State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded (State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols)

Book Description

This must-have third revised and newly expanded edition of the only single reference source for information about state symbols features over 300 information updates plus three new chapters, updated license plate illustrations, and a newly formatted design for ease of use. Libraries that hold earlier editions of this work need this edition to keep their information on the states and territories current. With the addition of new chapters on state and territory universities, state and territory governors throughout U.S. history, state professional sports teams, and a complete revision of the chapter on state and territory fairs and festivals, the work now totals 17 chapters of essential information that is a treasure trove for students. This completed redesigned reference work features chapters on state and territory names and nicknames, mottoes, seals, flags, capitals, flowers, trees, birds, songs, legal holidays and observances, license plates, postage stamps, miscellaneous designations, fairs and festivals, universities, governors, professional sports teams, and a bibliography of state and territory histories. The work features full-color illustrations of every state and territory seal, flag, flower, tree, bird, commemorative postage stamp, and license plate (updated for this edition).

Customer Reviews:

For looking up anything state-related!.......2002-03-17

Collaborative written by Benjamin and Barbara Shearer, and now available in an updated and expanded third edition, State Names, Seals, Flags, And Symbols: A Historical Guide is a comprehensive, authoritative, superbly presented reference on everything from American state legal holidays, fairs, and festivals to individual state capitols and mottoes. With a full-color section featuring illustrations of every state's seal, flag, flower, tree, bird, commemorative postage stamp and license plate, State Names, Seals, Flags, And Symbols is a first-rate, highly recommended reference for looking up anything state-related!

Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War (Bluejacket Books)

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Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War (Bluejacket Books)
William M. Fowler Jr.
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

By Sea and by River: The Naval History of the Civil War (Da Capo Paperback)
Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism
A History of the Confederate Navy
The Confederate Navy: A Pictorial History
Iron afloat;: The story of the Confederate armorclads

ASIN: 1557502897

Book Description

Vividly written and well researched by a noted historian of the period, this succinct history credits the Union Navy as an essential element in the northern victory. Neither ponderous nor hagiographic, the work presents characters and events that have been previously neglected and offers candid assessments of officers, men, and material. Originally published in 1990, when it was a Military History Book Club selection, the work is considered a must for Civil War buffs. It is an authoritative and gripping story of the battles waged.

The author provides a rare look at the war fought by primitive northern gunboats drifting through Louisiana's muddy bayous, Yankee merchantmen captured by rebel privateers at sea, and Union ironclads subduing hotly defended Southern forts. Nor does William Fowler neglect the subtler sparrings behind the scenes: War Secretary Stanton and Navy Secretary Welles competing for Lincoln's favor and Welles's fierce duel of strategies with his Confederate counterpart, Stephen Mallory. Finally, the author describes the astonishing transformation of the Navy itself from a ragtag fleet of aging steamers and paddleboats to one of the most powerful waterborne forces in the world.

Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag
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Such Pretty Pictures of Our Flag.

America, America ...

A true coffee table book

Stunning, inspiring, and grand...

"Long May It Wave"

Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag
Kit Hinrichs , and Delphine Hirasuna
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Flag: An American Biography

American Flags: Designs for a Young Nation

Stars and Stripes: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art

Stars and Stripes: The Story of the American Flag

Drawing on America's Past: Folk Art, Modernism, and the Index of American Design

ASIN: 1580082408

Book Description

The Revolutionary Congress resolved in 1777 that "the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 white stars in a blue field representing a new constellation." Since that time, the American flag has been raised high in wartime triumph and peacetime celebration; burned in fervent protest; sewn lovingly onto quilts, caps, pillows, and bags; appropriated by the commercial sphere to sell goods as varied as cigars, designer clothing, and rock-and-roll albums; and faithfully honored every 4th of July to celebrate America's independence. Far from being a static symbol, though, the flag has been subjected to countless graphic interpretations over its 223-year history, each version owing more to the personality of the maker than to established formal conventions. And nowhere are these continual changes better viewed than in the collection of over 3,000 Stars and Stripes artifacts amassed by graphic designer Kit Hinrichs, partner in the international design consultancy Pentagram. On exhibit in 2000 at the American Institute of Graphic Arts in New York and at the San Jose Museum of Art, Hinrichs's collection was hailed as a marvel of folk history and a time capsule of cultural commentary. The collection ranges from Civil War-era banners and Native American braided moccasins to an early 20th-century "friendship" kimono and original flag art by several of world's leading designers. In its deluxe format and over 500 illustrations, LONG MAY SHE WAVE gives wide berth to the flag in all its manifestations, and the result is a stunning visual history of America's most treasured symbol.

