An amazing book! A personal reflection on American history from a leading US Historian. Goes into showing the American spirit and what made this country great. Lewis and Clarke's expedition, manifest destiny, and the war of 1812 are just some points. Stephen Ambrose seamlessly blends historical fact with his view on how these events forged who we are today as a country, a society, and a free people! Truly a book every American should read!

To Americattby Stephen E. Ambrosetttt 8/2/2024tPaper

tI had read a number of this author’s historical biographies and enjoyed them. This short book is a celebration of his career, the American spirit, and summaries of many of the heroes of our country. He readily acknowledges our early mistakes and biases, but generally applauds our overwhelming success. Ambrose touches often on the major effect of the Civil war and our treatment of the Indian problem as a road block in our expansion west.

tThere is some repetition in the book and Ambrose doesn’t shy away his personal abilities. There I a lot of name dropping. However, for a condensed look at American history, I recommend this book. The author certainly knows his stuff after years of historical research.

A very compelling and emotional memoir of a historian who's love for his country and its narratives. Ambrose's troubles with plagiarism (which are glaring) aside, he is a good narrative writer, which is evident in this book. It will be interesting how his interpretation of his history treats him in the coming years.

Liked reading his perspective on various presidents and how views change over time. Felt the last couple of essays were a bit weak.

Fantastic overview of our American history woven in stories about great men and women, conflicts large and small, and the spirit of curiosity, ingenuity, and patriotism that has propelled America to its place in the world today. He addresses well-known faults in some of our leaders, and highlights errors in policy or action on the world stage, and yet his depth and and breadth of research has led him to continued optimism and hope for America’s great influence for good in the world.

Solid Audiobook. Some good stories of early America and some good advice on writing. Makes me want to read his other books!

It made me want to read all his books and I enjoyed some of his personal anecdotes. Made me want to read all his books and see the D-Day museum in New Orleans

My father gave me this book last summer before my husband and I embarked upon a long cross-country road trip. I did actually begin the book in the car along the way, but didn't finish it until this past week. I have a mixed opinion about the book, complicated even farther by my English teacher reaction to some articles I've since read about Ambrose's writing and alleged plagiarism in some of his books (articles I plan to use in class for those serious discussions with my students about what it actually means to plagiarize).

So...let me try to sort it out. I liked the book, initially. I liked the idea of a long and storied historian writing his reflections of a life spent studying the history of his country. I liked that the book was divided into chapters dealing with some of the most controversial issues in our nation's history, and that Ambrose seemed to (like me) find the hidden areas of gray in the diabolically opposing sides to the arguments. I liked that he recognized, as we do in the film CRASH, the novel OF MICE AND MEN, and the philosophical discussions of Socrates's dissidents in PLATO'S REPUBLIC that in this human condition we are all both victim and predator. That no one is immune from bad decisions or incapable of good ones.

But...I felt that the book veered away from that organization, becoming a self-indulgent litany of Ambrose's own life and writing. And I didn't like the final chapters where he tried to incorporate his own life into the history he writes. I don't think it was successful. I don't think it worked. So...as I ended the book I found myself tired and frustrated, and ready to put it down. In final retrospect, I have to wonder if Ambrose himself (with the accusation and controversy surrounding his writing) wasn't simply a human reflection of the history he analyzed--not altogether evil, not altogether good. Just human, poor, weak, and capable of miraculous things.

This book is a collection of essays. The first chapters are about historical topics: Thomas Jefferson, President Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, the American Indian wars, World War II. Later topics become more and more personal. He writes about his experiences writing most of his famous books: the people he met, the experiences he had. He describes how rancor over the Viet Nam war divided his family, so that he and his brothers did not speak for years. He describes how he came to care about African-American civil rights, and women's rights, evolving from a clueless product of his day to one who started to "get it." If there is one theme of the book, it is his personal evolution through the study of history. Many times he says, "I used to think this, as I had been taught, but now I have a different perspective." If there is another theme to the book, it is that he deeply loves American democracy, American freedom, and the spirit of Americans who went out in the world with optimism, doing what people thought could not be done. He finds much to criticize about American actions through the years, but he lapses into veritable poetry when he thinks of his country. It is stirring. And I liked that it came from a man Nixon once dismissed as "just another left-wing historian." Today, if you accept the rhetoric, only right-wingers truly love this country. But they are wrong.

It was a good book. I learned a lot from reading this book.

Another typical Ambrose book that promotes the myth that it was only the US that won the Second World War and omits its hegemonic actions.

Most Historians spend their lives striving to maintain objectivity on their chosen subjects. The reader should be allowed to make their own interpretations of the information represented. But the successful historian author (such as Stephen Ambrose) has refined their narrative skillful to expand interest in the material. This, I believe, can bend objectivity ever so slightly. But it's also why Ambrose is one the best selling historians of the last twenty years. He knows how to tell history in a way that makes it as good as anything on the fiction bestseller list that resides next to his books.

His final book, "To America", is Ambrose lifting the curtain and sharing some of his own thoughts on an assorted selection of key american events/personalities in history. His subjects include the expected like the Revolution, Battle of New Orleans, and WW II as well as the unexpected (Richard Nixon, D-Day Musuem). The chapters are relatively short but in it's entirety it's one of the most comprehensive insightful American history books I've read to date. Yes, it hits the high spots but it provides a deep sense of the American ideal throughout. You can fill in the gaps on your own. This country is better represented because of the work that Stephen Ambrose has provided us.