Flag an american biography
Flag: An American Biography
I first learned about "Flag" in an article that sought to debunk the Betsy Ross myth. I was intrigued and put it on an Amazon wish list as a book I wouldn't mind owning. I received as a gift not too long ago, but it languished on my To Be Read pile for some several months. As part of my goal to conquer this pile over the summer, I finally read it. I can honestly say I feel like I have a better grasp of American history having read the history of our flag than I have had from classes and other books! Marc Leepson wrote a masterful biography of the great icon of our nation and I heartily recommend it to al!
My one complaint is that there aren't enough pictures! For a book that is all about a very visual object, I would have liked more illustrations to support it. Fortunately, my smartphone was handy as I read and so I was able to search for images, videos, or websites as often as needed!
Flag: An American Biography - Softcover
From the Inside Flap
This is one of those books that seem as though someone should have written it years agobut better late than never. Flag: An American Biography is a must-read for scholars, history buffs, patriotic organizations, flag wavers, flag burners, or anyone who owns an American flag or has seen one in the last forty-eight hours.
This iconic symbol of the nation, which is so ubiquitous in our lives, needs a history, and this is the definitive history of the flag of the United States of America. Marc Leepson has done a wonderful job of making this inanimate object come alive and speak to us.
from the preface by Nelson DeMille
No other country worships its flag with quite the intensity of the people of the United States of America. It is a rallying symbol for all of us, whether we&#x;re cheering or protesting, during good times and bad. To understand the U.S.A. and her citizens, it is necessary to understand the origins, the legends, and the meaning of our flag. Marc Leepson&#x;s Flag is a grand book, worthy of its grand subject.
Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys/October Sky and The Keeper&#x;s Son
|
This is one of those books that seem as though someone should have written it years agobut better late than never. Flag: An American Biography is a must-read for scholars, history buffs, patriotic organizations, flag wavers, flag burners, or anyone who owns an American flag or has seen one in the last forty-eight hours.
This iconic symbol of the nation, which is so ubiquitous in our lives, needs a history, and this is the definitive history of the flag of the United States of America. Marc Leepson has done a wonderful job of making this inanimate object come alive and speak to us.
from the preface by Nelson DeMille
No other country worships its flag with quite the intensity of the people of the United States of America. It is a rallying symbo “The curious history of Old Glory and the special veneration it often evokes” comes alive in this comprehensive volume—preface by Nelson DeMille (Kirkus Reviews).Flag
The thirteen-stripe, fifty-star flag is a quintessential American icon. It stirs something in the hearts of Americans like no other symbol. Yet the flag’s history is cloaked in myth and misinformation. In Flag, historian Marc Leepson presents an illuminating, myth-busting look at the American flag from its colonial origins to its renewed importance in the aftermath of 9/
Leepson examines how the flag’s meaning and popularity evolved over the years, and sheds light on key figures in its story, such as the maker of the star-spangled banner, Mary Pickersgill; the author of the national anthem, Francis Scott Key; the coiner of the phrase “Old Glory,” US Navy Capt. Samuel Driver; the first African-American Medal of Honor recipient, William Carney, who carried the flag during the Civil War; the creator of Flag Day, Wisconsin schoolteacher B. J. Cigrand; and many others.
.