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A review by marisbest2
Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood by Colin Woodard
4.0
This book gets off to a slow start and is incredibly "even handed" for the first half. The authors voice is almost entirely missing except for points where he pushes his "American Nations" thesis about migration patterns. Until the Civil War begins, the style is very much just surfacing the racist beliefs of the characters without much comment.
The second half of the book drastically changes that. Here we get a biography of Wilson that focuses exclusively on his racism, along with the story of the authors progenitor, Frederick Jackson Turner, who never quite writes the book with the thesis of American Nations.
Overall the style here is actually very good. It took some time to adjust to but it served to enlighten rather than distract in the end. I definitely learned a bunch
The second half of the book drastically changes that. Here we get a biography of Wilson that focuses exclusively on his racism, along with the story of the authors progenitor, Frederick Jackson Turner, who never quite writes the book with the thesis of American Nations.
Overall the style here is actually very good. It took some time to adjust to but it served to enlighten rather than distract in the end. I definitely learned a bunch