America, Empire of Liberty
David Reynolds2010

Acclaimed as the best one-volume history of the United States, America, Empire of Liberty tells the epic story of the nation that has shaped the world we live in today. David Reynolds brings to life presidents from Washington to Obama, but also draws on the voices of settlers and Indians, slaves and immigrants, factory workers and suburban housewives. He vividly portrays the battlefield of Gettysburg, the stockyards of Chicago and the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, and shows the dark side of freedom : from the Indian "Trail of Tears" to the Red Scare and the War on Terror. Written with verve and insight, this extraordinary history reveals the grandeur and paradoxes of the world's great superpower.