“[Benjamin Franklin] strongly objected to the British custom of prescribing the death penalty for far too many offenses, and of substituting for the gallows the transportation of such convicts to America. …[Franklin] sponsored the return to Britain of a shipload of rattlesnakes as a gesture of thanks for the receipt in America of so many hardened criminals.” (p. 33) Conrad Black’s Flight of the Eagle: The Grand Strategies That Brought America from Colonial Dependence to World Leadership includes dozens of stories like Ben Franklin and the rattlesnakes. Conrad Black admires many of the accomplishments of the United States, but can be critical when justified. This is a history book about the politics and the battles that forged America. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking single-volume history of the United States (only 700 pages!), Flight of the Eagle is the book for you. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introductory Note By Henry A. Kissinger p. xi
ONE: The Aspirant State, 1754-1836 p. 1
Chapter 1: The Path to Independence: The British and Americans Defeat the French in America, 1754-1774 p. 2
Chapter 2: Independence: The Americans and French Defeat the British in America, 177-1789 p. 50
Chapter 3: Creating a New Republic and Launching It in the World, 1789-1809 p. 88
Chapter 4: Reconciling with Britain Abroad, and with Slavery at Home, 1809-1836 p. 128
TWO: The Predestined People, 1836-1933 p. 171
Chapter 5: Slavery: The House Divided, 1836-1860 p. 172
Chapter 6: Civil War and Reconstruction: The Agony and Triumph of the American Union, 1860-1889 p. 218
Chapter 7: A New Great Power in the World, 1889-1914 p. 264
Chapter 8: The Crisis of Democracy: World War, Isolationism, and Depression, 1914-1933 p. 308
THREE: The Indispensable Country, 1933-1957 p. 353
Chapter 9: Toward Americas Rendezvous with Destiny, 1933-1941 p. 354
Chapter 10: The Victory of Democracy in the West, 1941-1945 p. 398
Chapter 11: From World War to Cold War, 1945-1951 p. 444
Chapter 12: The Red Scare and the Free World, 1951-1957 p. 488
FOUR: The Supreme Nation, 1957-2013 p. 537
Chapter 13: Peace and Prosperity, 1957-1965 p. 538
Chapter 14: Vietnam and Détente: The Beginning of the End of the Cold War, 1965-1973 p. 574
Chapter 15: To the Summit of the World, 1973-1992 p. 618
Chapter 16: Waiting for the Future, 1992-2013 p. 666
Acknowledgments p. 701
Index p. 703