Booklist
Very few among us possess the encompassing and informed perspective on America’s past and present that historian and best-selling author McCullough has gained over decades of research. . . . McCullough’s legions of fans will flock to this edifying collection.
NPR - Michael Schaub
"This book is a gift. . . . It's a powerful argument for keeping history alive."
The Wall Street Journal - Robert W. Merry
[McCullough] is one of the great historical storytellers of his generation. . . . Fundamentally Mr. McCullough loves the American story and its most illustrious characters.
Buffalo News - Edward Cuddihy
Acclaimed historian David McCullough’s The American Spirit is as inspirational as it is brilliant, as simple as it is sophisticated. It will at the same time make you laugh and give rise to tears of despair. . . . This is not patriotic boilerplate. McCullough is a historian and a realist. He sees his nation with all its warts, beginning with its indelible birthmark of slavery and continuing through to today’s government dysfunction and political polarization. Yet he remains confident and upbeat.
The Los Angeles Review of Books - Andrew Carroll
"This collection captures McCullough's passion and vigor throughout. . . . [His] enthusiasm for history is infectious."
Christian Science Monitor - Danny Heitman
McCullough perfectly embodies the part of remember-in-chief. . . . Happily, the same qualities that inform McCullough’s histories and biographies also shape his speeches. He is, whether at his desk or a lectern, a consummate storyteller.”
The Providence Journal - Barbara Hall
A carefully crafted, well-reasoned, heartfelt testament to what this nation can be — past, present, and we must believe — future.”
Richmond Times Dispatch - Jay Strafford
A national treasure, McCullough performs a national service in The American Spirit. Insightful and inspirational, it summons a vexed and divided nation to remember - and cherish - our unifying ideas and ideals.
Booklist
Very few among us possess the encompassing and informed perspective on America’s past and present that historian and best-selling author McCullough has gained over decades of research. . . . McCullough’s legions of fans will flock to this edifying collection.
Library Journal
★ 05/01/2017
Historian McCullough (Truman; John Adams), a Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author, presents this collection of 15 inspiring speeches in which he celebrates America's talent for curiosity, intelligence, goodwill, and humanity. McCullough is an eloquent writer, and the speeches are designed to be uplifting and celebratory. Amid all of the dissimulation and discourtesy that demands our attention, these brief essays celebrating national aspirations are intended to remind readers that, regardless of shortcomings, Americans have largely strived to better themselves and their country. Whether discussing the building of the U.S. capitol or the storied career of physician Benjamin Rush, McCullough manages to celebrate the people who have helped improve or build upon the nation's founding. VERDICT A concise read that will be well-received in public and academic history collections.—Edwin Burgess, Kansas City, KS
MAY 2017 - AudioFile
Ever since the author earned a national reputation with his voice by narrating Ken Burns’s Civil War documentary in the late 1980s, he has staked a claim to being “America’s Storyteller.” This audiobook of McCullough’s collected speeches contains no new research, only recitations of what he believes are our strengths as a nation. The speeches are interesting, and this work cements the author’s reputation as our preeminent public historian. As a narrator, though, the David McCullough of old is not readily apparent. Here, McCullough’s 80-plus years are evident in his voice and stamina. Still, there are some brief moments of the phrasing and emphasis that made him famous, and his ideas always demand attention. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-03-20
A collection of speeches by the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning historian and biographer.Arranged chronologically, the texts of these speeches—most were university graduation talks—reveal both McCullough's (The Wright Brothers, 2015, etc.) passion for history and his profound belief in America, or at least his vision of America, which is both encompassing and deeply hopeful. A number of significant historical figures appear throughout: John and Abigail Adams—McCullough, of course, published a Pulitzer-winning biography of John in 2001—John Quincy Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. The author also focuses on some who are slightly less well known: Lafayette, Simon Willard (whose clock in the U.S. Capitol appears in both the first and last of McCullough's speeches), Founder Benjamin Rush, and clergyman Manasseh Cutler, founder of Ohio University. Throughout, the author displays a sincere respect for subject and audience. For the graduation speeches, he researched local history and prominent figures to enliven his talk, and he spoke directly to the graduates, offering advice—e.g., read books, study history, quit saying "like" and "you know." At the national venues (Monticello, the U.S. Capitol), he rehearses their history both with engaging details and sweeping paeans. McCullough is relentlessly positive. At Monticello, for example, he confines his comments about Jefferson's slave owning to a single sentence, and in his account of the long friendship between France and the United States, he does not mention the Iraq War, "freedom fries," etc. But, as Emily Dickinson wrote, "hope is the thing with feathers," and it is that bird that swoops through all. Clio, the muse of history, smiles and nods her head on every page.
