Days of Destiny: Crossroads in American History

This heavy book is made up of 31 articles written by prominent historians, each of whom selected a day in American history that they believe were critical in forming the nation we live in today. For the most part, these aren't the typical events you would normally think of (signing of the Declaration of Independence, Pearl Harbor, ect.), but rather focus on the more obscure and overlooked events that nonetheless played important roles in our history. There is a very nice variety of topics discussed, including backroom meetings debating our form of government, presidential decisions on foreign policy, and even trouble in New Orleans that changed the face of Jazz music. If anything, there is an overly-heavy representation of articles focusing on the civil rights movements and Supreme Court decisions that influenced them. One of the best aspects of this book is the incredible amount of illustrations and pictures throughout. Every article includes 10+ pictures helping to bring the stories to life. Important people, events, and scenes are displayed flawlessly, including full two-page pictures depicting most of the "days of destiny". My favorite article was written by the head editor, James McPherson, and chronicles the story of Jackson's famous "Lost Orders" that receives comparatively little attention in American History classes, but could be said to have changed the course of the Civil War. The book is extremely well put together, with glossy pages and tight binding. While the layout is similar to a textbook, the articles themselves are very easy to read and entertaining. You'll be able to think of plenty of days that probably influenced America more than the ones included here, but this book isn't meant to detail the more well-known or the most important days. It focuses on the overlooked or forgotten days that these particular historians wished to focus more attention on. Extremely informative and entertaining. Well done to the editors, highly recommended.

Days of Destiny: Crossroads in American History edited by James M. McPherson and Alan Brinkley is a book that brings thirty-one of todays best-selling and most respected historians together into a project that is engaging with unparalleled scholarship, as the question that is asked are there moments in American History when something old ends and something new begins. This book takes us from King Philip's 1675 parley with white colonial officials to the 1973 research conference at which the biotechnology revolution was announced.This is a book that will court your mind with its information and insight, making a very fascinating read about the turbulent course of American History. As some of the historian chose wars, presidents, battles and politics, others chose areas, of less well-known areas of study making a well-rounded book with crisp prose and readability that will keep your interest.The contents are as follows: June 17, 1675 King Philip's Quarell by James AxtellOctober 23, 1740 Whitefield Awakens America by John DemosMay 23, 1775 Silas Deane's Diary by Jack N. RakoveOctober 19, 1781 the Battle of Yorktown by Robert MiddlekauffJuly 16, 1787 The Day the Constitution was Saved By Godon S. WoodJune 20, 1790 Mr. Jefferson's Dinner {arty by Joseph J. EllisMarch 4, 1801 The Second American Revolution by Joyce ApplebyMid-February 1824 The Way West by William H. GoetzmannJanuary 1, 1831 The Liberator by Ira BerlinJuly 20, 1848 The Seneca Falls Convention by Christine StansellMarch 6, 1857 The Day of Dred Scott by Sean WilentzSeptember 13, 1862 The Lost Orders by James M. McPhersonJune 13, 1866 Equality Before the Law by Eric FonerOctober 5, 1877 I Will Fight No More Forever by Elliot WestFebruary 24, 1908 Affirming the Sexual Division of Labor by Alice Kessler-HarrisAugust 14, 1908 The End of Accommodation by David Levering LewisJanuary 1, 1913 The Routine Arrest That Launched Revoultion by Geoffrey C. WardJune 20, 1917 The Great Demand by Nancy F. CottJuly 20, 1925 The Scopes Trial: Darrow v. Bryan by Alan BrinkleyMay 22, 1933 Harry Hopkins Brings Relief by Linda GordonApril 2, 1943 Testing America by Nicholas LemannJuly 25, 1945 the Most Terrible Bomb in History of the World by John W. DowerSeptember 19, 1946 The President Learns about Civil Rights by William E. LeuchtenbergMay 3, 1948 Holly at the Crossroads by Ann DouglasJanuary 17, 1961 A Farewell to Arms by Douglas BrinkleyJune 21, 1961 The Decision to Publish Kuhn by David A. Ho;ingerJuly 28, 1965 End of an Era, Start of a War by David KaiserJanuary 14, 1967 The Human Be-in by David FarberJuly 12, 1967 Days of Rage: The Life and Death of Newark by Kenneth T. JacksonNovember 22, 1971 Sally Reed Demand Equal Treatment by Linda K. KerberJuly 14, 1973 The Battle over Biotechnology by Daniel J. KevlesAs you can see this is a who's who line up of historians that chose a moment that changed history and you will not be disappointed reading the very well put together book, as it is a book of extr