U.S. History Textbook Project

We need a basic college-level textbook, or advanced high-school textbook, in United States history that is free from liberal bias and adequate to prepare students for AP, CLEP, or SAT II exams.

Analysis of Available Textbooks

• America: Pathways to the Present (2000). 1,194 pages. The ISBN of the student's edition is 0-13-435100-2.

This text is considered better than most, but still "Essentially a Propaganda Tract" according to Dr. John Fonte of the Hudson Institute. He cites numerous instances of false propaganda pushed by this text.

• Paul Johnson, A History of the American People. (Harper Perennial, 1999). Oriented more toward social history more than the "great man" approach, this 1100-page text tells the story of the United States as much from the viewpoints of the everyday men and women who built the country as it does from the perspectives of generals and politicians. While the author's love of his subject--and country--is evident, this does not keep him from honestly and critically dealing with those moments in American history when the country's actions and policies did not match up with its visions of liberty and equality; moreover, he shows how the American people have typically worked to ensure that those visions ultimately triumph. (unsigned)

• • Paul Johnson is British and his history texts tend to be gossipy and a bit out of step with American ways. For example, in 1100 pages about American culture he failed to mention the national pastime of baseball once.--Aschlafly 15:21, 3 August 2008 (EDT)

• George Tindall and David Shi, America: A Narrative HistorySeventh ed. New York: Norton, 2006, is one of the best college-level text.

• • I second the suggestion of Tindall and Shi. It is perhaps one of the most through and intelligently written US history texts.

• • • I would advise you to actually pick up a copy of Tindall & Shi and read it. It devotes an entire chapter (twenty plus pages) to the Reagan years, which is far beyond comprable texts.

• American Pageant - One of the most popular AP US History textbooks. Unfortunately, liberal bias is evident in key events.

• Kaplan AP Study Guide (2008) - Only about one page devoted to Ronald Reagan, who deserves 5-10 pages in any unbiased treatment of American history. Also, this lacks an index (but does contain a glossary).--Aschlafly 15:01, 3 August 2008 (EDT)

It's aiming to prepare for the AP test that doesn't have any essay questions about time periods after Watergate. I took the test last year and I remember only one multiple choice question about Reagan and I think maybe one about Clinton's impeachment. It just doesn't concentrate on much after Nixon's presidency. FernoKlump^{Look at this petition!} 17:00, 3 August 2008 (EDT)

• How about Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States? It is easily one of the best and most readable US history texts--Mantle 19:05, 3 August 2008 (EDT)