Customer Reviews:

Such Pretty Pictures of Our Flag........2005-08-20

With the 9/11 display at the local history center, I took pictures of the tattered flag and other quilts and such there and at the Dogwood Festival quilt shows. Always, the flag is a major item in the photography exhibit.

In Tennessee, we've had some stubborn retaliations about the original flag. According to this book, the first flag was the one used in the Civil War (which the KKK) adopted, the Confederate fighting flag. I had read and related how Betsy Ross had not designed the American Stars and Stripes but merely sewed it for her friend, George Washington. It seems that many primary school teachers were instructing the young minds that Betsy Ross had indeed made it from her own design. She used her own material, true, as she was a seamstress and used what she had on hand with this request for a national flag with no preparation.

Thank God for the South being first again! Even after the American Revolution in which we were granted our freedom from the British, we continued to use the (red,white&blue) color combination (Spain has yellow and red) as no one was in a hurry to be original. They came up with something in 1777, a year after the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia.

A nearby high school has had their Rebel flag taken from them after all of the heritage and history of the school. In Nashville, a crude silver & gold statute of Nathan Bedford Forrest, as designed and welded by a local attorney, was installed out by I65 with several Rebel flags in a semi-circle. Much was made of this desecreation to a united nation, and they were told to remove them promptly. Years later, they are still in place where they can be seen by all of the travelers going South of Nashville and the locals as they use the Interstate to work.

A flag is a flag is a flag. In the review I did about Civil War poems and songs, there were some about the Stars & Stripes as important to all of the soldiers. In Knoxville, the families were split and all I knew about this dat-blame war was that it was 'brother against brother.' That's how it was in this town and the counties surrounding the Smoky Mountains as shown so clearly in the movie, 'Cold Mountain.'

We paid for a U. S. flag which had hung over the Capital building in Washington, D.C. at the urging of Robin Beard, later an ambassador to (?) He was our district representative and I had chased him down the halls with my red, white and blue hat flapping.

The flag is a symbol of this country and decorates the caskets of all veterans. It is a venerable treasure, but I let my brother take the one off my dad's, as he already had the one from his son's coffin earlier. Neither died in any war, but had been a member of the armed forces of this country. The flag is for all of us to revere and every family should own one. I know someone who said he would hang the Confederate flag out of his office window if he could get away with it, and yet his family were for the North. He is not a Rebel, nor ever would be, so I was proud of his claims, which proved to be false. He just likes to write controversial things to create some kind of action. This is such a boring, old town. The flag perks up any rally, picnic or gathering (political or non-political). Everyone in America loves that glorious old flag which stands for freedom.

America, America ..........2002-08-06

Beautiful book of American flag items from long ago to today. What a wonderful collection and interesting items. I love just looking and looking.

A true coffee table book.......2001-11-10

This book is fascinating. It is one you can pick up and browse a bit and become lost in the art and imagery of an icon that is so familiar we rarely take a good look at it. By sharing his collection with us, Mr. Hinrichs takes us beyond the simple stars and stripes to a visual history of our country.

Anyone familiar with graphic design should recognize Mr. Hinrichs' work. The overall presentation of the piece is incredible. I call it "the true coffee table book" because I think it is one can be opened and looked at and enjoyed a few pages at a time, and isn't that the purpose of a coffee table book?

The timing of the work is fascinating. Although initially published this spring, it is extremely appropriate for the new wave of patriotism that has swept this country since the tragic events in September.

Stunning, inspiring, and grand..........2001-09-28

I stumbled on this title when it appeared as the centerpiece to a local store display of flag books that went up in the wake of September 11th. The stunning production and the breadth of material represented provide a truly unique insight into the power of the American flag as a symbol (of freedom, to be sure, but also as a symbol of revolution, grief, and pride). If you want the full impact of the flag's place in our history, as a graphic element that appears in everything from memorials to toys to pop art to protest banners (and more), this is the book. The text is limited but insightful, just enough to complement the tremendous variety of objects from the author's personal collection. I never failed to find new wonders on each page (including manifestations of the flag I would never have imagined), and in sum the book also amounts to a testament to American ingenuity. There's nothing else like it.

"Long May It Wave".......2001-07-17

It is hard to see why the authors of "Long May She Wave" chose to burden it with a title that not only parades a demeaning stereotype misrepresenting objects as female, but rudely misquotes the words of our national anthem to do so. A check of the Smithsonian Institution's excellent web page on the history of the Star Spangled Banner and the drafting and publication of the National Anthem confirms that no one associated with the flag or the anthem ever referred to it as "she" as this book title so insultingly does. In documents from those patriots who made the famous banner, used it in battle, preserved it for posterity, and memorialized it in the inspiring poem that became our national anthem, the flag is sensibly termed it, not the coy and historically false "she" invented by the authors of this book. Since the the title signalled the authors' disregard for historical accuracy, I left it on the display shelf unopened.

Colors and Blood: Flag Passions of the Confederate South

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A brilliant work by a sensational historian

Colors and Blood: Flag Passions of the Confederate South
Robert E. Bonner
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Struggle for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth (Great Campaigns of the Civil War)
Scandal at Bizarre: Rumor And Reputation in Jefferson's America
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John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights
Life and Labor in the Old South (Southern Classics)

ASIN: 069111949X

Book Description

As rancorous debates over Confederate symbols continue, Robert Bonner explores how the rebel flag gained its enormous power to inspire and repel. In the process, he shows how the Confederacy sustained itself for as long as it did by cultivating the allegiances of countless ordinary citizens. Bonner also comments more broadly on flag passions--those intense emotional reactions to waving pieces of cloth that inflame patriots to kill and die.

Colors and Blood depicts a pervasive flag culture that set the emotional tone of the Civil War in the Union as well as the Confederacy. Northerners and southerners alike devoted incredible energy to flags, but the Confederate project was unique in creating a set of national symbols from scratch. In describing the activities of white southerners who designed, sewed, celebrated, sang about, and bled for their new country's most visible symbols, the book charts the emergence of Confederate nationalism. Theatrical flag performances that cast secession in a melodramatic mode both amplified and contained patriotic emotions, contributing to a flag-centered popular patriotism that motivated true believers to defy and sacrifice. This wartime flag culture nourished Confederate nationalism for four years, but flags' martial associations ultimately eclipsed their expression of political independence. After 1865, conquered banners evoked valor and heroism while obscuring the ideology of a slaveholders' rebellion, and white southerners recast the totems of Confederate nationalism as relics of the Lost Cause.

At the heart of this story is the tremendous capacity of bloodshed to infuse symbols with emotional power. Confederate flag culture, black southerners' charged relationship to the Stars and Stripes, contemporary efforts to banish the Southern Cross, and arguments over burning the Star Spangled Banner have this in common: all demonstrate Americans' passionate relationship with symbols that have been imaginatively soaked in blood.

Customer Reviews:

A brilliant work by a sensational historian.......2002-10-01

Don't be fooled by all those boring end notes at the back of the book. Colors & Blood is a real page turner. Sure it's also a profound and thought-provoking meditation on the meaning of symbols in the development of a nation's conscience. But it also tells a great story, a story that should be handed down from generation to generation. Look no further for the perfect gift for your dad the Civil War buff, your mom the cook book buff, or your neice, nephew, aunt, uncle, son, daughter, grandparent or in-laws. Colors & Blood has something for everyone. Plus the photo of the author on the dust jacket is pretty cute.

