America In Context

I figured I’d break things up a little bit by posting something different, yet still relevant, every 7th post. This time, in honor of John Adams, I thought I’d post a book recommendation:

Way back when, I attended night school towards my Bachelor’s degree. Although it wasn’t my major, I had one very enjoyable American History class. The professor was so excited about his topic, and that translated directly to student interest, my interest. Afterwards, I decided to study up on it on my own.

At the time, it was really hard to find an enjoyable read in the genre. Most history books were either over-laden with so much sheer trivia, or were written like bad textbooks, just facts thrown on a page with little context and no interest.

Patriots is so different. It not only reads like a narrative, a story you can really sink into, it also infuses these real-life characters, these patriots, with soul. You feel the cantankerousness of James Otis, the steadfastness of John Adams, the wise logic of Ben Franklin, the practicality of George Washington. You can mentally participate in the debates these men had with each other, and even with themselves. You can actually experience the rebellion in its entirety, from the Boston Massacre to the surrender at Yorktown, and come out not only the wiser, but satisfied as a good book can only satisfy.

The good thing about a well-written book like Patriots is you can learn a lot about this country without feeling like you’ve been through the meat grinder of all-night cram sessions or final exams. This is how history should be. Nowadays, there are a lot of good books on American history that are also enjoyable to read, I’ll post more of my favorites in the weeks and months ahead. But Patriots was the first one that I read that fit that description, hence it’s the first one I post.