Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America

One of the main textbooks for my honors history class. Really took a different perspective than the other students got slogging through their "history lite" books. Degler made me stop and think, not just try to memorize facts. Not an easy read, but well worth the effort. I found myself discovering that my country didn't have the easily explained history I had been brought up with.

Don't just read this book, though, also get a copy of Howar Zinn's "A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present." Between these two books, you'll begin to form a deeper appreciation of American history--and perhaps find our present much more disturbing. I know I sure did!

One must remember that this book was written in the late 1950s, when the writing style was geared to a much higher level of education. It wasn't until the late seventies and early eighties that most literature began scaling back to enhance comprehension in a world where the average reader didn't understand classical references and long, complex sentences. So, while Mr. Degler has written a very detailed and fact-oriented book, its readability suffers because most students reading this book are unused to this style of writing. I think it's a tribute to the excellence of the book's information that it is often used as a history text even though it is so outdated and difficult to read. Guaranteed to cure even the most acute insomnia :) Greetz to the CAK AP History class of 2000-2001!

Assigned this book for my AP U.S. History class over the summer, I carefully read the first three chapters, taking extensive notes in the book. I have to say that it took me awhile to take it all in during one sitting. But Degler does bring up some interesting ideas about American history and the issues that made America what it is today. Note that this is not a history textbook and should not be used alone to study history. However, it makes for a beneficial supplement to a textbook and allows the student to not hear a strict interpretation of history for a little while. The rest of the book follows our history accurately and gives the reader much food for thought. I prefered Stephen Oates' "Portrait of America" to this book, but I can honestly say I learned as much from this book as I did form the former. Try this as a helping hand and as a second opinion on our nation's illustrious history.

This was one of the historical works that most impressed me when I was in college many years ago. "Out of Our Past" is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the United States. However, Carl N. Degler provides very stimulating interpretations of some of the key developments in the history of the United States. The book is balanced with well reasoned insights and analysis, supported by historical facts.

"Out of Our Past" is not easy reading, but I highly recommend this book, especially the chapters covering the 19th and 20th centuries. I especially recommend this book for persons who have a strong interest in history and history majors in college.

Using this book as a resource in school, it symbolizes hard work and long nights. But this attitude doesn't take anything away from Carl Degler's work. In one word, deep, is a good way to describe this work. It doesn't summarize but analyzes all of the major events throughtout our country's history. A good book for the American History enthusiast.