Planting the American Flag: Twelve Men Who Expanded the United States Overseas

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Planting the American Flag: Twelve Men Who Expanded the United States Overseas
Peter C. Stuart
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786429836
Release Date: 2007-02-09

Product Description

A few sea captains, a couple of college professors, a battle-hardened general, a senator, a congressman, and a knavish adventurer: What could such men have in common? In addition to an eye upon the broader world and a streak of independence, each had a vision of the United States as a model sovereign. All were part of an American effort to create an overseas empire--one that would avoid the mistakes of the European powers and redefine the face of imperialism. Beginning with the 1839 voyage of Captain Charles Wilkes that opened American relations with Samoa, here are biographies of 12 men instrumental in the incorporation of America's five island dependencies. Besides Wilkes, it covers Richard W. Meade III, who negotiated a treaty with Samoa; Albert B. Steinberger, premier of Samoa; Henry Glass, who took Guam for America; Nelson A. Miles, who led the 1898 conquest of Puerto Rico; B. F. Tilley, first governor of American Samoa; Joseph B. Foraker, first congressional overseer of the possessions; William A. Jones, anti-imperialist and reformer; Frank McIntyre, military administrator of America's holdings; Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., governor of Puerto Rico; Paul M. Pearson, first civilian governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and Anthony M. Solomon, who inaugurated the acquisition of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1963.

Flags of the American Civil War (3): State & Volunteer (Men-at-Arms)

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Flags of the American Civil War (3): State & Volunteer (Men-at-Arms)
Philip Katcher
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Flags of the American Civil War (2): Union (Men-at-Arms)
Flags of Civil War South Carolina
The Confederate Army 1861-65 (5): Tennessee & North Carolina (Men-at-Arms)
The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History

ASIN: 1855323176
Release Date: 1993-11-25

Book Description

Most Civil War soldiers, although they served in a national Union or Confederate Army, fought under a state designation and often felt that they were representing their state as much as their country. So it was only natural that many carried state flags, or national flags with state seals and mottos, as their regimental colours. Complemented by many photographs and illustrations, incuding eight full page colour plates by Rick Scollins and Gerry Embleton, Philip Katcher's engaging and informative text explores the flags of the State and Volunteer troops of the American Civil War.

Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship

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Close-up look at last Confederate warship
Exciting sea adventure
Truly compelling naval drama
Novelization of a Diary
war between the states

Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship
Ron Powers , and John Baldwin
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign
Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of her Survivors
Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin

ASIN: 0307236552
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Book Description

As the Confederacy felt itself slipping beneath the Union juggernaut in late 1864, the South launched a desperate counteroffensive to shatter the U.S. economy and force a standoff. Its secret weapon? A state-of-the-art raiding ship whose mission was to prowl the world’s oceans and sink the U.S. merchant fleet. The raider’s name was Shenandoah, and her executive officer was Conway Whittle, a twenty-four-year-old warrior who might have stepped from the pages of Arthurian legend. Whittle would share command with a dark and brooding veteran of the seas, Capt. James Waddell, and together with a crew of strays, misfits, and strangers, they would spend nearly a year sailing two-thirds of the way around the globe, destroying dozens of Union ships and taking more than a thousand prisoners, all while continually dodging the enemy.

Then, in August of 1865, a British ship revealed the shocking truth to the men of Shenandoah: The war had been over for months, and they were now being hunted as pirates.

What ensued was an incredible 15,000-mile journey to the one place the crew hoped to find sanctuary, only to discover that their fate would depend on how they answered a single question. Wondrously evocative and filled with drama and poignancy, Last Flag Down is a riveting story of courage, nobility, and rare comradeship forged in the quest to achieve the impossible.

Customer Reviews:

Close-up look at last Confederate warship.......2007-09-01

Last Flag Down is a story of CSS Shenandoah's epic voyage seen through the eyes of its first officer, Conway Whittle, a young 24 years old Confederate naval officer. The book much from the diaries and other accounts written by Whittle and take the situation at hand from his perception. From this approach, you get a ground eye view of the working of this Confederate naval raider that wrecked havoc among Union shipping during the last year of the war and little bit beyond.

Since one of the two authors is related to Whittle, the book is pretty sympathetic toward this character and that of course, create an obvious biased that the reader would have to look out for. Capt. James Waddle and many other of the crew often does not come out looking very good in the eyes of this young Confederate officer and that reflects in the book.

But the book gives an excellent understanding of how Shenandoah came to be, how it was crewed and how the ship conducted it business. The honorable behavior of the crew toward the captured proves to be a godsend toward the end then possiblities of piracy charges might be heading toward their direction. They neither harmed their captives or were harmed by them. For a raider, their voyage was relatively bloodless.

