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Readers journey back to the end of WW II—andbeginning of the superpower stare-down betweenAmerica and the Soviet Union. From the cold war tothe fall of Communism to the political scandals ofthe 1990s, Teach Yourself Twentieth-Century USAprovides a comprehensive and concise chronicle ofhow America got where it is today.

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One day in 1698, Robert Pyle of Pennsylvania decided to buy a black slave. The next night he dreamed of a steep ladder to heaven that he felt he could not climb because he carried a black pot. In the dream, a man told him the ladder was the light of Jesus Christ and would bear any whose faith held strong; otherwise, the climber would fall. Pyle woke that morning positive that he should eschew slaves and slavery, having equated the pot with the slave he wished to buy. In fact, so acutely did this dream awaken him to his sins that he became a dynamic advocate of liberation. This dream literally changed his outlook and his life.

Teach Me Dreams delves into the dream world of ordinary Americans and finds that as their self-perception increased, transforming them on a personal level, so did a revolutionary spirit that wrought momentous political changes. Mechal Sobel considers dreams recorded in the life narratives of 100 people, revealing the America of the Revolutionary Era to have been a truly dream-infused culture in which analysis of dreams was encouraged, and subsequent personal reevaluation was striking. Sobel uses a wealth of information--letters, diaries, and over 200 published autobiographies from a wide range of "ordinary" people; black, white, male, female. In these accounts, many previously neglected by historians, dreamers explain how their nighttime adventures opened their eyes to aspects of themselves, or unveiled new paths they should take both personally and politically. Such paths often led them to challenge those in power.

Charting the widely dreamed of opposition between blacks and whites, men and women, Sobel offers astounding new insights into how early Americans understood their lives. Her analysis of the dreams and lives of ordinary Revolutionary-Era people demonstrates links between dreaming, self reevaluation, and participation in the radically changing politics of the time. This book will appeal to specialists in the fields of American and African-American history, and anyone interested in dreams and self-development.Amazon.com Review
The theme of this study is encapsulated in the startling coverillustration, an 18th-century folk painting of a white Virginianembracing a black woman while another thrashes a black man with a stick. Mechal Sobel,history professor at the University of Haifa, analyzes 200 letters,diaries, and autobiographies from the America of 1740 to 1840, more than half ofwhich describe dreams and visions. Observing that "Today the acceptance ofan inner consciousness of self is so widely taken for granted that it ishard to realize how modern this development is," Sobel sees in the dreams aprogression from passive to active, and he places the awakening of individualself-awareness during this period. The impetus for this development sheattributes to "opposition to an enemy other." Blacks and whites regardedeach other as alien, the "enemy other," a concept reinforced by frictionbetween men and women as they struggled with rigid gender expectations. Theraw sociological material given is fascinating, the background well drawn,the statistics enlightening: for example, of the 2.6 million population ofthe Colonies in 1774, half a million were black. The material is viewedthrough a narrow lens, however, with all social conflicts given either aracial or gender-oriented interpretation. Dreams are prominent in thenative cultures of the Americas, Africa, and Australia. One of thecontributions of this study is the recognition that Anglo-Americans alsoturned to them for an understanding of their lives. Teach Me Dreamsis an original and valuable addition to the rich literature on both historyand dream analysis. --John Stevenson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities
This is a difficult book.People will find it repetitive and others will find it narrowily sourced.Yet the book offers an important account of a change of transcendent importance.People have often talked about the rise of modern individualism in the prologue and aftermath of the American revolution.Sobel, however, offers a much more radical thesis.What the years from 1740 to 1840 saw was the rise of a radical new sense of SELF.Previous our inner persona had been passive and communal.People often went through lives believing they did not have choices.But in the triumph of the American revolution and the rise of a new market society, the self became ostentatiously active and individualist.The very concept that we use to see ourselves is a relatively recent invention. (pp. 3-7) Sobel's specific contribution is to examine dreams.Recent research on dreams suggests that elements of dream correlate with the amount that one is individualist.Studies of dreams in Nazi Germany suggest that people started supported the Nazis in their dreams before they supported them consciously. (p. 10)At the time Sobel's study begins dreams were of particular importance to people as signs or portents, though by the end of our period they were viewed as comparatively unimportant.

