America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom
Respected scholar William Bennett reacquaints America with its heritage in the second volume of America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II). This engaging narrative slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.

While national test scores reveal that American students know startlingly little about their history, former U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett offers one of the most gripping and memorable versions of the American story in print.

Bennett brings American history to life with stories such as:

  • when Time magazine named Hitler man of the year
  • Eisenhower's bold actions documenting the horrors of the Holocaust
  • Nixon's comic opera uniforms for White House guards
  • Reagan's most famous example of just saying "No"

From upheavals of the Great Depression and WWII to the civil rights reforms of the 1960s, from the high drama of the Space Race to the gut-wrenching tension of the Cold War, Bennett slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.

Praise for America: The Last Best Hope

"This is the American history that Abraham Lincoln has long awaited."
-Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided

"Bennett has a gift for choosing the pithy, revealing anecdote and for providing fresh character sketches and critical analyses of the leading figures. This is an American history that adults will find refreshing and enlightening and that younger readers will find a darn good read."
-Michael Barone, US News & World Report

"A worthy and necessary book for our time."
-Michael J. Lewis, Commentary

"Bennett ... has a strong sense of narrative, a flair for anecdote and a lively style. And the American story really is a remarkable one, filled with its share of brilliant leaders and tragic mistakes. Bennett brings that story to life."
-Alan Wolfe, The Washington Post

"The role of history is to inform, inspire, and sometimes provoke us, which is why Bill Bennett's wonderfully readable book is so important. He puts our nation's triumphs, along with its lapses, into the context of a narrative about the progress of freedom. Every now and then it's useful to be reminded that we are a fortunate people, blessed with generations of leaders who repeatedly renewed the meaning of America."
-Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

"The importance of America: The Last Best Hope probably exceeds anything Dr. Bennett has ever written, and it is more elegantly crafted and eminently readable than any comprehensive work of history I've read in a very long time. It's silly to compare great works of history to great novels, but this book truly is a page-turner."
-Brad Miner, American Compass

"This lively book acknowledges mistakes and shortcomings, yet patriotically asserts that the American experiment in democracy is still a success story."
-School Library Journal

"1107394778"
America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom
Respected scholar William Bennett reacquaints America with its heritage in the second volume of America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II). This engaging narrative slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.

While national test scores reveal that American students know startlingly little about their history, former U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett offers one of the most gripping and memorable versions of the American story in print.

Bennett brings American history to life with stories such as:

  • when Time magazine named Hitler man of the year
  • Eisenhower's bold actions documenting the horrors of the Holocaust
  • Nixon's comic opera uniforms for White House guards
  • Reagan's most famous example of just saying "No"

From upheavals of the Great Depression and WWII to the civil rights reforms of the 1960s, from the high drama of the Space Race to the gut-wrenching tension of the Cold War, Bennett slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.

Praise for America: The Last Best Hope

"This is the American history that Abraham Lincoln has long awaited."
-Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided

"Bennett has a gift for choosing the pithy, revealing anecdote and for providing fresh character sketches and critical analyses of the leading figures. This is an American history that adults will find refreshing and enlightening and that younger readers will find a darn good read."
-Michael Barone, US News & World Report

"A worthy and necessary book for our time."
-Michael J. Lewis, Commentary

"Bennett ... has a strong sense of narrative, a flair for anecdote and a lively style. And the American story really is a remarkable one, filled with its share of brilliant leaders and tragic mistakes. Bennett brings that story to life."
-Alan Wolfe, The Washington Post

"The role of history is to inform, inspire, and sometimes provoke us, which is why Bill Bennett's wonderfully readable book is so important. He puts our nation's triumphs, along with its lapses, into the context of a narrative about the progress of freedom. Every now and then it's useful to be reminded that we are a fortunate people, blessed with generations of leaders who repeatedly renewed the meaning of America."
-Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

"The importance of America: The Last Best Hope probably exceeds anything Dr. Bennett has ever written, and it is more elegantly crafted and eminently readable than any comprehensive work of history I've read in a very long time. It's silly to compare great works of history to great novels, but this book truly is a page-turner."
-Brad Miner, American Compass

"This lively book acknowledges mistakes and shortcomings, yet patriotically asserts that the American experiment in democracy is still a success story."
-School Library Journal

16.99 In Stock
America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom

America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom

by William J. Bennett
America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom

America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom

by William J. Bennett

Paperback

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Overview

Respected scholar William Bennett reacquaints America with its heritage in the second volume of America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II). This engaging narrative slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.

While national test scores reveal that American students know startlingly little about their history, former U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett offers one of the most gripping and memorable versions of the American story in print.

Bennett brings American history to life with stories such as:

  • when Time magazine named Hitler man of the year
  • Eisenhower's bold actions documenting the horrors of the Holocaust
  • Nixon's comic opera uniforms for White House guards
  • Reagan's most famous example of just saying "No"

From upheavals of the Great Depression and WWII to the civil rights reforms of the 1960s, from the high drama of the Space Race to the gut-wrenching tension of the Cold War, Bennett slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.

