Liberty, Equality, and Power: A History of the American People (with CD-ROM)
"I actually like this edition of LEP better than my current textÂ…overall it has more to offer. It lives up to its stated goals in the preface. I LOVE the integration of modern forms of media and the approach that students are not the bad guys. The authorsÂ' student-friendly approach is welcome in an age of instructor cynicism about students.""There are topics, such as the household section and the alcoholism issue, included (in LEP) which are not found in my current text at all.""Creative attention-getters like the film and web link sections in LEPÂ…reach out to students and their current lifestyle without pandering to the reduction of standards. Students are asked to perform important analytical and knowledge-building tasks which are directly relevant to the materials under discussion.""(LEP) takes a firmer look at the social side of the early Republic. Most texts, including mine, focus on the structure of the government and its formation rather than the Â'playersÂ….Â'"(Regarding Ch. 9, Market Revolution) "My current text focuses more on the national economics and less on the individual regions. Also, LEP has more examples of the impact of the market revolution on persons and their livelihoods."(Regarding Ch. 3, England Discovers Its Colonies) "Â…this discussion of mercantilism is the best I have ever seen in a textÂ….I particularly appreciate the attention to imperial history. Â…The clarity of the writing makes this text outshine all of those with which I am familiar. Â… Lots and lots of context, outdoing most texts I know.""This text is better by far (than text in use). The greatest strengths are the emphasis on world-historical context, in which the North American experience is clearly situated in the imperial struggle to control the colonies.""Â…this was my first encounter with the Murrin text in any edition. It is an excellent product and one that I can see using in my own courses. In general terms, I like it because it avoids the clutter that compromises many similar texts. There is space in these chapters. The various sections are clearly written and, better yet, concise and too the point.""The way that many texts are organized too often requires the cutting and pasting of page assignments from various chapters. Â… The Murrin text does a great job of following topics to their logical conclusions. Example: Â…Chapter 22 Becoming a World Power, 1898-1917, places the Spanish-American War and World War I in the context of a rise to global power and the advent of a more activist stance on the world stage. "(Regarding Ch. 23, War and Society, 1914-1920) "I am again grateful to the author for placing a greater emphasis on the impact of war on the American homefront and less on the battle-by-battle perspectives that mar so many other survey texts. Not only does he capture the massive mobilization of resources at home but also the intense nativism unleashed in this same period. This is important social history.Â…""Â…this is a book I would use in my own courses. The writing is thorough without being pedantic, the arguments clearly formed without being shrill, the organization superior. The author of the chapters that I reviewed has obviously taught the survey Â…. There is a general thoughtfulness to the way the material is laid out that makes it an excellent complement to class presentationsÂ….""I like the thematic frameworkÂ…(it) aligns well with my course objectives. There seems to be a bit more thematic detail than offered in (text in use), especially in areas like religious history (PURITAN INDIAN MISSIONS).""Analyzing pre-revolutionary is always difficult, and this textÂ's organization seems logical and well structured, especially in the major themes of Anglicizing America and Political Culture, Imperial Conflict, etc."(Re: Ch. 4)"The coverage of this section is exemplary in that the theses set in the introduction is carried through the individual sections.""Level of scholarship in this text is better than my current text--more details and also some excellent exposition and synthesis "(Re: Ch. 5)"The photos and maps in the section are very good. Â… Nicely written captions that offer some unique points add strength to this chapter."(Re: Ch. 6)"LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND POWER does a better job than my current textÂ…in covering the Revolution. Better detail, decent writing and important connecting themes make this chapter an outstanding one.""Â…there is good continuity-and excellent historical connections made throughout this chapter on the thematic level. Most admirable is the discussion of military and strategic developments--quite clear and well written.""The new features, History through Film and Link to the Past, are very well integrated with the subject matter. At the same time, they offer the student a break from the more tedious historical material.""I particularly like the focus questions at the beginning of the chapter."(Regarding Ch. 19, Economic Change and the Crisis of the 1890s) "The thematic framework in the Murrin text is quite different from that of my present text. My present text discusses all of the national elections from1876 to 1896. It is a rather antiquated approach and one that students find quite boring. I prefer your approach in which the earlier presidential terms are simply discussed within the industrial and labor changes that the nation was experiencing and only the Election of 1896 was specifically discussed.""Â…the material is presented clearly, with easy to read headings and sub-headings to facilitate reading and comprehending the material. Â… Even economic topics that many students shy away from were written in a concise and easy to understand manner."