A Short History
Albert Desbiens
Translated by Julie McPhail
Albert Desbiens covers the sweep of American history from colonial times to the Bush presidency. He recounts the beginnings of slavery, relations with native peoples and the break with England. There followed the relentless expansion of American territory and waves of immigrants. The Civil War was the test of fire and, in lives and destruction, the most costly war in U.S. history. The author charts the growing power of the U.S. through two world wars. Even as America championed human rights in the Cold War, questions about its own society led to the civil rights movement and dissension over the Vietnam war. The narrative comes up to the recent past, with the terrorist attacks of September 2001 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A history for general readers who desire an account written from a sympathetic but non-American perspective, as well as for students.
Albert Desbiens taught American history for more than 30 years at UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal).