Praise for America: The Last Best Hope

"This is the American history that Abraham Lincoln has long awaited."
-Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided

"Bennett has a gift for choosing the pithy, revealing anecdote and for providing fresh character sketches and critical analyses of the leading figures. This is an American history that adults will find refreshing and enlightening and that younger readers will find a darn good read."
-Michael Barone, US News & World Report

"A worthy and necessary book for our time."
-Michael J. Lewis, Commentary

"Bennett ... has a strong sense of narrative, a flair for anecdote and a lively style. And the American story really is a remarkable one, filled with its share of brilliant leaders and tragic mistakes. Bennett brings that story to life."
-Alan Wolfe, The Washington Post

"The role of history is to inform, inspire, and sometimes provoke us, which is why Bill Bennett's wonderfully readable book is so important. He puts our nation's triumphs, along with its lapses, into the context of a narrative about the progress of freedom. Every now and then it's useful to be reminded that we are a fortunate people, blessed with generations of leaders who repeatedly renewed the meaning of America."
-Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

"The importance of America: The Last Best Hope probably exceeds anything Dr. Bennett has ever written, and it is more elegantly crafted and eminently readable than any comprehensive work of history I've read in a very long time. It's silly to compare great works of history to great novels, but this book truly is a page-turner."
-Brad Miner, American Compass

"This lively book acknowledges mistakes and shortcomings, yet patriotically asserts that the American experiment in democracy is still a success story."
-School Library Journal


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781595550873
Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date: 04/06/2008
Pages: 608
Sales rank: 366,314
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.25(h) x 2.00(d)
Lexile: 1090L (what's this?)

About the Author

Dr. William J. Bennett is one of America's most influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and educational issues. Host of "The Bill Bennett Show" podcast, he is also the Washington Fellow of the American Strategy Group. He is the author and editor of more than twenty-five books, and lives in North Carolina.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction     xiii
America and the Great War (1914-1921)     1
"Home Before the Leaves Fall"
"Too Proud to Fight"
Roosevelt to France?
Over There!
Wilson in Paris
"A War to End all Wars"
The Boom and the Bust (1921-1933)     56
The Roaring Twenties
Sunrise at Campobello
A Harlem Renaissance
Normalcy
"Keep Cool with Coolidge"
"The Lone Eagle"
Peace and Prosperity
"Two Chickens in Every Pot"
Crash!
"Happy Days Are Here Again"
The New Deal
FDR and the New Deal (1933-1939)     111
The Hundred Days ... and After
Hitler's Games: The Berlin Olympics
"As Goes Maine..."
FDR's "Risky Scheme"
"The March of Time"
Rebuilding America
America's Rendezvous with Destiny (1939-1941)     147
Man of the Year
America on the Road to War
"Sail on, O Union Strong and Great"
"Sink the Bismarck!"
"If Hitler Invaded Hell..."
Leading the Grand Alliance (1941-1943)     182
1941: "A Year of Holding Our Breath"
A Day of Infamy
A World at War
The Battle of the Atlantic
America Strikes Back
America Victorious (1943-1945)     220
Overlord
"The Sun Goes Down on More Suffering..."
Democracy: "The Mustard on the Hot Dog"
Harry Truman: "The Moon, the Stars, and All the Planets"
The Flag of Freedom
Truman Defends the Free World (1945-1953)     268
A Cold War Begins
Red Stars in Hollywood
Ha Tikva-The Hope of Israel
The BerlinAirlift of 1948
"Give 'em Hell, Harry!"
Under the Cloud of War
The Korean Conflict
The Man from Independence
Eisenhower and Happy Days (1953-1961)     308
"I Like Ike!"
The Kremlin's Long Shadow
Freedom Rising
"We Will Bury You!"
Ike's Last Years
Passing the Torch (1961-1969)     335
The New Frontier
"Godspeed, John Glenn!"
"Eyeball to Eyeball" over Cuba
Freedom on the March
22 November 1963
"An Idea Whose Time Has Come"
A Choice, Not an Echo
Operation Hope Not: Churchill's Funeral
"We Shall Overcome!"
Vietnam
1968: Annus Horribilis
Nixon's the One (1969-1974)     398
"Give a Damn!"
"The Eagle Has Landed!"
The Silent Majority
Nixon to China
The Election of 1972
Roe v. Wade: "Raw Judicial Power"
Watergate Spills Over
The Years the Locusts Ate (1974-1981)     444
"I'm not a Lincoln, I'm a Ford"
1976: A Bicentennial Election
"Moral Equivalent of War"
America Held Hostage
"USA! USA!"
Reagan and Revival (1981-1989)     480
1981: A New Beginning
An Evil Empire
"Morning in America"
"We Can Do Business..."
Reykjavik: The Clash
Iran-Contra
"Tear Down This Wall!"
Into the Sunset
Epilogue     531
Notes     535
Index     577
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