THE UNITED STATES TO 1865; THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1865

The authors of these twin volumes, both superbly written, have caught the full sweep and color of American development from the days when Columbus landed on a Bahama island to the launching of Sputnik; together the two books form a political, economic, intellectual and industrial history of this country surpassing in scope the Beards' Rise of American Civilization. Vol. I, The United States to 1865, which begins with a description of pre-Columbus navigation, tells of the Vikings and the wave of exploration and settlement following Columbus' discovery. Paying less attention to military campaigns than to their underlying causes the author writes of the Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, the Jacksonian era, the exploration of the West, slavery and the Civil War, ending his volume with the death of Lincoln, where Vol. II, The United States since 1865 begins. Here in dramatic sweep if not in concise detail is the story of the United States from the Civil War to the present day of space exploration, with vivid accounts of presidents and industrial leaders and the causes and results of the Depression and the New Deal; as in the first volume, wars are treated from a political and economic viewpoint. Books to be owned, not borrowed,these massive and magnificent volumes should hold an enduring appeal to students, teachers and literate readers of American history. They are a must for college and public libraries and for American historical collections; their chapter bibliographies of suggested reading should be invaluable to writers, students and teachers.