One major weakness of this book lies in the fact that there is no photographs what so ever. There is a detail blueprint of the ship but no drawing of anything of what the ship looks like under sail. This oversight is unexplainable and I took a star away from otherwise excellent narrative.

The book come highly recommended to anyone who have an interest in this area of the American Civil War. The book proves to be well written, well researched and quite interesting to those who have interest. Its far superior to the one other book I read on this subject, The Last Shot, and worthy addition to anyone's Civil War library.

Exciting sea adventure.......2007-08-28

Reading the diaries of Conway Whittle while he was aboard the Confederate raider Shenandoah opened my eyes to the realities of war at sea during the Civil War. This interesting account of life aboard the ship was horrifying and intriguing and so detailed that I often felt seasick! The main historical events are known by most history addicts, but the wording of the diaries made it very personal and poignant. I recommend the book very highly to anyone who enjoys an adventure. You don't have to be a Civil War buff to love this book.

Truly compelling naval drama.......2007-08-16

It boggles the mind. In a desperate attempt to change the course of the civil war the confederate raider Shenandoah was sent out to destroy any ship flying the American flag. The Shenandoah, a very fast ship, was hunting merchant ships while being hunted itself by the Union navy. It and captured and burned ship after ship, often letting the captured crew choose between joining the crew of the Shenandoah or being held prisoner. The physical and psychological drama, pieced together from historical record and the journal entries of executive officer 24 year old Conway Whittle, reads like a gripping novel. I'm not normally a fan of the civil war, or tall ships, but this book would not let me put it down.

Novelization of a Diary.......2007-08-13

This book is little more than an interpretive narrative of Conway Whittle's diary and it seems to rely on little else. The descriptions of daily life at sea, mostly revolving around punishments for various crew members and a bipolar co-captain, are tedious. The authors missed an excellent opportunity to review in detail the post-war lives of crewmen and the legal entanglements that followed their surrender, surely intriguing since most of the damage caused by Shenandoah occurred after the South surrendered. This is only given cursory treatment.

Still, the book does relate a story that deserves telling even if the research was poorly done if at all.

war between the states.......2007-08-08

excellent read. you get the feel of the time, the people and life on the ship.

The Flag, the Poet and the Song: The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner

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The Defence of Fort McHenry
Little substance
Play Ball
Patriotic read
Under the Red, White, & Blue

The Flag, the Poet and the Song: The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner
Irvin Molotsky
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

War of 1812 | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0525946004
Release Date: 2001-05-31

Book Description

Every American knows "The Star-Spangled Banner," even if we can't sing it to save our lives. But how many people know what really happened through the perilous night that led a Washington lawyer to pen his historic ode?

Like the subjects of Cod or Longitude, our national anthem is something taken for granted. But it was not always so. In this remarkable, flawlessly researched book, New York Times reporter Irvin Molotsky tells the story behind the story and, in the process, reveals an important piece of our country's heritage. Molotsky brings both legendary and unknown events and figures to vivid life-from the flag's seamstress to the military heroes of the War of 1812. In witty, accessible language, he charts the little-known events leading up to the war, and the far-reaching impact this obscure conflict has had on our national psyche. The Flag, the Poet, and the Song also uncovers the facts and fallacies surrounding the flag and the song, from the tremendous size of the flag to why we continue trying to sing our anthem to this day.

Brimming with fascinating Americana, The Flag, the Poet, and the Song is a book that will be read and reread, whether you're a lover of history, a patriot, or just waiting for the umpire to say "play ball!"

Customer Reviews:

The Defence of Fort McHenry.......2006-05-26

This book began as a newspaper article on the conservation of the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key during September 13-14, 1814. Chapter 1 tells how it is song before every baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and soccer game in the United States. The television networks use that time for commercials. The wide range of the anthem is difficult for the average person. Robert Merrill advocates playing it more briskly, as a march (p.11). The huge flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 was made by Mary Young Pickersgill. Major Armistead wanted a flag so large the enemy could see it from a distance. The flag over Fort McHenry had 15 stars and 15 stripes, the standard from 1794 to 1818 (p.77). It was 30 feet high and 42 feet long, and weighed 80 pounds.

