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The Americans: The Colonial Experience | 
 enlarge | Author: Daniel J. Boorstin
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $0.31
You Save: $15.64 (98%)
New (13) Collectible (6) from $8.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 115305
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Vintage Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0394705130
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.2
EAN: 9780394705132
ASIN: 0394705130
Publication Date: March 12, 1964
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: slight wear to cover Used - Good
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Amazon.com Review
The first book in a trilogy--and in many respects the best of the bunch--The Colonial Experience is an essential interpretation of how the habits of people who lived more than two centuries ago shaped the lives of modern Americans. Boorstin shows how an undiscovered continent shattered long-standing traditions and utopian fantasies with the hard demands of everyday life far from the sophisticated centers of European civilization: "Old categories were shaken up, and new situations revealed unsuspected uses for old knowledge," writes Boorstin. He starts with a series of penetrating essays on the Puritans of Massachusetts, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, the philanthropists of Georgia, and the planters of Virginia, then tackles a set of diffuse topics that range from astronomy to language to medicine in fascinating vignettes. The Colonial Experience is must reading for anybody interested in the development of the American character. --John J. Miller
Product Description
Winner of the Bancroft Prize. "A superb panorama of life in America from the first settlements on through the white hot days of the Revolution." - Bruce Lancaster, Saturday Review
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Pleased September 6, 2008
I recieved this book in quick order and I have found it an excellent read!
great book August 2, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an excellent work. That said, you should know what you're looking for when you pick it up. If you are trying to find a history textbook to give you a factual synopsis of the major events in American history, this is not it. This book reads like a collection of essays on different policital, cultural, and intellectual trends in Colonial America.
Like any other collection of opinions, there is plenty of room for disagreeing with some of Boorstin's analysis and conclusions. Still, he supports his positions well, and the book is packed with insights that will expand your understanding of colonial America.
This work is well written, and readable, but you will probably get a little more out if it if you already have a solid background in American history. In any case, it would be highly worth your while to pick up.
History at it Best August 16, 2003
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a young work of Boorstin and even years later it still lives up to its greatness. The first book of a trilogy, it sets the tone for the two to follow. We are not given a dry reading of dates and places and wars and settlements. Instead it is a readable story of movements, nations but most the individuals - both known and unknown - whose influence continues with us to this day.This mix of biographies and historical happenings makes for an enjoyable, entertaining and enlightening work.
 an uneven hodgepodge July 1, 2003
2 out of 17 found this review helpful
This is not a coherent history, but a series of disjointed stories, all related to the original settlements in the US. THere is virtually no analysis, only poorly documented anecdotes. SOme of them are very good - the chapter on the export of ice from New England to the Caribbean will stick in my mind for the rest of my life - and some much less. From the reviews, it would seem that people liked Boorstin's approach very much. It grated on me as I expected something more from a writer and historian of Boorstin's reputation. REcommended as pass time reading rather than serious historical research.
This is why Boorstin is one of my favorites August 9, 2001
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
I love to read American history and Daniel Boorstin is one of the best. After reading this book, I had a much better understanding of the American colonial experience. I also understood to a greater degree the affects that Christianity has had on our culture. In this book, Boorstin compares three colonies. It is interesting to read the cultural differences. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the origins of our nation.
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