1,001 Reasons to Love America

Excellent book - I bought one for myself and my family and friends we all so taken by it I bought more for them. Great book - 5 stars

Just the sort of title that publishers love, so much so that Stewart, Tabori & Chang have trademarked the words '1,001 reasons to love...' so expect to see more of these books. The six chapters, Land of the Free, American Experience, From Sea to Shining Sea, Made in America and the American Dream, use the basic reason text but frequently expand it into detailed explanations and additional listings so the book is not just a thousand lines of type and some pictures. It really is a delight to look through thanks to co-author Mary Tiegreen who designed it. The 1,001 reasons, of course, easily lend themselves to a pictorial treatment but the several hundred images in the book make them all come alive. For example, reason 84: Uncle Sam, uses six colorful renderings of him including the James Montgomery Flagg version, reason 582: The fifty great states that make up the United States of America, uses fifty of those nostalgic large-letter postcards with the name of each state. Spreads frequently have a collage of photos and vintage graphics all beautifully blending together. You might think that some of these reasons are sort of superficial but why not? The authors have covered everything from the serious, reason 13: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to the frothy, reason 619: Idiotville, Oregon (included in a list of unusual town names). Surely it all adds up to the optimism and diversity of the Nation. Overall I think it is a handsome book that is worth looking through frequently. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.