[I]f New England and Pennsylvania and Ohio had been favorable to the
growth of cotton and rice and tobacco, if the northern States had
gradually become enmeshed and entangled in slavery, familiarized with
its cruelties, and in love with its kindly features, if their fortunes,
and the future of their children had depended upon its continuance, they
too might have fought for its preservation. -from Chapter XXV American
writer MARY PLATT PARMELE (1843-1911) believed that in the typically dry
presentation of her day, the reading of history was a "dreary task," and
so she set out to remedy that with a series of sprightly chronicles of
the past and accounts of the present that encompassed the essential
facts necessary for appreciating the state of the world as she saw it.
With this 1896 book, she explained "the grand simple lines" of the story
of the United States so that it would serve as an inspiration to readers
young and old alike. From Christopher Columbus to the fate of the "New
West" at the dawning of the 1900s, this is a chipper trip through the
American centuries that condenses the story of a nation while never
corrupting it. As Parmele herself said, "A little, thoroughly
comprehended, is better than much imperfectly remembered and
understood." OF INTEREST TO: readers of American history Parmele's books
available from Cosimo Classics: * The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief
Historical Sketch of France * A Short History of France * A Short
History of Germany * A Short History of Spain * A Short History of
Rome and Italy * A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland