These Truths, Jill Lepore

 

These Truths:  A history of the United States by Jill Lepore is a retelling of the history of the United States told by a professor of American History at Harvard.

Started: 4/15/2022
Completed: 5/15/2022
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: The National Review

Words for which I sought help:

argot -- the jargon or slang of a particular group or class 

Review:

This is an effort to see the United States History as a coherent whole.  Lepore ties stem to stern issues across the whole history of the US, with the tail end of the book focusing on the presidency.  As advertised, this is a liberal look at history, so it is a comfortable read with the focus on issues that make things better for individual members of the United States and not a focus on business.  Busines is not ignored, but the focus is on keeping business as a producer of freedom, dignity, and happiness for the laborer and not the other way around.  Lepore does a good job of not skirting ugly issues (like FDR's new deal leaving out black Americans and Cinton's Lewinsky scandal), but also does not spend her time focusing on them.  Rather, she points out where the liberal agenda has been helpful, subverted, and starved.