The Oxford History of the American People
Samuel Eliot Morison
Oxford University Press, 1965, 1150 pages
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he very first sentences of this book, expressing
bafflement about the Mayan language, reminds the reader how much has
changed since this book was written in 1964. Although we have since
decrypted the Mayan language, much of the change, especially among
historians who have elevated every half-baked conspiracy theory to
the status of established fact, and discredited the field of history
by infusing it with political propaganda, has sadly been change for
the worse. Morison's Oxford History of the American People
is therefore a refreshing throwback to a time when historians were mainly
concerned with finding and telling the truth about their subjects. Its
narrative style is also filled with colorful cultural details intended
to enhance readability; however, this detracts slightly from the factual
content. For example, the importance of Marbury vs Madison, the
case that established the supremacy of the Supreme Court, is seriously
underemphasized. And some events in the post-WWII era that were current
when the book was written, such as McCarthyism and the Cuban Missile Crisis,
are described inaccurately or not at all. Eleven hundred pages are just
not enough to completely cover the vast history of such a vast country.
