Reviews for Freedom

The average rating for Freedom based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-09-10 00:00:00 Stephen Palozsa Freedom. What does freedom mean to us as Americans? What issues have been important to us throughout our history? How can we tell if all people in the United States are free? What does that look like? These are some of the varied ideas that Joy Hakim takes up in Freedom: A History of Us. This book is a condensed look at American history that briefly goes through our history from the Declaration of Independence to the modern issues of terrorism and the power of the supreme court. This book is a lovely companion to a PBS series, and has large, beautiful margins and photographs and illustrations. I had never actually read one of Hakim's books, so I was curious about her writing to say the least. Some of the sources that I read said that she had conservative bias. Other sources say she has liberal bias. I found, as a reader, that on some issues, Hakim is very conservative and on others, Hakim is quite liberal. I think many of us have this mix in us, so it is not surprising that there would be such a mix of ideas about her biases and leanings. In the end, I mostly found Hakim to be great storyteller. Her book was entertaining through and through. As a special note, her writing is on a level that is accessible to middle school students. As I read this book, I found myself deciding that I will probably use this as a history textbook for my seventh grader. It would make a great semester long survey of US history for him. I figure we'll either use it spring semester this year or as part of his eighth grade year.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-08-04 00:00:00 Chris Sperring Good fine read of us history. After reading it's not helpful and she struggles with how much time to spend on presidents as opposed to culture. (For example she doesn't mention he internet but mentions Monica Lewinsky scandal) She weaves threads and themes together well (civil rights especially)