Uncle Sam

Albert MatthewsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 130K words
Chapters: 13

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.Uncle Sam by Albert MatthewsAuthor: Matthews, Albert, 1860-1946,Language: English, Class: E151: History: America: United States, Release Date: May 22, 2014

Editor's review

This book is Albert Matthews's focused study of "Uncle Sam" as an American national symbol; it is a work of history. Using documentary tracing, the author sets out the origins of the figure and its early uses. The research is solid and the writing rigorous; the book is short but information-dense. For readers who want to understand the origins of an American cultural symbol, or who are interested in historical methods of textual investigation, it is a reliable and concentrated reference. Because the original is in English and scholarly in nature, reading it requires a certain level of English proficiency and historical background knowledge. It is suitable as supplementary reading for courses in American history or cultural studies, and also suited to casual browsing by readers curious about national symbols and the origins of nicknames, but it is not recommended as a popular narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the origins of American history, culture, and national symbols
Students and teachers who need supplementary material for American history or cultural studies
Readers who enjoy documentary research and tracing the origins of words and images
Readers with adequate English proficiency who prefer short scholarly essays

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for a plot-driven popular history
Readers with weak English skills who would struggle with an academic style
Readers expecting a systematic general history or an illustrated popular introduction

Reading tips

Read the opening and the conclusion first to grasp the author's central findings, then go back and read the chain of evidence in the middle in detail.
Jot down the sources of the early documents cited in the book so you can track them down for further reading.
Read alongside general works on American history to place this symbol in its specific historical context.
The English original has many long sentences; read slowly in sections and look up proper names before continuing.

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

What is this book about? Is it a storybook?

It is not a storybook. It is Albert Matthews's study of "Uncle Sam" as an American national symbol, a work of historical scholarship focused on tracing the documentary sources and early uses of the figure rather than narrating a plot.

What level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is in English and has the stylistic features of scholarly investigation, with fairly long sentences and frequent quotations. A good command of English reading is recommended, along with the ability to use reference works for historical proper names and older expressions; otherwise the reading experience will be quite demanding.

What is this book best used for?

It is suitable as supplementary material for courses in American history or cultural studies, and as specialized reference for readers interested in national symbols and the origins of nicknames. It is short, making it suited to focused consultation around a specific question rather than casual cover-to-cover reading.

Comments

Find this book

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

Albert Matthews Author · American · 1860–1946

Albert Matthews (1860–1946) was an American historian known for compiling and publishing documentary and bibliographical materials from the colonial period. His surviving output is modest; the only work included in this catalog is Uncle Sam, a study tracing the origin and evolution of the figure of Uncle Sam as a national symbol of the United States. The book reflects his scholarly style: close attention to primary sources, copious citation, and a careful, disciplined prose. Because public information is limited, details of his life, education, and career cannot be reliably established; his existing writings nonetheless show a talent for tracing the origins of names and institutions through scattered historical records, offering foundational reference points for the study of early American history and folk symbolism.