Making America Complete, Second Edition

'Making America: A History of the United States' is a wonderful introduction to American history, written in broad strokes that goes from the earliest days of European discovery, including an overview of the Native American histories, through to modern times. This first volume traces the time of the contact of Europeans with the 'New World' to the aftermath of the American Civil War. The early chapters look in some good detail about the inter-relationships of the Native American populations in North America and the Caribbean with the European explorers, showing times of cooperation and of conflict. A little more development of Native American histories would be helpful here, but the text is honest in laying forth many of the problems of the explorers and settlers dealings with populations already present on the continent. The complex world of the colonial settlements, each of which had its own purposes and character, is developed in some detail, outlining the personalities, events, and primary ideas that drove the historical trends. The early colonisations of the Spanish, French, Dutch and English, each dealing with Native Americans and each others, makes for a varied story, ending up ultimately in British ascendancy in North America, with all other European powers taking a back seat, until the time of the American Revolution, when the new nation formed. Expansion of the Americans westward, dealing with issues of Native Americans as well as growing pains of the new nation, and the continuing controversial institution of slavery, make for a colourful narrative. Most American students will recognise easily the broad strokes, and the authors bring in interesting side events and perspectives. The book is full of colour, with pictures, maps, graphs, and other design elements used to make reading easier and comprehension greater. Bold-faced words in the text are highlighted and explained in definition form in pull-out boxes at the bottom of many pages, which parallel with the useful glossary of terms at the back. There are chapter introductions and summaries, maps and timelines to set each chapter's context, and interesting features called 'Individual Voices' and 'Individual Choices' that draw the chapters together into overall topical agreement. The text is backed by a useful website. We are using this two-volume set at the college where I tutor in history (among other topics). The students enjoy the text, and it is a good work to use from a teaching standpoint, too.