The rise of the self is not the unmitigated triumph of individualist freedom.Quite the contrary, for concepts of the self are often defined in hostility, and increasingly hatred of the abstracted, reified "Other."Increasingly many whites viewed themselves in opposition to blacks.Yet at the same time blackface reflected the envy of proletarianized whites for what they saw as the laziness and abandon of African-Americans.(p. 97)Blacks in turn often viewed whites with hatred, yet had to keep their opinions to themselves for fear of violent retaliation. Meanwhile men faced the struggles of increasing dependence by emphasizing their own individuality while idealizing women and children (pp. 160-63).The costs of these idealizations was to deny women part of their sexuality (p. 225), to depoliticize them as part of the politicization of public life.At the same time men were placed in a peculiar new emotional world:on the one hand the more "emotional" style of African-Americans seeped into evangelical religious practices.On the other hand, crying, once an expected mark of masculine true emotion in the eighteenth century, was now seen as a sign of effeminate weakness (p. 142).As a consequence modernity is built upon a sense of otherness that is based on racial and gender inequality.

A very important hypothesis, with many stimulating implications.I would like to point out some demurrals.Sobel's work is based on roughly two hundred dream memoirs which, while impressive, is only a fraction of the American population.Moreover, this sample is often tilted to the minority of evangelicals and relatively small religious sects which concentrated on the production of such works.Similar problems of proportion arises from the somewhat untypical women Sobel studies who wrote down their paths to individuality.Much of Sobel's chapter on whites images of slaves deals with the even smaller minority of Quakers who were able to reject slavery and achieve a certain sense of empathy and maturity.This account does not deal so much with the many whites in the North who rarely if ever saw blacks and yet relatively little qualms in supporting slavery.Back in the sixties Orlando Patterson criticized James Baldwin in the New Left Review for failing to recognize the strong sense for many Americans that blacks are not existing, the sense of absence from their lives.(A process, of course, encouraged by segregation.)This deserves as much emphasis as the neurotic obsession about the other.More could be said about the economic and social backgroundStill, this is an important work that clearly is deserving of more research.One wonders how E. Roger Ekirch's upcoming history of sleep will deal with this problem.We applaud our capacity for moral choice, yet its origins are afflicted with hatred. ... Read more

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"The Daily Telegraph Golf Chronicle" offers a comprehensive account of the history of the most compulsive sport the world has ever seen, from its ancient origins in the mists of time to the present day. Presented in a newspaper-style page-by-page chronological format, and written from the British-American perspective, it includes articles concerning all the major golfing stories of the 20th century, together with key golfing statistics, and wit and humour of the game in quote form, and the rest of the golfing news in brief. There are also features on the game's great players (Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo); the great 2 courses (St Andrews, Birkdale, Troon, Lytham St Anne's, Augusta, Pebble Beach, Muirfield Village); and the great competitions (the four Majors, the Ryder Cup, Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, Solheim Cup and World Cup). ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University LibraryÕs preservation reformatting program. ... Read more

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The Wild West goes farther back in time and space than you might imagine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

This is what they DID teach me
If you like your history written by an author who is trapped in the fallacy of ethnomorphism, and believes that people living in previous generations should have their actions judged using today's ethical standards, than you will be fine with this book.This style of writing is easy and fashionable. If, however, you are looking for historical facts presented in their appropriate historical context, I believe you will find this book lacking.
I found the tone of this book to be glib, disrespectful, and pseudo-historical.For instance, I could not escape the over-riding and simplistic theme that all Native Americans are good, all European invaders are evil.Ex.On page 14, Christopher Columbus is referred to as "Chris" Columbus, and is labeled a "Johnny-come-lately".Ex. On page 22, it is claimed that in 1754, George Washington led a raid that killed a French diplomat, which led to a defeat at Fort Necessity.Here the author feels it appropriate to quip, "first battle, first defeat", as if to impugn the first great general and president of the United States of America.It occurred to me that this book is written by an author with a chip on his shoulder, or maybe with a hidden political agenda.This is not a history book that I can trust, and I do not recommend it.

Interesting. Worth the read....
As any historian will tell you, there are many sides to an historic event and the story is told from the viewpoint of the victors. Wright attempts to illustrate unknown facts, and clarify popular misconceptions about historical events in "What They Didn't Teach You about the Wild West." While I enjoyed Wright's interpretation of history, I found the format to be at times confusing. Facts were jumbled together in large chapters without subheadings which made browsing confusing. Perhaps this book would be better if arranged in chronological order? This complaint was small, however in light of what "What they-" has to offer.

