Writing an intelligent history of a country in three hundred pages must be a daunting task for any historian. Philip Jenkins' book "A History of the USA" is remarkably comprehensive and detailed, without sacrificing readability or accessibility. It is designed to bridge a gap between academic history and intelligent popular work. Although it covers political, military, cultural, economic and international elements of American history, Jenkins focuses his attention especially on the religious and ethnic dimensions of America's history. This makes sense as he is Professor of History and Religion at Pennsylvania State University and his other work has covered ethnic issues, such as his book "Hoods and Shirts: The Extreme Right in Pennsylvania, 1925-1950". The main strength of the book lies in the clarity and readability of Jenkins' writing. He untangles complex issues and events and lays them out plainly for the reader. This he manages to do whilst preserving the relationships of the history and without patronising the reader. Most notable, for this reader, is his treatment of the American Civil War, where Jenkins discusses the constitutional, economic, military, international and ethnic issues to present a robust and intelligent interpretation of events. Likewise, at a number of points in the book he brings into focus the intersections between class, ethnicity, immigration and religion. Especially in the early parts of the book Jenkins is happy to debunk some of the mythology surrounding US history - the whole Mayflower and Plymouth Rock stylised version.
While the book is highly readable, it lacks 'people' and 'characters'. Jenkins clearly believes that history is made up events and tides rather than being created by the individual actors in history. Hence he is concerned with events and casts individual people as almost incidental. At points, however, this absence is glaring, such as the description of the War of Independence that mentions George Washington only once. This handling of history, however, makes a refreshing change from popular history that treats people like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton and others as kind of demi-Gods (along with later Presidents like Lincoln, FDR and Kennedy). It is not that Jenkins is an iconoclast, it is simply that these people are not so important in his interpretation and account of American history. Readers hoping to gain an insight into the minds and characters of America's heroes should look elsewhere. By focusing less on the individuals Jenkins allows us to look more closely at the events and the forces that are in play.
One disconcerting point for the reader is that not enough care was taken with the maps and diagrams. One map in the volume has Cleveland, Ohio marked on it twice, and another shows Montana appearing between Kansas and Illinois. It does not appear, however, that there are similar problems with the text.
Overall this book is an excellent introduction to American history for the intelligent reader. It should spark an interest in readers to follow further the particular areas that interest them. Jenkins assists in this by providing a six page bibliographical essay.