Falling In Love with History Again: 2017 Author Review

I want to share an author with you today who has grown, over the past two years, into one of my favorite authors of American history of all time.

David McCullough

To date I have read three of his books:

1776

The Johnstown Flood

A Path Between the Seas

He has a remarkable ability to tell stories, drawing his reader along through the arc of whatever historical event he writes about, bringing them right to the edge of their seats as they watch the tapestry of history unfold before their eyes.

He writes history, and so you would think that you know the ending to every story he tells. Yet, as you make your way through the pages of 1776, you wonder how the Continental Army could have won at all? You watch men starve, officers blunder, and the army suffer defeat and discouragement. Until finally, the end. And you are left breathless, realizing just how easily the end could have been defeat. But it wasn't.

The Johnstown Flood sets you up for remarkable disaster, as you read event after event that sealed the fate of that town in Pennsylvania. McCullough takes you through each minute of that terrible day; you feel the terror and the pain of those caught in the flood. You see the hope that rises when someone survives against all odds. You see a nation come together to help rebuild after the disaster. You see laws and safety regulations change because of such a disaster. You are left with hope even after staggering death tolls.

A Path Between the Seas really should have been titled "McCullough's Study of Tropical Diseases in 19th-Century South America".  A large percentage of the book is spent showing just how unprepared the US was in dealing with the tropical diseases and death that came with digging the Panama Canal. An alternative title could have been "French Intrigue and the Canal" because he spends the other percentage of the book uncovering all of the back-room deals President Roosevelt and his cabinet made with the French in order to buy and then dig the canal. Yet McCullough knows how to make even tropical diseases interesting. You find yourself caught up in the political intrigue of the book, and leave with a healthy appreciation for the engineering skill behind such a magnificent feat. You will also be not a little in awe of the energy and cleverness of Theodore Roosevelt in undertaking such a complicated, expensive work. 

You may feel daunted at the challenge of reading 500+ pages, but don't let the number discourage you; you will find it goes by very quickly as the story draws you in. 

David McCullough has definitely helped to shape my obsession (yes, I'll call it an obsession) with history. His clever wit and skill with a pen has made American history winsome. But don't take my word for it: go read him for yourself. I promise you, he won't disappoint.