Book Review: We the People by Juan Williams

We the People: The Modern-Day Figures Who Have Reshaped and Affirmed the Founding Fathers' Vision of America by Juan Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What would the Founding Fathers think about America today? Is the question that Juan Williams looks at in his new book, We the People. Yet in trying to find the answer, Williams realized that the Founding Fathers would not recognize the United States of 2016 given what has occurred over the past 240 years, so he shifted his focus to those individuals who have shaped the nation since World War II by how they interpreted the words of the Founding Fathers.

Through 18 chapters, Williams examined numerous individuals and how they affected issues and movements that affect the United States today. These new members of the Found Father “family” as Williams calls them range from the notable such as Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King Jr., Ronald Reagan, and Earl Warren to the lesser known such as Harry Hay, Robert Ball, and Robert Morris. The issues these individuals range from immigration to gun rights to environmentalism to the debate between the living constitution and originalism.

In each chapter, Williams gives an unbiased history of the issue under discussion as well as a biography of the individual or individuals that contributed to how the issue became important for us today. Although this might sound like it could be a plodding read, Williams writes in a crisp and engaging manner that results in the nearly 400 pages of text to pass swiftly for the reader while so informing them of the issue and individuals that made them important for 21st century Americans.

If there is one thing I wish Williams had done was a concluding chapter that would have addressed how some of the issues he presented interacted with one another. This would have also afforded Williams the opportunity while showing the interaction between issues to parallel how the interaction of 21st century issues to show parallels about 21st century issues interacted with one another just as issues the 18th century during the Founding Father era interacted with one another. I personally believe this reinforcing of his argument as well as the synthesis of the previous chapters would have created a stronger conclusion to the text than just the normal chapter ending that the reader got.

We the People could be seen as one of those “popular history” genre books glosses over things, but Williams’ prose and material goes deeper to give the reader a better understanding as to how 21st century America came to be as it is. The nearly 400 page of text is very reasonable for the average reader and the information provided within them really packs a punch. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for those interested in history and/or politics.

I received an advanced copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program for an honest review.


View all my reviews

Book Review: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The snow is falling, the nights are longer, and the Disc is getting ready for the most wonderful time of the year only for the most important man of the hour to disappear. Terry Pratchett satirizes Christmas in his 20th Discworld novel “Hogfather”, featuring Death and his granddaughter Susan attempting to save the entire holiday and the Disc’s sense of belief.

Most of the Disc is getting ready to celebrate the end of the year on Hogswatchnight when the Hogfather comes to give presents to those that have been good throughout the year, mostly kids but some adults would like some stuff as well. However, the Auditors of the Universe want the ‘fat man’ dead and hire an Assassin to do the job who then attacks the Tooth Fairy. How can the Hogfather survive? Only Death himself can fill in for the ‘fat man’ and tricks his granddaughter Susan Sto Helit in figuring out what happened to the Hogfather especially as new deities start popping up in his absence.

The TV miniseries adaptation of “Hogfather” was what made me want to read the entire Discworld series in the first place, so finally getting to read this book has been both an exciting and somewhat hesitant moment because I didn’t know if the actual book would meet my expectations. Happily I was more than happy with the book and think it’s one of the best books of the series because of story, characterization, and satire. There is nothing more I can say because I would just be repeating myself.


View all my reviews