Chapter 3 explains "The Second War of Independence". One item was the impressment of British subjects. These seamen worked for higher wages aboard American ships. Many were called deserters but they had been abducted by impressment gangs. The Embargo was tried and failed. The British practice of seizing crewmen from ships provoked a declaration of war in June 1812. There were other causes (pp.39-42). The canceling of the British Orders in Council came after the war was declared. America became an ally of Napoleon. The British rejected the American right of citizenship to British subjects (Chapter 4). General William Hull, the governor of Michigan Territory, surrendered Detroit (pp.47-48). The attack on Canada ended in a retreat. The attack on York (Toronto) and its burning led to the burning of Washington in retaliation (p.50). After the defeat of Napoleon the British now concentrated on the United States, raiding Maryland and Virginia, Washington DC was lightly guarded as it was not much of a military target (p.54). The enemy of the British was the August heat (dehydration).

Baltimore in 1814 was the third largest city, a center of shipping, commerce, industry, and shipbuilding. The British approached by sea. Dr. William Beanes was arrested by the British (p.71). Richard West, a patient, got lawyer Francis Scott Key to free Beanes; he was accompanied by Colonel John S. Skinner, an exchanged prisoner of war. This flag did not fly over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment because of the rain; a smaller storm flag was used (p.90). At dawn the much larger flag was run up the flagpole. Key's poem was printed by his brother-in-law Judge Joseph H. Nicholson, the second-in-command at Fort McHenry; it quickly caught popular favor (p.93). Ferdinand Durang, a musician, adapted the words to the old tune "Anacreon in Heaven". It quickly gained a national reputation throughout the country. The next week Key changed its name to "The Star-Spangled Banner". Francis Scott Key was an important person in his day, but his only moment of fame was his poem (p.97).

The remaining chapters cover other topics. Chapter 7 tells about the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war. It was a victory for America because it united the nation (p.131). Britain never again interfered with American shipping. The pause of commerce with Europe made industry flourish in America. The flag did not enjoy its status until the Civil War (p.134). Chapter 8 has the history of the flag and the song. During the Civil War Fort McHenry was a prison; one prisoner was the grandson of Francis Scott Key (p.147). Chapter 9 gives the history of the National Anthem. It was adopted by the Army and Navy in the 1890s. The song was used in Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly' in 1904. It became official in March 3, 1931 (p.151). It supplanted the older song "Yankee Doodle" (more easily sung by the people).

Little substance.......2005-11-30

The information presented in Mr. Molotsky's book would boil down to a good Smithsonian or National Geographic article, but feels padded out at 240 pages. In fact, the book had its origins as a NY Times article on the restoration of the flag that flew at Ft McHenry.

The author repeatedly goes over the same ground, labors certain points while skimming over other seemingly crucial information, quotes lengthy excerpts, and goes off on tangents that seem to have nothing to do with the central premise.

Still, I learned a thing or two about a glossed-over chapter in American history. It may whet your appetite for more in depth coverage of the subject.

Play Ball.......2002-03-14

What starts out as a witty account of the origins of "The Star Spangled Banner" and the text to it, continues into repetitions and ends with endless reprints of Supreme Court decisions and congressional hearings. Points go to the author for reminding us of the half-forgotten war of 1812 and for giving us a good overview. Pity he could not stop in time.

Patriotic read.......2002-02-25

Just to preface the review: I was sitting in a restaurant reading this book when the waitress asked me what I was reading. I explained the book, and she said who was on the cover. I said it was a picture of Francis Scott Key. She said, "Oh, the man they named the Florida Keys after."

For those Americans who don't know their history, particularly the often untold truths of the War of 1812 and the contentiousness over our national anthem, this book is a perfect place to start. It's short, informational and at times very humorous. Molotsky brings the reader history and current debate on topics such as flag burning and how to preserve that wonderful flag that flew over Fort McHenry.

I learned some new things in this book, and if the response from the waitress is any indication, this country is in need of a few more history lessons. This a short read but the value cannot be underscored.

