fluegel's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
reinhardt's review against another edition
3.0
Metaxas talks a good talk: he is a superb radio host. This book reads like one of the radio show conversations, witty, imploring, conservative, (insert oxford comma) and intelligent. Occasionally he sneaks a twenty dollar word into his uncomplicated prose - trying to stretch the vocabulary of the unwashed masses. It’s a forgivable flaw given his unassuming radio persona and fluid writing.
The book exhorts us that if we want to keep our liberty, we have to keep it. See what I did there — Metaxas style — I used the book title and played on the two meanings of keep. If we want to have liberty, we have to tend it.
He guides us to the work of the founders who were knew experientially that liberty is a fragile. Licence subverts liberty. Freedom depends on self-control. Or as he puts it in the book, freedom requires virtue and virtue needs faith. He makes the case for, at minimum, pietas.
Eric’s call to return the American hero to the pedestal is a voice crying in the Empire State Building. And it’s a welcome voice. For too long, 50 years according to Metaxas, Americans have ceased looking up to heroes. And he’s raisin’ ‘em back up! George Whitfield, John Wesley, Nathan Hale, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Paul Revere, John F Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the others he mentions are worthy of honor.
Not one among them was close to perfect, but all met challenge with courage. Their character should inspire us, but only if we know of their virtue - even if it's a singular virtue. It’s not that we must hide their sins, but neither must we magnify them to pandemonius proportions. These were real men with dirt under their fingernails and some with ugly bones in their closets, but they chose the difficult path, at least some of the time, for the good of the country. Can we at least honour heroic acts if we cannot honour heroic men?
Metaxas ends with a call to love America, not as a perfect country, but as our country. A country we must hold up to its ideals. He writes about the need for ritual, which is essential for patriotism. (See James K. A. Smith’s You are What You Love for more on how ritual, which he calls liturgy, shapes our loves). But the power of lost rituals cannot easily be conjured up, making the preservation of the rituals we have pivotal to the patriotism of the next generation. Hence his encouragement to engage the power of poetry to stir love of country in children.
Eric tries to balance whitewashing American history and viewing America as the source of the world’s problems. I don't think these two irreconcilable views are the problem. The problem is the not hatred of America by the fringe, but the indifference of the masses. The growing idea among the technocracy that nations and patriotism are a relic of the past is the biggest threat to love of country. Love of country is as antiquated as wearing bloomers, to the trans-national tech companies like Google and Apple whose interest lie in spurning America rather than loving America. This book is a valuable corrective to the apathy to America wafting from urbane elites.
The book stuffs in too many long quotes, a forgivable offence because they are quotes that should be known to Americans. Maybe this book will change that.
In summary, not a weighty work of research or a spellbinding work of art, but a sensible lesson in why America is great and why we need to love her and help others to love her. And we need to help each other be better people if we truly want to Make America Great Again — registered trademark, all rights reserved — for the people...
BoldlyAsserted
Got a free review copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
The book exhorts us that if we want to keep our liberty, we have to keep it. See what I did there — Metaxas style — I used the book title and played on the two meanings of keep. If we want to have liberty, we have to tend it.
He guides us to the work of the founders who were knew experientially that liberty is a fragile. Licence subverts liberty. Freedom depends on self-control. Or as he puts it in the book, freedom requires virtue and virtue needs faith. He makes the case for, at minimum, pietas.
Eric’s call to return the American hero to the pedestal is a voice crying in the Empire State Building. And it’s a welcome voice. For too long, 50 years according to Metaxas, Americans have ceased looking up to heroes. And he’s raisin’ ‘em back up! George Whitfield, John Wesley, Nathan Hale, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Paul Revere, John F Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the others he mentions are worthy of honor.
Not one among them was close to perfect, but all met challenge with courage. Their character should inspire us, but only if we know of their virtue - even if it's a singular virtue. It’s not that we must hide their sins, but neither must we magnify them to pandemonius proportions. These were real men with dirt under their fingernails and some with ugly bones in their closets, but they chose the difficult path, at least some of the time, for the good of the country. Can we at least honour heroic acts if we cannot honour heroic men?
Metaxas ends with a call to love America, not as a perfect country, but as our country. A country we must hold up to its ideals. He writes about the need for ritual, which is essential for patriotism. (See James K. A. Smith’s You are What You Love for more on how ritual, which he calls liturgy, shapes our loves). But the power of lost rituals cannot easily be conjured up, making the preservation of the rituals we have pivotal to the patriotism of the next generation. Hence his encouragement to engage the power of poetry to stir love of country in children.
Eric tries to balance whitewashing American history and viewing America as the source of the world’s problems. I don't think these two irreconcilable views are the problem. The problem is the not hatred of America by the fringe, but the indifference of the masses. The growing idea among the technocracy that nations and patriotism are a relic of the past is the biggest threat to love of country. Love of country is as antiquated as wearing bloomers, to the trans-national tech companies like Google and Apple whose interest lie in spurning America rather than loving America. This book is a valuable corrective to the apathy to America wafting from urbane elites.
The book stuffs in too many long quotes, a forgivable offence because they are quotes that should be known to Americans. Maybe this book will change that.
In summary, not a weighty work of research or a spellbinding work of art, but a sensible lesson in why America is great and why we need to love her and help others to love her. And we need to help each other be better people if we truly want to Make America Great Again — registered trademark, all rights reserved — for the people...
BoldlyAsserted
Got a free review copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
ecarpenter06's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I was required to read this book for a history course, and it was generally interesting and well-written but definitely not my choice of reading material. I did respect and agree with the concepts presented in this book however, and I would recommend it to those who are interested in American government and the intentions of the founding fathers for our nation.
areidj's review against another edition
5.0
Although I don't usually read books like this, I was really inspired by these thoughts on American liberty. What does it mean to love my country? How do we move forward after so many transgressions?
Metaxas is a compelling voice for a new generation of Americans who long to see our country standing healthy and vibrant again.
Metaxas is a compelling voice for a new generation of Americans who long to see our country standing healthy and vibrant again.
mdrfromga's review against another edition
5.0
Exceptional work on what is means to be an American, why American exceptionalism is deeply misunderstood, and how to keep/recover what makes America great.
melissa1971's review against another edition
Excellent book for every voter. It is a great book for 8 th grade homeschoolers.
grllopez's review against another edition
4.0
For such a heavy topic, it was a quick read; nonetheless, I took away a lot of information. Basically, America is looking more like 18th century France right before the French Revolution. It's not good.
Here is my review:If You Can Keep It.
Here is my review:If You Can Keep It.
sarahreadsalotofbooks's review
2.0
The content was difficult to follow with the author’s broken cadence.
ir0n's review against another edition
5.0
Inspiring story telling how freedom to obey Christ was the foundation upon which the founding fathers rebelled against lawless tyranny