close to becoming President of the U.S. If he had (you will have to read why he did not) we would probably all be living in a very different America today. This book is a good commentary on human nature, too. In this country people think that we could never be controlled by a demagogue, like Germany was under Hitler, for instance. Long's story proves that indeed Americans CAN be duped - we are not special! Highly recommnened for student and lay person alike!

This biography of one of our great labor leaders surprised me. It didn't go very much in-depth but I always doubt those biographies aimed at kids because they rarely present a balanced portrait. This one does just that, showing Walter's flaws alongside his greatness and his achievements. It might even be of interest to adults who know nothing of Reuther and want a simple book on the topic, enough to knock off in an afternoon and without sinking into the depths of political theory.