{"id":21,"date":"2024-10-14T20:55:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T20:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2026-05-02T01:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:24:14","slug":"reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the Minnesota Star Tribune:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Declaring Independence<\/em>, Edward J. Larson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get ready for a million books about 1776, in anticipation of our country\u2019s 250th birthday next year. This one, from a Pulitzer Prize winner (for his brilliant book about the Scopes monkey trial, \u201cSummer for the Gods\u201d), focuses narrowly on that pivotal year. Larson traces the events that took the Founding Fathers from barely thinking about the idea of independence in January to declaring it just a few months later. Subtitled \u201cWhy 1776 Matters,\u201d the book also argues that July wasn\u2019t an open-and-shut declaration, with the following months producing lots of colonial handwringing. (Nov. 11)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Declaring Independence<\/em> is a brilliant illumination of the self-evident truths that inspired America\u2019s revolutionary war against the tyrannical British monarchy. On the eve of our 250th anniversary, if we are to reclaim our founding ideals of democratic self-government and rule by law, we should begin by poring over every studied page of Edward J. Larson\u2019s anniversary gift to America.”\u2014 J. Michael Luttig, former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At a time when the guardrails of our democracy are being tested, it is vitally important to understand the foundations of American government. Edward J. Larson has written a magnificent book that explains how pivotal 1776 was for liberty, equality, and democracy. This beautifully written history is stunning in its lessons for today.”\u2014 Erwin Chemerinsky, author of No Democracy Lasts Forever<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Edward J. Larson\u2019s eloquent and illuminating Declaring Independence<\/em> ranks as the indispensable history to read as Americans prepare for our 250th anniversary as a nation.”\u2014 Douglas Brinkley, author of Silent Spring Revolution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A profound account of a pivotal year, 1776, with special emphasis on the generative state constitutions and state declarations of rights that took shape that year. If you want to understand America\u2014all of it, deeply, widely, then, now, and in between\u2014read Larson.”\u2014 Akhil Reed Amar, author of Born Equal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Timely and timeless.”\u2014 Susan Dunn, author of Jefferson’s Second Revolution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Minnesota Star Tribune: Declaring Independence, Edward J. Larson Get ready for a million books about 1776, in anticipation of our country\u2019s 250th birthday next year. This one, from a Pulitzer Prize winner (for his brilliant book about the Scopes monkey trial, \u201cSummer for the Gods\u201d), focuses narrowly on that pivotal year. Larson traces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-bannernosidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/summerreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}