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A true history of the United States : indigenous genocide, racialized slavery, hyper-capitalism, militarist imperialism, and other overlooked aspects of American exceptionalism / Daniel A. Sjursen.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Lebanon, New Hampshire : Truth to Power, an imprint of Steerforth Press, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Description: ix, 673 pages : illustrations ; 21 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781586422530
  • 1586422537
Subject(s):
Contents:
Original sin--American slavery, American freedom -- Roots in religious zealotry -- Whose Empire? -- Patriots or insurgents? -- Independence and Civil War (part one) -- Whose revolution? (part two) -- Flowering or excess of democracy -- Counter-revolution of 1787?- New constitution, new nation -- George Washington's turbulent administration -- Liberty versus order -- The Jefferson enigma -- The forgotten and peculiar war of 1812 -- Birth of an era of revolutions -- Andrew Jackson's white male world and the start of modern politics -- The fraudulent Mexican-American War -- A broken Union -- The second American Civil War-the slow, perilous shift to emancipation -- Reconstruction, a failed experiment? -- Lies we tell ourselves about the old West -- Wealth and squalor in the Progressive Era -- The tragic dawn of overseas imperialism -- A savage war to end all wars, and a failed peace -- The decade the roared and wept -- FDR and his deal for a desperate time -- From isolationism to a Second World conflagration -- Just how good was the "Good War"? -- A cruel, costly, and anxious Cold War -- JFK's Cold War chains -- Vietnam, and American tragedy -- Civil rights, a dream deferred -- Nixon's dark legacy -- Carter's cage of crisis -- The Reagan revolution -- Bush the elder--struggling in Reagan's shadow -- Bill Clinton, the new Democrat -- Bush II and the birth of forever war -- The Obama disappointment -- Epilogue: A once, always, and future empire.
Summary: "Written by a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a former professor of US history at West Point, his alma mater, this book grew out of the lectures Sjursen produced for the survey course he taught to cadets. Sjursen challenges readers to think deeply and critically and to apply common sense to their understanding of our republic's history. Covering all of the major events, movements and figures in American history, Sjursen flips the lens, offering fresh insights and uncommon empathy"-- Publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 973 S625 Available 33111010542641
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Thought-provoking-a must read for everyone seeking a firm grasp of accurate American history." -Kirkus (starred review)

Brilliant, readable, and raw . Maj. (ret.) Danny Sjursen, who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at West Point, delivers a true epic and the perfect companion to Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States .

Sjursen shifts the lens and challenges readers to think critically and to apply common sense to their understanding of our nation's past-and present-so we can view history as never before.

A True History of the United States was inspired by a course that Sjursen taught to cadets at West Point, his alma mater. With chapter titles such as "Patriots or Insurgents?" and "The Decade That Roared and Wept", A True History is accurate with respect to the facts and intellectually honest in its presentation and analysis.


Essential reading for every American with a conscience. Meticulously researched, Sjursen provides a more complete sense of history and encourages readers to view our country objectively. Sjursen's powerful storytelling reveals balanced portraits of key figures and the role they played.
"Sjursen exposes the dominant historical narrative as at best myth, and at times a lie . . . He brings out from the shadows those who struggled, often at the cost of their own lives, for equality and justice. Their stories, so often ignored or trivialized, give us examples of who we should emulate and who we must become." -Chris Hedges, author of Empire of Illusion and America- The Farewell Tour

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"An earlier version of this volume's contents appeared in serialized form at the truthdig.com website under the title 'American History for Truthdiggers'"--Title page verso.

Original sin--American slavery, American freedom -- Roots in religious zealotry -- Whose Empire? -- Patriots or insurgents? -- Independence and Civil War (part one) -- Whose revolution? (part two) -- Flowering or excess of democracy -- Counter-revolution of 1787?- New constitution, new nation -- George Washington's turbulent administration -- Liberty versus order -- The Jefferson enigma -- The forgotten and peculiar war of 1812 -- Birth of an era of revolutions -- Andrew Jackson's white male world and the start of modern politics -- The fraudulent Mexican-American War -- A broken Union -- The second American Civil War-the slow, perilous shift to emancipation -- Reconstruction, a failed experiment? -- Lies we tell ourselves about the old West -- Wealth and squalor in the Progressive Era -- The tragic dawn of overseas imperialism -- A savage war to end all wars, and a failed peace -- The decade the roared and wept -- FDR and his deal for a desperate time -- From isolationism to a Second World conflagration -- Just how good was the "Good War"? -- A cruel, costly, and anxious Cold War -- JFK's Cold War chains -- Vietnam, and American tragedy -- Civil rights, a dream deferred -- Nixon's dark legacy -- Carter's cage of crisis -- The Reagan revolution -- Bush the elder--struggling in Reagan's shadow -- Bill Clinton, the new Democrat -- Bush II and the birth of forever war -- The Obama disappointment -- Epilogue: A once, always, and future empire.

"Written by a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a former professor of US history at West Point, his alma mater, this book grew out of the lectures Sjursen produced for the survey course he taught to cadets. Sjursen challenges readers to think deeply and critically and to apply common sense to their understanding of our republic's history. Covering all of the major events, movements and figures in American history, Sjursen flips the lens, offering fresh insights and uncommon empathy"-- Publisher.

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