Under the Red, White, & Blue.......2001-09-10

As an author of a novel in its initial release that addresses, among other themes, the essence of what makes an American an American, I genuinely enjoyed Irvin Molotsky's THE FLAG, THE POET, & THE SONG. Mr. Molotsky, a semi-retired newspaperman, spins a wonderful tale about the history of our national anthem. This book is light. It is a popular history. It is amusing, yet it is most enlightening. Mr. Molotsky presents a history of the War of 1812, which led directly to Francis Scott Key's composing of the poem that became the song. He discusses the American invasion of Canada (yes, we did invade Canada) and the burning of Toronto (then York) that led to the British infamous torching of Washington (I bet that was in your history books). He also paints a portrait of Francis Scott Key (a distant relative of F. Scott Fitzgerald whose masterpiece THE GREAT GATSBY was briefly called UNDER THE RED, WHITE, & BLUE--which I used for the title of this review) who reluctantly joined the militia during the war. Mr. Molotsky additionally explains the compostion of the poem, its linkage to a British drinking song, and its evolution into the national anthem with the final two words "Play Ball!" THE FLAG, THE POET, & THE SONG is a informative book. It is well-written. I recommend it highly.

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The American Flag (Pull Ahead Books)
Judith Jango-Cohen
Manufacturer: Lerner Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0822537532

Tejanos and Texas Under the Mexican Flag 1821-1836 (The Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas a&M University, No. 54)

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Improving Texas History
He just happens to be my History professor

Tejanos and Texas Under the Mexican Flag 1821-1836 (The Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas a&M University, No. 54)
Andres Tijerina
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Tejano Empire: Life on the South Texas Ranchos (Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series , No 7)
Changing National Identities at the Frontier: Texas and New Mexico, 18001850

ASIN: 0890966060

Customer Reviews:

Improving Texas History.......2003-06-06

Popular histories of Texas abound with self-legitimizing grand narratives and myths and written by arm-chair historians whose sole qualification sometimes is that they are multiple-generation Texans. Some extoll the inexorability of the westward expansion of the Anglo-Celt pioneer, or the defense of self-described legends, or even minimize the impact that the Tejano had on Texas and Texan culture. All is not bleak, though. Reviewing my daughter's junior high Texas history text, I see that there have been quantum improvements in the way Texas history is presented, compared to the way it was presented when I was in junior high, a generation ago. More recent scholarly works have been synthesized into these texts to present a more balanced and more historically accurate representation of the past. It is scholarly studies, such as Tijerina's Tejanos & Texas Under the Mexican Flag, that are ever so slowly working their way up into the historiographical consciousness and providing the information for better school texts and hopefully more accurate popular history.

Professor Tijerina begins his book by challenging Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis and Walter Prescott Webb's variation on the Turnerian theme that the Anglo-American character and the historical development of Anglo-American culture was indelibly shaped by the frontier and westward expansion. Tijerina argues that there were other forces also at play that Turner's and Webb's theses did not take into account . As Francis Bannon reminded us a generation ago, "nowhere in the [Spanish] Borderlands was the Anglo-American a pioneer." Using assorted primary sources as well as secondary works, Tijerina traces the history of Tejanos during this short but chaotic period in Mexican Texas history. The author describes the basic institutions of Tejano life and culture and how a two-way cultural exchange resulted when the Tejano and Anglo-American frontiers intersected. "Because Texas was the first Mexican state settled by the Anglo-American tide, Texas probably had a greater influence initially on the westward-moving frontier," Tijerina tells us, and therefore provided one of the shaping factors of the historical development of the West.

Affirming Bannon's admonition, Tijerina finds that "Tejanos had a significant and lasting influence in the history of Texas. They gave unique reality to the larger historical forces centering on Texas in the early nineteenth century. When international events brought changes to the political status of Texas, Tejanos provided a vital continuum. Their local laws gave meaning and movement to national legislation. Their culture, their lives, their problems, and their solutions contributed much to the historical character of Texas." Therefore, the author concludes that "...the history of Texas can never be complete without the story of her original founders-the Tejanos."

Tijerina's book not only fills an historical lacunae that's been far too long ignored, but provides a compelling and surprising, to many, interpretation of cultural exchange between the Tejano pioneers and the newly arrived Anglo-American. A Vietnam verteran who flew combat missions, Andrés Tijerina holds degrees from Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Texas.

He just happens to be my History professor.......1998-02-18

Dr. Tijerina is notorious for his didication to and knowledge of Texas history. i havent read the book, but i am in his class and i have never had better instruction in history. If you are doing research in the area of Texas, he is your man.

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