From Colony to Superpower cover art

From Colony to Superpower

US Foreign Relations Since 1776

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From Colony to Superpower

By: George C. Herring
Narrated by: Robert Fass
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About this listen

A finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, this prize-winning and critically acclaimed history uses foreign relations as the lens through which to tell the story of America's dramatic rise from 13 disparate colonies huddled along the Atlantic coast to the world's greatest superpower.

Robert Fass narrates George C Herring’s stunning history of successes and sometimes tragic failures with calm engagement, capturing the fast-paced narrative that illuminates the central importance of foreign relations to the existence and survival of the nation, and highlights its ongoing impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.

From Colony to Superpower is the most recent volume in the peerless Oxford History of the United States, which was described by the Atlantic Monthly as “state of the art” and “the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship.”

Please note: The individual volumes of the series have not been published in historical order. From Colony to Superpower is number XII in The Oxford History of the United States.

©2008 George C. Herring (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
Military Politics & Government Revolution & Founding War Founding Fathers Imperialism Vietnam War Civil War Franklin D Roosevelt Self-Determination Refugee United States Winston Churchill American History Colonial Period American Foreign Policy Cold War Warfare Roosevelt Family War of 1812 Interwar Period
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Dry but illuminating history

If you could sum up From Colony to Superpower in three words, what would they be?

Well paced and well researched history. Written and read with a sympathetic tone. Much anecdote, character appraisal and passing character portraiture alleviates and illuminates what might be in another authors hands be dry and unreadable material. This is conventional untheoretical history but none the worse for that.

In three words? Silly question!

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5 stars and stripes

If you could sum up From Colony to Superpower in three words, what would they be?

Complete US resume

What other book might you compare From Colony to Superpower to, and why?

Post War - both huge in scope with a light but authoritative styleBoth books are superb and can only be critisied for clumsy editing of presumed mistakes that didn't bother me.

Have you listened to any of Robert Fass’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

More than a comprehensive history of US foreign policy.Comprehensive information (to my untutored mind) is presented as a narrative that flows and is never boring despite the considerable length of the work. I enjoyed the author's scholarly approach that was peppered with unintrusive opinion of events and characters.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Solid history

The advantage of telling just the diplomatic history is that you can see more easily the roots of diplomatic events.  If we take the Cuban crises, there was no way the US could back down.  The book shows this wasn't just about the cold war, the US had a close history with Cuba stretching back to the 19th century.  Similar themes emerge from the book, but at times it felt a bit of a slog.

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