Review of 'The Teaching Company: History of the United States, 2nd Edition (Complete Set) (The Great Courses: Modern History, Course # 8500)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Does its job well. All 3 professors are enjoyable, and ironically the British one, Patrick Allitt, gave the most personable and descriptive lectures on American life. He has written several books and given multiple Great Course lectures, and after listening to him here I’d like to find more of his work.
He cites many pieces of art and literature to look into, gives a personal feel to different periods, and provides some much appreciated humor. He had a couple great lines on the KKK, that especially stuck out hearing in 2020: "For some of its members, it was clearly just an opportunity to join a fraternal society, just as the Knights of Labor had been—to dress up, to engage in exotic rituals, for men whose lives were otherwise very humdrum. And who felt that they’d once been the ideal American citizens, but that now they’d become more and more marginal …
Does its job well. All 3 professors are enjoyable, and ironically the British one, Patrick Allitt, gave the most personable and descriptive lectures on American life. He has written several books and given multiple Great Course lectures, and after listening to him here I’d like to find more of his work.
He cites many pieces of art and literature to look into, gives a personal feel to different periods, and provides some much appreciated humor. He had a couple great lines on the KKK, that especially stuck out hearing in 2020: "For some of its members, it was clearly just an opportunity to join a fraternal society, just as the Knights of Labor had been—to dress up, to engage in exotic rituals, for men whose lives were otherwise very humdrum. And who felt that they’d once been the ideal American citizens, but that now they’d become more and more marginal to American life."