This is an American history book made up of excerpts from foreign textbooks. It does an excellent job of putting perspective on the United States’ place in the world. Going in, I expected the American Revolution to be the most interesting part, however, in the context of Europe’s long history, that event represents just a small portion of what was happening globally for Britain and France. One thing I took from this book was the negative outlook of American foreign policy, basically since its inception. I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but it was a reminder in light of 9/11 that distrust of the United States is not a recent phenomenon.