BOOK REVIEW

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A CENTURY TURNS--New Hopes, New Fears 
By William J. Bennett, New York times Best-Selling Author

OVERVIEW: Where is America going? Just look at the decades between 1988 and 2008. Surveying politics and pop culture, economics and technology, war and religion, Bennett pieces together the players, the personalities, the feats and failures that transformed key moments in the American story. And he captures it all with piercing insight and unrelenting optimism.

THE AUTHOR: William J. Bennett is one of America's most important, influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and education issues. He studied philosophy at Williams College (B.A.) and the University of Texas (Ph.D.) and earned a law degree from Harvard. He is the author and editor of eighteen books.

MY REVIEW: I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Barone, senior writer for U.S. News & World Report when he says: "Bennett has a gift for choosing the pithy, revealing anecdote and for providing fresh character sketches and critical analysis of the leading figures. This is an American history that adults will find refreshing and enlightening and that younger readers will find a darn good read."

I lived in the time between 1988 and 2008. However, as I read this book I was amazed at how much I had either missed or forgotten. The twenty years from 1988 to 2008 were amazing years. This is a remarkable story about what was going on in America at that time. Bennett brings that story to life through superior writing. I highly recommend this book to all, young or old who are interested in this great nation.

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complementary copy of this book.