HIS 131 American History I - Miller

One two-page minimum Book Review is required. Page count does not include the cover sheet! You will upload your Book Review into Moodle.

Keep in mind that a book review is not a book report which you may have done in high school. For the book review, you must include the following elements:

Requirements for Book Review:

[a]  SUMMARY – Summarize the book.

[b]  AUTHOR – Who is the author (or authors)? What are the author’s qualifications for writing a book on the history of whatever is covered in your chosen book? Has the author won any awards?

[c]  GENRE – What type of book is it? Is it history or is it biographical? Who do you believe is the intended audience for the book (in other words, do you believe it was written primarily to be used as an academic source, like writing term papers, etc., or was it written for a wider audience?)?

[d]  TITLE – How does the book’s title apply to the work? Does it convey what is in the book? Is it an interesting title, or not?

[e]  PREFACE; INTRODUCTION; TABLE OF CONTENTS – Is there any information given about the book by the author in a preface or introduction? Is the preface or introduction written by the author or by a “guest author”? Is the book arranged logically, by sections or chapters?

[f]  BOOK JACKET; COVER; PRINTING – Book jackets can sometimes be like short reviews. Does the jacket or cover provide any interesting facts about the book or author that grabbed your interest? Does it contain informative or helpful photographs, pictures, maps, graphs, etc.?

Formal book reviews may contain even more information and opinion. However, for the purposes of this class, you may limit your review to the above listed items.

Additional Information about Book Review writing:

[a]  Use the Times New Roman font, size 12 only, double spaced.

[b]  Put your name, course name & number, & subject title on a separate cover sheet.

[c]  Number your pages, including the cover page, in the lower right hand corner of each sheet.

[d]  Make sure the review has concise, clear & organized paragraphs.

[e]  Type your review in a Microsoft Word document with one inch borders.

The book you choose for your Book Review must be selected from the following list:

RCC Library has all of these titles.

Book Title / Author

1. Slave Escapes and the Underground Railroad in North Carolina / Steve M. Miller & J. Timothy Allen
2. North Carolina Unionists and the Fight Over Secession / Steve M. Miller & J. Timothy Allen
3. Life Upon these Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 / Henry Louis Gates
4. Grant / John Mosier
5. April 1865: The Month That Saved America / Jay Winik
6. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution / Benson Bobrick
7. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House / Jon Meacham
8. 1775: A Good Year for Revolution / Kevin Phillips
9. 1776 / David McCullough
10. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era / James M. McPherson
11. A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution /  Carol Berkin
12. Gettysburg: The Last Invasion / Allen C. Guelzo
13. The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution / David O. Stewart
14. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power / Jon Meacham
15. American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic / Joseph J. Ellis
16. Washington: A Life / Ron Chernow
17. Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South / Elizabeth Fox-Genovese
18. The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina / David S. Cecelski
19. What God Hath Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 / Daniel Walker Howe
20. Deliver Us From Evil: The Slavery Question in the Old South, 1787-1840 / Lacy K. Ford
21. The Impending Crisis: 1848-1861 / David M. Potter
22. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life / Walter Isaacson
23. North Carolina in the Civil War / Michael C. Hardy

Updated 01/30/24