The parts I particularly enjoyed were the colonization facts, information about early prostitution and early American 'attitudes' towards women, other races and cultures. Perhaps if there is a reprint, there should be a chapter about gender roles included?

Definitely interesting enough to pick up for scholars and writers of western fiction. A good solid work.

A Supplement to Those Old Movies
Mike Wright is a TV writer in Chicago who won an "Emmy".This book covers some of the 19th Century West, from around 1816 (the year without a summer) to about 1916.Thirteen chapters cover various topics from that century, and tells you things left out of the movies and TV shows.

Those over forty remember various movies and TV shows about cowboys and cattle herds ("Gunsmoke", "Bonanza", etc.).But this era lasted only about 25 years.A cow sold for $4 in TX, $40 in KS; we would call them arbitrageurs nowadays.People preferred the taste of longhorn cattle over domestic beeves.Is there something to be relearned here?Free-range meat?

It retells the importance of the railroads in the history of the 19th century America, and the Chicago stockyards (another memory).Railroads long ago spent their Govt. subsidies; trucking still benefits from Govt. super-highway system.

Mike Wright questions Wild Bill Hickok's claim to having killed "a hundred men", saying it was maybe 15 or so as a cattle town lawman.But Wm. Hickok had been a Jayhawker, Civil War soldier, Army scout, etc.I wouldn't dispute that claim, exaggerated or not.

A range of lively facts
From the origins of 'dude' in dude ranch to the history of the Afro-American cowboy and his prominence in the west, What They Didn't Teach You About the Wild West gathers a range of lively facts which provides a fun and involving collection for leisure browsers and history students seeking supplemental reading.

What I learned was You (Mike) need to do more research!
Found an error in Chapter 26, page 280, re: the last surviving Civil War veterans.The last Union veteran (Albert Woolson) died on August 2, 1956 (not the stated 1951)at age 109. The last Confederate veteran, Walter W. Williams (not the stated "Walter Washington")died on December 19, 1959 (not the stated 1952) at age 117.The reference for the above is the New York Times newspaper, August 2, 1956. ... Read more

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Determined to find the source of the fabled light that supposedly guards Blackbeard's treasure, two Outer Banks teenagers suddenly find themselves transported back to 1681 into the life and times of the notorious pirate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I remember this one...
I actually read this book as a child while at the beach in NC. It sort of piqued my interest because I'm a native North Carolinian and I was perhaps 12-13 (?) yrs old at the time...
I'm suprised to see this re-printed, by UNC. Then again, Wechter was an NC native as I recall. So thats good in my opinion...
The character interaction was stimulating, but the sci-fi angle was a bit far out - at least back then. I doubt, however, it would be an issue to today's youth. Therefore, I do recommend it. The setting (early 70s ?) is neutral enough for todays kids...Try it !

I've read better!
I've read many children's chapter books, and this one was not very interesting, exciting, or accurate!Another one with Blackbeard in it is based on good research. It is called The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo by K.J. McWilliams

Blackbeard's REAL treasure
This sci-fi novel of two curious teenagers turns into a history lesson with easy transition.When Corky and Toby find themselves warped tonineteenth century England and with new telepathic powers, they cannot helpbut question what has happened to them.They become privy to Edward Teach(a.k.a Blackbeard the pirate) adventures as he moves from a stowaway onboard a privateer's vessel to the captain of his own pirate ship.

Kidswill love the pirate battles and booty, and adults will love the historylesson.This is a pretty easy read, although its slang is a little dated(originally written in the mid-60s?).The book is pretty short at appx.139 pages.It does offer up some difficult vocabulary (even for a collegestudent), though not a lot.Encourage your reader to read along with adictionary and expand their vocab.

Maps and sources are cited.Great forthe classroom or the house!Enjoy! ... Read more

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Originally published 1915.: Access to the digital version of this title and other related titles can be found on HEARTH (Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, and History) at http://hearth.library.cornell.edu, an electronic collection of core historical titles on home economics. A full list of Cornell University Library's digital collections can be found at http://www.library.cornell.edu. ... Read more

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After leaving the White House, the 19th President's interests became less political and more toward social change.Upon learning of the recently established Slater fund, endowed by wealthy industrialist John Fox Slater to improve educational opportunities for 'freeman", Hayes took up its cause.

