Endorsements
"Give Me Liberty! has all the bearings of Foner’s work. It is intellectually pointed,
thoughtful, knowledgeable, engaging, and well written. Its great strength is that unlike most texts—whose main goal,
it appears, is to be encyclopedic—has an idea, and a good idea at that. It works as a history and it works as a text,
especially for the purposes of engaging first-year college or AP high school students. While it traces the usual chronological
narrative of American history, it is the idea of freedom that structures the narrative and gives it direction and bite."
—Ira Berlin, University of Maryland
"Eric Foner’s splendid new American history textbook, Give Me Liberty! An American History [was] a great pleasure to read. The chapters are very engagingly written. Although Professor Foner covers everything that must be covered, he does so with great verve, grace, and an unexpected wit. These are things largely lacking in U.S. history textbooks, and will be appreciated by students and teachers alike.
"Foner’s synthesis is as impressive as his style. He has woven together the latest scholarship, seamlessly blending social, cultural, political, economic, diplomatic, and labor history. His discussions of the Indian wars and his focus on various immigrant groups, particularly Asians and Mexicans, are particularly welcome additions.
"This is a beautifully written, engaging textbook with a message. Let it ring."
—Jane Dailey, The Johns Hopkins University
"Give Me Liberty! sets a new standard for college texts in American history.
The writing is clear, engaging, crisply organized, and refreshingly free of jargon. It is subtle and profound, yet unfailingly
accessible—certainly for students in the lower-division survey course. All the landmark events and developments are included;
but here, in contrast to most other texts, these are consistently linked in enlightening ways to a larger theme."
—Daniel Letwin, Penn State University
"There is a great deal to admire about this project. I like the theme; Foner’s style is generally
engaging and accessible. I could teach this book in ways I don’t ordinarily teach a text—I could treat it as an
integral part of the lectures, rather than a back-up narrative and reference work. The clarity of his exposition is
often remarkable. This is history writing that will engage and challenge students at all levels."
—Don Palm, Sacramento City College
"The chapters I reviewed are inclusive of people—women, blacks, and Native Americans—who are only now finding their historians. They are handled thoughtfully and in a balanced way.
"The chapters are sharply and crisply written—that is, easy to follow and usually a delight of a read. They are also evenly written, so that the voice and tone do not vary between narrative and analytical sections.
"Chapter 17 [Freedom’s Boundaries, at Home and Abroad, 1890–1900] is my favorite because of the originality
and accessibility of the central theme and the care with which it is pursued. It is one of the finest chapters in any text
I have ever read."
—Bruce Laurie, University of Massachusetts
"It’s a wonderful book, which clearly and concisely narrates American history while making
a compelling case for the polyvariant and shifting nature of freedom."
—Alan Taylor, University of California, Davis
Copyright © 2005, W. W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.
XHTML, CSS, 508