The Essential American
A Patriot’s Resource - 25 Documents and Speeches Every American Should Own
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Narrated by:
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Vanessa Hart
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Jim Meskimen
About this listen
More than ever, Americans are realizing that if we want to keep this country great, we must be citizen-patriots. And here’s the handbook every citizen-patriot needs: The Essential American, featuring the fundamental documents of our nation’s history.
Compiled by syndicated columnist Jackie Gingrich Cushman and featuring a foreword by her father, best-selling author and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, The Essential American is the ultimate patriot’s resource. Featuring well-known and lesser-known documents and speeches, The Essential American includes the Declaration of Independence; the Constitution; Daniel Webster’s Plymouth Oration; Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address; Douglas MacArthur’s Duty, Honor, Country speech; Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate; and much more!
©2010 Jackie Gingrich Cushman (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- By John on 10-06-11
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The American Political Tradition
- And the Men Who Made it
- By: Richard Hofstadter, Christopher Lasch - foreword
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a "kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics", Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas in their national experience. Hofstadter was able to articulate, in a single work, a historical vision that inspired and shaped an entire generation.
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
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Written Out of History
- The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In the earliest days of our nation, a handful of unsung heroes - including women, slaves, and an Iroquois chief - made crucial contributions to our republic. They pioneered the ideas that led to the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, and the abolition of slavery. Yet their faces haven't been printed on our currency or carved into any cliffs. Instead they were marginalized, silenced, or forgotten - sometimes by an accident of history, sometimes by design.
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Interesting American History- not the usual stuff
- By Marie on 06-19-17
By: Mike Lee
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Profiles in Courage
- By: John F. Kennedy
- Narrated by: John F. Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
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During 1954-1955, John F. Kennedy, then a US senator, chose eight of his historical colleagues to profile for their acts of astounding integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. These heroes include John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, and Robert A. Taft. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1957, Profiles in Courage - now reissued, featuring a new introduction by Caroline Kennedy as well as Robert Kennedy's foreword written for the memorial edition of the volume in 1964 - resounds with timeless lessons.
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Abridged
- By Tom R on 01-04-17
By: John F. Kennedy
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A Leap in the Dark
- The Struggle to Create the American Republic
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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It was an age of fascinating leaders and difficult choices, of grand ideas eloquently expressed and of epic conflicts bitterly fought. Now comes a brilliant portrait of the American Revolution, one that is compelling in its prose, fascinating in its details, and provocative in its fresh interpretations.
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Loved every minute!
- By Richard on 03-03-15
By: John Ferling
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Lincoln on Leadership for Today
- Abraham Lincoln's Approach to Twenty-First-Century Issues
- By: Donald T. Phillips
- Narrated by: Donald T. Phillips
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of the classic best seller Lincoln on Leadership answers the question: How would President Lincoln handle the pressing crises of our modern world? Abraham Lincoln is recognized as one of history's finest leaders, a great president when the United States was under tremendous strain. But suppose he were alive today. How would Lincoln deal with today's high-pressure issues, from politics to business?
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Leveraging Lincoln to drive a personal agenda
- By J on 07-18-17
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Samuel Adams
- A Life
- By: Ira Stoll
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Ira Stoll's fascinating biography not only restores this figure to his rightful place in history but portrays him as a man of God whose skepticism of a powerful central government, uncompromising support for freedom of the press, concern about the influence of money on elections, voluble love of liberty, and selfless endurance in a war for freedom has enormous relevance to Americans today.
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Not just a biography. Must-read American History!
- By scott bowlby on 01-15-11
By: Ira Stoll
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Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era.
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A Man and Biography Relevant to Our Day
- By Darwin8u on 11-14-12
By: Jon Meacham
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Decision in Philadelphia
- The Constitutional Convention of 1787
- By: James Collier, Christopher Collier
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifty-five men met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a document that would create a country and change a world: the Constitution. Here is a remarkable rendering of that fateful time, told with humanity and humor. Decision in Philadelphia is the best popular history of the Constitutional Convention; in it, the life and times of 18th-century America not only come alive, but the very human qualities of the men who framed the document are brought provocatively into focus - casting many of the Founding Fathers in a new light.
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excellent book
- By Josh on 09-13-12
By: James Collier, and others
What listeners say about The Essential American
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gary
- 09-19-17
Got to Love Reagan!
Any additional comments?
As a Canadian I learned a great deal about the American ethos. Based of the current state of the nation I'm left wondering how many Americans really understand their heritage. Certainly an essential resource for those who care enough to know. Reagan's speech is one of the best!
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- Dmon
- 01-22-12
Appropriately Titled! EVERY AMERICAN MUST!
Where does The Essential American rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
TOP FIVE!
What did you like best about this story?
The fact that these documents were all assembled and packaged so concisely.
What about Vanessa Hart and Jim Meskimen ’s performance did you like?
Short, sweet, to the point assessment of what we were about to read/hear.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
They got me in the first few minutes. Hated interruptions!
Any additional comments?
Find a philantopist who would give this audible to EVERY HIGH SCHOOL/or/College Graduate! Or somehow, instead of music in elevators, trains, airplanes, airports, PLAY THIS! Too good to be true! Thank you, Ms. Cushman!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Roger
- 08-15-11
Many speeches I had not heard before
The majority of the speeches favor a traditional or conservative political perspective. Some of the writings didn't lend themselves to the audio format (the Articles of Confederation, in particular). I really enjoyed the later part of the book. I was struck by how long the academic trend has been anti-American. Such a deep seated philosphy will take a long time to counter.
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2 people found this helpful