America: The Last Best Hope Vol. III

America: The Last Best Hope (Volume III) From the Collapse of Communism to the Rise of Radical Islam
By William Bennett

Twenty years is a long time. However, Bennett believed that more time needed to pass to digest the history of 1989 – 2009 before writing this third volume. Many, especially in the education community, though persisted in asking for this history book to be written to bring us as up to date as possible. I love history, but have seen my share of boring history books. This is not one of those! “America” Vol. III is warm, relational and thought-provoking. Bennett writes with first-hand knowledge having served as Secretary of Education under President Reagan and as Drug Czar under President George H.W. Bush.

I, like many, lived during the events in the book so I have my own memories of what happened and where I was when I heard about the events. I appreciated the insight to what was going on on a deeper level and seeing how the events fit together to form a bigger picture. Even though the book is political and world event (including great changes in media and technology) in nature, Bennett included mention of country music. It fit though and was reflective of culture.
Most interesting to me was the epilogue. The book was written in 2009 and in the epilogue Bennett reflects on the hopes and fears of Americans. He is very hopeful in America rising to its challenges. Unfortunately, it seems that in the two years since, we have spiraled downward instead of rising. I wonder what will be written as history eighteen years from now.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”