The Slater Fund's primary focus was "the uplifting of the lately emancipated population of the Southern States, and their posterity, by conferring upon them the blessings of Christian Education." ... Read more

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What made the founding fathers so great (Or were they?).And don't forget the founding mothers.We have intrigue and skulduggery with spies from Nathan Hale to Benedict Arnold, including enlightening stops on the distaff side of espionage for Patience Wright, Lydia Darragh, and Ann Bates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

More Interesting Essays
This book is a series of essays on parts of history that are skipped over in the schoolbooks.He repeats the claim that only "one third" wanted to separate from Britain (p.xii).Can this ever be true then or now?I would estimate that about 3 out of 4 would be a more realistic figure (from what I read about other countries).John Adams history of the Revolution was flawed by his notoriously bad memory (p.293).Or the way he wanted to remember it?

It tells how the Stamp Act resulted in the colonies forming a Congress and asking for its repeal, a direct tax.Americans did not have the gold and silver to pay the stamp duty (p.30).They raised their own food, and bartered; they could not print paper money.

On p.60 he says there is no "Butcher's Hall" on the site of the Boston Massacre (as depicted in Paul Revere's engraving)!Isn't that a symbol for the British barracks?

On p.64 he claims that a "guinea" is a pound (it is 21 shillings), and only worth about $1.35!That's way too low!Compare the price of homes, wages, etc. to find out its worth then.Page 82 repeats this mistake in currency evaluation ("$81").Page 101 tells of Tom Paine's suggested old age pension of "ten pounds a year"; that would make their pound worth about $1000.He also mentions a great increase in the poor before the revolution, but doesn't go into the cause.

Tradition tells of suffering, starvation, and death at Valley Forge (p.205).A National Park Service survey in the 1970s claimed differently; each month the 10,000 man army received a million pounds of flour, and a million pounds of meat and fish (3 pounds each a day).Surely the tradition is correct, and not the paper figures.But the winters in Morristown NJ were worse.

He notes that 18th century usage of words differs from the 20th century meanings.I read that "well-regulated" then meant "well-trained" or "well-practiced".

Chapter 8 discusses the East India Company's near bankruptcy in 1771.It got a government monopoly in the American market; no one could buy from any other source.This resulted in a 50% rise in price!Americans refused to buy it; in New York and Charleston they threw the tea into the river, and the bay in Boston.This led to hoarding weapons and gunpowder in the country, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord when the British tried to seize these weapons (a violation of their Bill of Rights).

Another factor was the Quebec Act, which extended Canada's southern boundary to the Ohio River.Forbidding emigration west of the Allegheny Mountains would prevent veterans of the French and Indian War from gaining their promised lands.

But the closing of the port of Boston resulted in uniting the colonies; they sent food to Boston.Committees of Correspondence were created to communicate between the colonies.Then the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia; we know the rest.

The author tells how the military trainers had to explain the purpose of the actions (the big picture).And how one of the most important military skills taught was bayonet drill.Is this still true today?

A reminder of what's important
The author provides a contemporary read of many key events in the American Revolution.Highly readable for someone who needs a refresher in the American Revolution but doesn't want to dive into the conventionalhistories.It IS readable and occasionally jabs with some unexpected wit. Wright takes fresh and vivid looks at the Boston Massacre, Saratoga, ValleyForge, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington that puts events in theirplace and reminds us of our humanity. The format does jump around in timequite a bit but the Revolution is a complex canvas.Thank him forfollowing our revolutionary personalities to their passings, an especiallymoving chapter.The book is warm and honest.You get to be the judge ofthe legend and reality.Like a small bag of potato chips, you are leftwanting more on many key events, but you get the feeling Wright did hisbest.We were just lousy historians while we were fighting for ourindependence.There are some great tidbits and pointers for those ofmilitary interest (See the description of the Battle of Cowpens).Thanksto Mr. Wright for a lively revisit to the American Revolution

a fast read that grabs your attention and doesn't let go
A fun read that breathes life into all the old stories and characters.Gathers information from a voluminous amount of sources, and clarifies various bits of detailed information that was only hinted at before.Thebook also de-bunks some of the ongoing myths about the war.The onlyproblem I had with it, was that there were a few chronological jumps thatwere disorienting.All in all, an easy read for all.I couldn't put itdown. ... Read more

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A parent takes on the education system in an insightful exploration of our society's basic assumptions about the role of education. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

We need more books on school reform!
I gave this book a 5 star rating simply because I could not put it down!It was easy to read and understand.The author, Ronald K. Peirce gave many suggestions on ways a parent can get involved in their child's education. He suggested the Child Centered School and I feel this is truly the wayschools should be today.The public school system needs to be changed. Kids are bored, have disipline problems, and are simply not learning in thepublic school system.The Child Centered School focuses on the individualchild.The teachers are basically there to guide the student along as eachchild can move at their own pace.No grades!It works! ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Is knowledge power? In Teach the Nation, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy explores the history and contradictions in the notion that education and literacy are vital means for improving social and political status in the US.

