Flag: An American Biography

"Flag" is the kind of book serious students of American history will love. Marc Leepson has written an account of our nation's most enduring symbol that includes all the scholarly elements but still brings a popular history to those of us that wouldn't know a monograph from a monorail. The book begins with the initial uses of flags in our nation's history through the controversey surrounding its creation up through its modern day use as a statement of patriotism and politics. The book hits all the highlights and some of the abuses without being overly pedantic or preachy. Leepson has accomplished a rare feat - bringing scholarship to the masses and doing so in a delightfully entertaining way. It is exactly the kind of history that should be read by everyone who has an interest in our nation's history - and that should be all of us.

Flag: An American Biography (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005) In his latest work of popular historiography, Marc Leepson - author of Saving Monticello - takes on the daunting challenges of writing a concise, comprehensive and objective "biography" of the flag of the Untied States of America. His special attention is directed to the symbolic value which the flag has held for Americans since it was first authorized by Congress on 14 June 1777. In terms of concision, comprehensiveness and objectivity, Mr. Leepson has done remarkably well and has produced a readable, entertaining volume which contains within its 266 pages a small ocean of educational information about the American flag. With a view specifically towards objectivity, the author does not air-brush from his narrative incidents which show lovers of the American flag in a less than favorable light. The hanging of William Mumford (1862) or of Paul Prager (1918) for flag desecration would not have made it into a less well-balanced book. Mr. Leepson, a Vietnam War veteran, also exhibits considerable empathy with the anti-war movement of those days, going so far as to include a John Prine lyric as one of the book's two epigraphs: "Your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore". He is aware, too, of the jingoism and commercialism - crass or otherwise - which have frequently attended the American flag and duly records their place in the "life" of the flag. Flag, it might be noted, is, in its own quiet way, another all-American commercial product, exploiting the enduringly popular, quintessential symbol of the USA. Mr. Leepson is aware that he is an American writing for Americans about an American icon, but he maintains, for the most part, a third-person approach to his material. He is a journalist and an historian, a recorder of fact and a debunker of myth - not a cheerleader. He writes, almost always, about "the flag" not "our flag". He is conscious that his book might, perhaps, be read by non-Americans. The pride of place, however, the first of the book's two epigraphs, belongs to Harriet Ward Beecher. Its highly charged rhetoric, from 1861, is the one that resonates more strongly with the author: "our flag carries American ideas, American history and American feelings. It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the Government. It is the emblem of the sovereignty of the people. It is the NATION." Mr. Leepson's hope in writing this book was, he says, "to throw an informing light on what has become an object of veneration for so many Americans and the very visible symbol of this amazing nation". He diligently records the various changes made to the actual flag over the years to accommodate the accession of new states into the union. He also diligently records the changing meanings attached to the flag over the years. One detects, however, an understated sense of awe beneath the entire narrative. Mr. Leepson has chos

I've always been interested in the flag and I've read several books about it. But this book is different than any of the others. It tells the whole story, from the beginnings to today. I learned a great deal of information and really enjoyed reading the book, especially the stories about people like Sgt. Bates, the Union veteran who walked across the South after the Civil War, carrying the flag and who was greeted as a hero everywhere he went, from Mississippi to Virginia. Five star rating well deserved.

I picked this book up because I was curious about how the author would handle the history of the flag. I was happily surprised that he did so objectively, even when dealing with the most politically charged issues such as flag desecration laws. Plus, the book was readable and told many fascinating stories--and ones I hadn't known. I now know why, for example, Francis Scott Key was in Baltimore harbor during the British bombardment of Ft. McHenry. I know that Francis Hopkinson likely designed the American flag. I know that Betsy Ross more than likely did not make the first one. I know the origins and the strange history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Plus a whole lot more. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in our nation's history and in the history of the Stars and Stripes.

When I began Flag: An American Biography, I was not sure the author would be able to sustain my interest in this topic for over 200 pages. As I read, I quickly became captivated by how much I did not know about the American flag, as well as questions Leepson raises about why the mythology surrounding the flag (even the clearly inaccurate stories) have been so important and meaningful to generations of Americans. Ultimately, what Flag does is bring together a wealth of historical information that provides context and meaning to a national symbol that has captivated American attention for more than 200 years. What is the historical validity of the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance? How have politicians used the flag to define themselves and sometimes their opponents? Why is the flag our national symbol of choice for moments of triumph (Iwo Jima), moments of conflict (Vietnam protests), and moments of mourning (9/11), and what does it mean that we are the only nation who has stitched together a symbol dedicated to national values of liberty and democracy? Like the design of stars and stripes itself, Leepson's book weaves together the many strands of our historical, philosophical, and political traditions. His treatment is objective and honest, not neglecting the ironic ways the flag has served groups interested in mudslinging and exclusion. But patriotism and respect are also pervasive qualities of Leepson's book, and particularly for readers who have never fought under the flag or personally witnessed the sacrifices so many have made for their country, it provides a compelling rationale for the deep emotion the flag inspires in many Americans. Scholarly and engaging, Flag: An American Biography offers a wealth of information and careful thought about the meaning of a unique national symbol.