KNOW YOUR NATION USA

A cartoonist offers a survey of American history.

“Speedy,” the titular star of this book and Mostert’s comic strips, has been a staple in South African newspapers for more than a decade. As the character and his clan, once described by the author as “the black Simpsons family,” have grown in popularity, Speedy has since starred in his own animated TV show and multiple history books that seek to provide alternatives to “textbooks that are too long, too dull, and too hard to follow.” This work, the first of a two-volume series, adds to Speedy’s educational repertoire, providing dozens of single-page vignettes that cover American political and cultural history. In just under 100 pages, readers are introduced to the history of Plymouth Rock, Coca-Cola, Jackie Robinson, and a host of influential cartoonists. Along the way, Speedy makes appearances “to keep you laughing.” Mostert, who is White and was born in Illinois, intends not just to tell interesting stories from United States history, but to celebrate “the greatest country on earth” as well. Thus, while there are occasional references to past injustices (“Slavery is a dark period in the history of America”), the book’s overall narrative is relentlessly positive in its commemoration of the athletes, musicians, inventors, activists, politicians, and natural wonders that make America great. Each chapter succeeds in distilling information into a quick, accessible read, accompanied with ample uncredited photographs and colorful images. But the volume’s history lacks the nuance needed to truly understand America’s complicated past. That Speedy, a Black man, is the book’s “host” makes its simplified history all the more glaring. There are certainly Indigenous people and African Americans who appear in these pages, but too often, negative yet historically vital details are left out. For instance, the work’s coverage of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other Founding Fathers leaves out slavery entirely, as does its history of Texas. Men with complicated records—from Dr. Seuss to Henry Ford—are similarly feted without mention of their racist pasts. In these sections, the otherwise opinionated Speedy is noticeably silent.

 An upbeat but rose-colored history of the U.S. that prioritizes oversimplifications over grim realities.