Author Description

Discover American history through these exciting short stories of key moments. The celebrated historian, John Clark Ridpath, chronicles everything that happened in the North American continent, from the Native American people and their eccentric habits, to the voyages of the Norsemen and their account of the strange country, and finally the coincidental, yet grand, landing of Christopher Columbus in America. Ridpath details the periods of colonization, revolution, union, and civil war, then finishes with the 19th century state of affairs in the country, when the book was written. He includes an objective account of some of the most notable presidents, like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. This timeless book displays history through a series of thrilling narratives, so it's entertaining as much as it's informative. Ridpath's style is clear and engaging, and he includes 203 "charts, maps, drawings, and diagrams" to put text into context and bring history to life. "I offer to you a new history of your country...to every American citizen some knowledge of the history of his country is indispensable." "The book is intended for the average American; for the man of business who has neither time nor disposition to plod through ten or twenty volumes of elaborate historical dissertation."