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Daniel J. Boorstin
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An American Primer Unknown Binding – January 1, 1968

by Daniel J. Boorstin (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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1056 page paperback book of American Writers.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    A Mentor Book/ New American Library
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 1968
  4. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000NPSFSG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ A Mentor Book/ New American Library; 1st THUS edition (January 1, 1968)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

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Daniel J. Boorstin

Daniel J. Boorstin

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

La Yhadira
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016
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Great book
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rod knickerbocker
3.0 out of 5 stars Documents that shaped our nation
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2022
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It was reasonable for the 50’s(published in 1968), is in serious need of updating.
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Stacey A. Taube
4.0 out of 5 stars An American Primer
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2010
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Overall good purchase. The cover, being paperback was slightly torn/worn but the book as a whole is in great shape.
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bukhtan
5.0 out of 5 stars A note
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2007
An aspect of this excellent work that differentiates it a bit from some other compilations is the inclusion of texts which no longer can be considered fundaments of an American philosophical or political self-conception, but which mattered immensely in earlier times. The previous reviewer listed Wendell Wilkie's One World. Other examples would be:
Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health
James Cardinal Gibbons - the Question of the Knights of Labor
or
Lincoln Steffens - the Shame of the Cities
The ideas contained in these texts may no longer have a direct impact on American popular thinking, for better or worse, but certainly they figured largely in public debate, at one time. It might have been useful to include a tirade against Freemasonry, as paranoia about that movement is widely agreed to have thrown an American presidential election. In fact, if readers construe this book as a collection of texts forming the basis of popular debate, from time to time in America, the compiler could be faulted for not including pieces by Roger Williams, William Penn, Marx, Freud, Tolstoy and others who were born and bred elsewhere, and may never have set foot in America. But Boorstin chose to limit his reach to the native children of what is now the United States.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

CW
4.0 out of 5 stars Important American Documents
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2014
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My American history class in high school would have been a lot more interesting, had my teacher been able to use this as a basis for his lessons, or used it as an additional text.

There are, however, two surprizing omissions:

not listing the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. There may not be any great articles or speeches connected with the suffragette movement, but surely the amendment could have been discussed in this book.

The other surprize is Martin Luther King's "I have a dream." He gave this speech in 1963 and this book was published in 1966; perhaps it has gained importance in the last 50 years, that it didn't have at the time?
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