A Brief History of the United States

McMaster, John Bach, 1852-1932Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5

Word count: 783K words
Chapters: 79

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Brief History of the United States by John Bach McMasterAuthor: McMaster, John Bach, 1852-1932,Language: English, Class: E151: History: America: United States, Release Date: Nov 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is a short history of the United States by John Bach McMaster, a public-domain history work prepared and released by Project Gutenberg. In narrative form, the book traces American development from the colonial period to the late nineteenth century, in plain language with a clear thread, making it suitable as introductory English reading on history. Its value lies not in cutting-edge historiographical argument but in a popular, coherent historical framework that helps readers build a timeline and connect events. The narrative carries the perspective and language habits of the author's era, allowing readers to observe the style of American historical writing from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. It suits extensive English reading, supplementary reading for history classes, or background reading for anyone interested in American history. Readers are advised to approach its narrative stance critically and read it alongside modern historical scholarship.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to grasp the basic outline of American history through extensive reading in English
English learners and history enthusiasts who need background knowledge of American history
Teachers and organizers seeking public-domain English historical materials for classes or reading groups
Readers who want to observe the style of American historical writing from a century ago

Not a good fit for

Professional researchers seeking contemporary cutting-edge historiography or in-depth analysis
Readers who want detailed source criticism and annotations
Beginners with weak English reading skills who find it hard to sustain long English texts

Reading tips

First skim the table of contents and chapter titles, sketch a timeline, then read key chapters closely by period.
After each chapter, briefly summarize the main events and causal links in Chinese to check comprehension.
Skip unfamiliar names and places at first to keep the reading rhythm, and look them up on a second pass.
Read alongside a modern general history of the United States, noting differences in perspective and sourcing.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for English beginners to read directly?

Not really for complete beginners. The book is a long historical narrative in English, with somewhat difficult sentence patterns and vocabulary. Readers should have at least intermediate English reading ability, or first build background knowledge with Chinese books on American history before tackling the English original.

What historical period does the book cover?

As a short history of the United States written in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, it mainly narrates development from the colonial period to around the author's own time. For the exact end point, refer to the original table of contents and final chapter; it should not be expected to match the coverage of a modern general history.

Should readers pay special attention to the book's narrative stance?

Yes. The author lived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the book inevitably reflects the perspective and language habits of that era. While reading, pay attention to how it describes Native Americans, immigrants, wars, and other issues, and compare it with modern historical works to form your own judgment.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

McMaster, John Bach, 1852-1932 Author · American · 1852–1932

John Bach McMaster (1852–1932) was an American historian. He is best known for A History of the People of the United States, a work that brought the social life of ordinary people into the narrative of American history and was pioneering in American historical writing of its time. He also wrote A Brief History of the United States and A School History of the United States, two general histories intended for general readers and for school education, noted for clear narrative and plain, accessible material, and long used in history teaching and popular reading. Public information about the details of his life is limited; this entry is based only on his works and basic biographical information held in the database, focusing on the subject matter and popularizing contribution of his historical writing.