Sunday, January 04, 2009

The American Patriots Alamana: Review

Per my commitment to Thomas Nelson I’ll review “The American Patriot’s Almanac”. This work was authored by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb then released in 2008. As always I’ll attempt to be honest with my critique and provide both strengths and weaknesses of the work.


I have received much enjoyment from a book I honestly expected to be dry and boring. I had poor experiences in most of my history course through school and didn’t expect much more when I picked up The American Patriot’s Almanac. I received a finance degree and, although I have always loved history, have always underappreciated it. However, Bennett and Cribb do an excellent job of connecting the important events that have shaped our country.


I find it consistently interesting to think through what happened, sometimes long ago, on the particular day I’m reading. For example, today a reader will learn about Elizabeth Ann Seton and her incredible story as the first American-born saint. Also in bullet points listed below the selected story of the day one will see that, on this day, January 4th, Utah became the 45th state, a robotic rover named Spirit landed on Mars to explore the planet and Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House.


Its organization and ability to transform historic fact and date into “mystic chords of memory” that connect us to our country are The American Patriot’s Almanac’s standout strength. The only weakness I would consider would be the selection of the highlighted stories. As I read through the helpful bullet points listed below I would at times find them more interesting than the selected story.


Overall, I highly recommend The American Patriots Almanac. It is vital reading for all who would consider themselves grateful for the country they were born into and/or are a part of.


The book is beautifully bound and is a perfect gift. I’ve had several comments on it as it is displayed on the coffee table in my living room. Several guests have picked it up to see what happened today in American History. It’s proved to be a really nice conversation piece.


Well written, much needed and a valuable selection.