By closely examining the rapidly shifting social context of education, and the emerging literature by and for African-American women during the 1890s, Murdy proves that the histories of education and literature are deeply connected and argues that their current lives must be regarded as mutually dependent.

Teach the Nation offers a new understanding of literacy and pedagogical study and identifies how literary history enhances current feminist and anti-racist teachings. By excavating notions about education in the 1890s-as turbulent a time for American public education as today-Murdy asks readers to step back from this historical moment to better understand the contexts and institutions within which we theorize learning and teaching. In doing so, she compels readers to reimagine the potential for gaining social power through education and literature. ... Read more

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Accurate instruction about American Indian people has been woefully inadequate to date. This guide will enable the school library media specialist to help teachers and students teach and learn about American Indian people, history, culture, and contemporary issues in ways that are authentic, accurate, and appropriate. It provides accurate information, recommends appropriate resources, and offers guidelines for selection of instructional materials and activities, plus model lessons for teaching in appropriate and culturally sensitive ways. This invaluable resource is designed to fit into existing classes and curriculum patterns and is both practical and thought-provoking. ... Read more

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When four New York City police officers killed Amadou Diallo in 1999, the forty-one shots they fired echoed loudly across the nation. In death, Diallo joined a long list of young men of color killed by police fire in cities and towns all across America. Through innuendos of criminality, many of these victims could be discredited and, by implication, held responsible for their own deaths. But Diallo was an innocent, a young West African immigrant doing nothing more suspicious than returning home to his Bronx apartment after working hard all day in the city. Protesters took to the streets, successfully demanding that the four white officers be brought to trial. When the officers were acquitted, however, horrified onlookers of all races and ethnicities despaired of justice.

In 41 Shots . . . and Counting, Beth Roy offers an oral history of Diallo's death. Through interviews with members of the community, with police officers and lawyers, with government officials and mothers of young men in jeopardy, the book traces the political and racial dynamics that placed the officers outside Diallo's house that night, their fingers on symbolic as well as actual triggers. With lucid analysis, Roy explores events in the courtroom, in city hall, in the streets, and in the police precinct, revealing the interlacing conflict dynamics. 41 Shots . . . and Counting allows the reader to consider the implications of the Diallo case for our national discourses on politics, race, class, crime, and social justice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An impressive recounting and analysis of the incident
One of the critically important issues of contemporary American culture is the intersection of race relations and law enforcement. As an experienced mediator in the San Francisco Bay Area and founder of the Practitioners Research and Scholarship Institute, author Beth Roy brings a special expertise to the subject in "41 Shots...and Counting: What Amadou Diallo's Story Teaches Us about Policing, Race, and Justice". The title refers to an incident in which New York police officers shot 41 times killing a young West African immigrant in 1999 as he was returning to his home from his place of work. His dramatic death incited intense interest in the African-American community. When the police officers were acquitted of any criminal conduct in the affair, the judicial system was looked upon by many minority groups as a seriously flawed instrument of enforcing social justice, proper police procedure, and inflaming racial tension. Strongly recommended for community and academic library contemporary social issues collections and reading lists, "41 Shots...and Counting" is an impressive recounting and analysis of the incident and its aftermath for the courts, the community, and the police. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Dr. Sehr - Man or Myth?
In Sehr's book "Education for Public Democracy" he stresses educations importance of conveying the true nature and vigors of public democracy. I know this sounds terribly boring, but trust me, he's the man, AND he likes broccoli. Who would have thought? Not too many grown men enjoy their greens, especially ones that are as accomplished as Dr. Sehr. He taught us some of the most important things including (but not limited to): why chuds are useless, R truely does equal CH, not taking vitamins is bad, Gilligan's Island really isn't that funny, John Misarti, and so much more!

dr sehr is the man
this book is the greatest.dr. sehr is the man.he is our teacher, but he gives us too much work.see you on monday, doc. ... Read more