Records of Our National Life: American History at the National Archives
Since its birth in 1934, the National Archives has housed some of the United States' most important artifacts, from the Articles of Confederation to the official electoral vote tally from the 2000 presidential election. Now these national treasures can be read and viewed at home in this glossy new volume. Beginning with terse introductions by such contributors as Cokie Roberts and Ken Burns, the book commences with glowing if not substantial essays regarding the archives. Yet the materials themselves—e.g., photographs of the microphones President Richard Nixon disguised as Chapsticks during the Watergate years—are fascinating enough to not need effusive declarations. American history enthusiasts will relish the chance to see culturally evocative documents, like a woeful teenager's letter to the U.S. Department of Labor begging lenience for the Beatles in 1964, as well as the opportunity to glimpse the psyches of some of our most revered public figures: for example, Washington's annotations on the Constitution. The separate placement in the back of the book of paragraphs explaining each image is frustrating, yet this design succeeds admirably in visually showcasing the defining documents of American history.(Apr.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.