I used to love reading American history. So proud of our ancestors. Then my aunt asked me to read bury my heart at wounded knee. I was 15. Not ready. I was so shocked that all of my school books were lies. After that i looked at our country differently. Columbus day? Statues? You name it. Not even getting into civil war stuff. Not that i believe every word of it. But it makes you think. I am interested in this book. Thanks as always gramaticus.
I think you would like this book Mike. It does (in my opinion) take an honest look at all the participants in this story. Thank you for checking out the video as always Mike! (PS - If you do read it, I highly recommend checking out a copy form your local library. They will almost certainly have it in circulation)
Our history certainly needs to be viewed in shades of gray. Some are worshipful & blind to the negatives, while others focus on the negatives & are blind to the positive.
Mike, you sound as if you have also read "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong"... AFTER reading that book, I managed to buy a few Dutch schoolbooks used in their history classes (at "de Slegte", a well-known bookstore in The Netherlands). My opinion: Dutch schoolbooks on history are more neutral & open-minded than USA schoolbooks on the subject. PS: I forget whether it was in "Island..." or in "Lies..." that I read about the *positive* role in the Dutch of Nieuw Amsterdam (original name of NYC) in getting the USA "Bill of Rights" ratified regarding its points on tolerance & such. Were it not for said Dutch influence, that "Bill of Rights" would be a much more *repressive* document...
This sounds like a really good one. I'm trying to read some more non-fiction this year, so I'll have to add this to my TBR. Thanks for putting the book on my radar with this review, Grammaticus.
Anybody thinking of reading "Island At The Center Of The World" would do well to also read "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong". (It is "only" about 400 pages...) The problem with ALL (well... at least MOST) history books is that they were written from the victors' perspective. "Island..." has the advantages of being based on original sources AND written from a fairly neutral perspective. No wonder (my as Dutchman biased opinion speaking here) that Shorto received the Dutch Order of Knighthood. Factoids: 1: "Stuyvesant" is the name of a Dutch cigarette brand... 2: The Puritans (the people who landed at Plymouth Rock) came to North America because even the Dutch (so well-known for their tolerance of other peoples' religious views) could not tolerate the Puritans' religious views-&-practices (eg "You SHALL believe as we do, period!") and threw them out of the country.
I've noticed that all the sudden, people who don't normally read US history are suddenly doing so. This is interesting. I've been talking about these books for a while. Are you interested in more history books? At the very least, Shorto's other book on the Revolution is even better than this one. I'm working towards making a guide to reading the colonial period.
"www.youtube.com/@GrammaticusBooks Adriaan van der Donck"? I cannot remember (m)any of the names, but that might be the correct spelling of Stuyvesant's opponent. As to your review itself: From my background as citizen of both the USA & the Netherlands (and brought up in both environments & languages & school systems) AND having read this book, methinks that you are quite fair in your description of the book. THANK YOU!
This is a fantastic book! The Dutch history of Manhattan is fascinating. Shorto is a fine writer and his other books are worth reading.
I used to love reading American history. So proud of our ancestors. Then my aunt asked me to read bury my heart at wounded knee. I was 15. Not ready. I was so shocked that all of my school books were lies. After that i looked at our country differently. Columbus day? Statues? You name it. Not even getting into civil war stuff. Not that i believe every word of it. But it makes you think.
I am interested in this book. Thanks as always gramaticus.
I think you would like this book Mike. It does (in my opinion) take an honest look at all the participants in this story. Thank you for checking out the video as always Mike! (PS - If you do read it, I highly recommend checking out a copy form your local library. They will almost certainly have it in circulation)
Our history certainly needs to be viewed in shades of gray. Some are worshipful & blind to the negatives, while others focus on the negatives & are blind to the positive.
Mike, you sound as if you have also read "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong"...
AFTER reading that book, I managed to buy a few Dutch schoolbooks used in their history classes (at "de Slegte", a well-known bookstore in The Netherlands). My opinion: Dutch schoolbooks on history are more neutral & open-minded than USA schoolbooks on the subject.
PS: I forget whether it was in "Island..." or in "Lies..." that I read about the *positive* role in the Dutch of Nieuw Amsterdam (original name of NYC) in getting the USA "Bill of Rights" ratified regarding its points on tolerance & such. Were it not for said Dutch influence, that "Bill of Rights" would be a much more *repressive* document...
Sounds quite interesting Grammaticus. I don't read histories myself but I'm happy you found it enjoyable.
It is an excellent read Steven and thank you for watching a history video!
This sounds like a really good one. I'm trying to read some more non-fiction this year, so I'll have to add this to my TBR. Thanks for putting the book on my radar with this review, Grammaticus.
I think this is up your alley Seth. But I do recommend a library read before you spend any of your own money. Thanks for checking it out!
@@GrammaticusBooks I'm happy to support my local library.
Anybody thinking of reading "Island At The Center Of The World" would do well to also read "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong". (It is "only" about 400 pages...) The problem with ALL (well... at least MOST) history books is that they were written from the victors' perspective. "Island..." has the advantages of being based on original sources AND written from a fairly neutral perspective. No wonder (my as Dutchman biased opinion speaking here) that Shorto received the Dutch Order of Knighthood.
Factoids:
1: "Stuyvesant" is the name of a Dutch cigarette brand...
2: The Puritans (the people who landed at Plymouth Rock) came to North America because even the Dutch (so well-known for their tolerance of other peoples' religious views) could not tolerate the Puritans' religious views-&-practices (eg "You SHALL believe as we do, period!") and threw them out of the country.
I've noticed that all the sudden, people who don't normally read US history are suddenly doing so. This is interesting. I've been talking about these books for a while. Are you interested in more history books? At the very least, Shorto's other book on the Revolution is even better than this one. I'm working towards making a guide to reading the colonial period.
"www.youtube.com/@GrammaticusBooks Adriaan van der Donck"? I cannot remember (m)any of the names, but that might be the correct spelling of Stuyvesant's opponent.
As to your review itself: From my background as citizen of both the USA & the Netherlands (and brought up in both environments & languages & school systems) AND having read this book, methinks that you are quite fair in your description of the book. THANK YOU!
Thank you for checking it out Scott and thank you for your kind words!
@@GrammaticusBooks Hey, fair is fair, no true?🙂