In this rare, sweeping history, Michael Barone draws from deep within the political and social record of modern America to tell the story of how the country of our parents and of our grandparents became the prosperous and powerful nation we know today.
Barone points out that the single most significant issue to dominate American politics in this century is that of who really is an American. Gone are the vaunted battles over the distribution of wealth and income. In their place are the powerfully rooted political battles fought between America’s cultural poles: its racial and ethnic groups, its urban liberals and small-town conservatives, its state’s rightists and centrists, and ultimately also between advocates of culturally diverse lifestyles.
Barone’s extensive knowledge of the historical record and his portrayal of well-known individual participants add color and dimension to this narrative.
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"A good, basic reference of the presidents. This isn't for history fans unless you're first starting out. It was enough for me, someone with only a basic knowledge of these guys when I first began researching them."
— El (4 out of 5 stars)
"Our Country is the best political book of 1990 and probably of the 1990s. Why wait to award these prizes? The author is Michael Barone. Enough said. He has produced a dazzling x-ray of modern American history. He argues––no, he demonstrates––that cultural rather than economic factors usually shape our politics."
— George F. Will" A boring professorial book with little or no new information "
— Daryl, 5/14/2010" Did not finish. See Pflentov's 12/16/09 review. "
— Ray, 12/27/2009" Excellent background on why America's founding fathers set up the government the way they did. Reminds us that just because we have a democracy now, it doesn't mean that we always will. "
— Bill, 4/6/2008" Apple never falls far from the tree "
— Scott, 2/14/2008Michael Barone is a senior writer at US News and World Report and a Fox News Channel contributor. He is the author of Our First Revolution, Our Country, and Gangster Government.