The brilliant historian of the mid-twentieth century, Allan Nevins, introduces this volume of correspondence by and to James Truslow Adams with a summary of his life and importance. This presents his appreciation of Adams in a manner that properly serves as a bridge to a full range of his correspondence, including a long series of letters by Adams himself. The correspondence is divided into a wide network of letters covering two world wars, and highlighting Adams' efforts to speak as a public historian of the age. The range covered extends from World War I, where he participated in the Paris...

There is a tradition of one-volume narrative histories of the United States in which the political, military, diplomatic, social, and economic strands are skillfully interwoven. Rather than add to these volumes, The Epic of America paints a sweeping picture of the diverse past that has created America's national story. In this important narrative, James Truslow Adams reviews how the ordinary American has matured over time in outlook, character, and opinion. Adams grew increasingly conscious of how different an American is now from the man or woman of any other advanced nation. He is equally...