Reviews for THE GLORY AND THE DREAM : A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF AMERICA 1932 - 1972

The average rating for THE GLORY AND THE DREAM : A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF AMERICA 1932 - 1972 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-01-09 00:00:00 David Welsh This two-volume book was one of my first non-fiction reads. I read everything written by William Manchester for the next six months. Up to that point, I had read only historical fiction. I had not had any formal education since the sixth grade, and because of books, such as this, I have been able to educate myself. I am a mother of grown children and I am currently a freshman attending University. Life!!!

Review # 2 was written on 2010-06-14 00:00:00 Ivy Carreno WHAT IT IS: A left-leaning "narrative history" of the United States from 1932-72. WHAT I LEARNED: I learned what I already knew from the Preacher in Ecclesiastes: "... there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The "National Indignation Conventions" in Dallas in 1961 and 1963 sound a lot like this year's Tea Parties. The opening year of the FDR and Kennedy administrations have unmistakable parallels to the opening year of the Obama administration. An oil spill off of Santa Barbara in 1969 could be this year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill -- along with the determination that this is going to change the way we do things. (From the book: "... drilling leases in the Santa Barbara Channel were suspended. Then the petroleum industry began applying pressure.") WHAT I LIKED (WITH RESERVATIONS): William Manchester uses details to bring history to life, particularly the major events. Sometime, in describing lifestyles from various years, he goes into too much detail for my taste. And I wish there had been pictures. I don't think I enjoy any writer of history and biography more than I enjoy Manchester. I only wish he were around to write a narrative history of the United States from 1972-2012.