The focus is always the United States, even for her essay on Charles Dickens. The essays here seem to be ordered somewhat in chronological order of subject, beginning with an essay on the Mayflower, where she shreds Nathaniel Philbrick's book of that title, and ending with a history of the generally uninspiring presidential addresses. When she writes a book review, it almost sounds like she knows the material better than the author. And whatever she writes about, she leaves the impression of having some authority. She writes on a variety of subjects, including literature and history. She is a professor of history and a staff writer on the New Yorker, where I believe all the essays here were originally published. That said, the writing is smart, the topics are interesting, and the passing of time respectable, if not awe-inspiring. Perhaps fiction, with its penchant for "cliff hangers" hanging at the ends of chapters, has spoiled me.
The end of each essay means another speed bump. The trouble I have with any anthology is lack of momentum. John Smith's truth-telling problems, the Pilgrims' historians, Ben Franklin's knack for almanacs, the Constitution, debtors' prisons, Noah Webster and the American Dictionary, Dickens in America (not good, not good), Edgar Allan "Woe Is Me" Poe-man, anti-slavery books, Kit Carson, the no-longer-read Longfellow (short on fans these days), and inaugural addresses. He used his remaining strength to spit on such common sense. On his deathbed he was given a last chance to repent. An atheist, Paine came out swinging about God and paid the price. His biggest problems were England (gee, I wonder why?) and Christians (that's a bigger problem than any Union Jack can muster). Not surprisingly, Paine wound up in a prison. Those are some mauvais guys to hang out with. Paine did himself in by writing more books and getting involved with the French Revolution. I knew him as the man who wrote Common Sense, but never realized just how reviled he was, even by fellow patriots like Jefferson and Adams. Looking back without looking, the essay that struck me the most was the one on Thomas Paine. In these dark (bright? yet to be determined?) days of the Common Core, this would count as a "complex text" that improves "background knowledge." Oh, the shivers buzzwords give me! It's what's known as a twofer! That's not to say I can't use certain excerpts. Me, I bought it strictly in hopes of using some essays for school, but Lepore's writing, as a rule, is a bit above your average 8th grader's ken. That is, Lepore is not diving in deep here, she's making her point in 15 pages or so, and moving on.
If you like history, you'll find it interesting, if surface-skimming, material. The Story of America consists of 20 essays Jill Lepore wrote for The New Yorker.
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