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These Truths
A History of the United States
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Format: Paperback / softback
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In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation.
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Description
Widely hailed for its "sweeping, sobering account of the American past" (New York Times Book Review), Jill Lepore's one-volume history of America places truth itself—a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence—at the centre of the nation's history.
The American experiment rests on three ideas—"these truths," Jefferson called them—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise?
These Truths tells this uniquely American story, beginning in 1492, asking whether the course of events over more than five centuries has proven the nation's truths, or belied them. To answer that question, Lepore wrestles with the state of American politics, the legacy of slavery, the persistence of inequality, and the nature of technological change.
"A nation born in contradiction… will fight, forever, over the meaning of its history," Lepore writes, but engaging in that struggle by studying the past is part of the work of citizenship. With These Truths, Lepore has produced a book that will shape our view of American history for decades to come.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Jill Lepore's These Truths is lauded as a sweeping and vivid narrative that provides a fresh perspective on America's complex history, from its founding to the present day. Critics praise the book for its narrative energy and for reshaping the telling of American history by highlighting contradictions and evolving ideologies. Lepore is commended for her engaging writing style, bringing clarity and insight to pivotal moments in U.S. history, while also acknowledging the challenges of encapsulating such a vast topic in a single volume.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780393357424
Publisher: WW Norton & Co
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 October 2019
Country: United States
Imprint: WW Norton & Co
Illustration: 70 illustrations
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 41.0mm
Width: 155.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 873g
Pages: 960
About the Author
Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her many books include The Secret History of Wonder Woman, a national bestseller, and Book of Ages, a finalist for the National Book Award. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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