Throughout our nations history; patriotic songs have lifted our spirits during hard times and brought us closer to our heritage and to each other. Behind these "songs sung red; white; and blue" are unforgettable stories that will enrich your appreciation of their unique power. Its hard to imagine a single American who hasnt been touched deeply at one time or another by the songs in these pages. From the soaring chorus of "God Bless America" to the quiet poetry of "America the Beautiful;" historian Ace Collins takes you inside the creation of thirty-two classic songs spanning two centuries. Military anthems like "The Marines Hymn" and "Anchors Aweigh" share pages with other songs of war; such as the War of 1812s "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the Civil Wars "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Popular tunes dating back to the earliest days of our nation; such as "Yankee Doodle;" are included alongside contemporary hits like "God Bless the U.S.A." Other favorites like "This Land Is Your Land" and "This Is My Country" reflect on our nation in times of peace.Youll meet a surprising and diverse cast of behind-the-scenes characters; which includes both everyday Americans -- teachers; preachers; and soldiers -- as well as celebrated songwriters like Irving Berlin and George M. Cohan. Here are songs that are as close to our hearts as any ever written -- songs that form a rousing soundtrack to Americas story.
#1100230 in eBooks 2008-12-18 2008-12-18File Name: B001O1O6R2
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I loved itBy Martin ConwayThis is a great book; very inclusive of Philadelphia architecture both old and new. I liked the inclusion of "pop" architecture like the Best Buy building in the Northeast. After all; this is a book that covers more than just historic architecture. It was refreshing to see that the writing was not stodgy or academic (yawn). The writing tends towards the clever and poetic; check out the caption headlines under the photographs. This is easily; I think; the best book on Philadelphia architecture to appear in the last 15 years.Additionally; reviews are famous for attracting personal enemies and competitors of the author of the book being discussed so what masquerades as an editorial critique is often personal bias and spite.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Better to look than to read.By M. G. BurlandoThis book has some very nice pictures of buildings and streetscapes around the city; covering a broad swath of the citys history. The focus is on the photos; with a short essay introducing the book and captions accompanying each shot. The photographs are good; as is the quality of the books construction.The downfall of this work is the writing. Captions read as though they havent seen even the cursory glance of an editor. Spelling and factual errors plague the short captions. The mistakes were so glaring; frequent and distracting as to detract from the experience of the book.0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Only some good photos.By James Cravatt Jr.Images of America books depend on their photos for their quality. About half of this book is nice historical photos. But much of it is illustrated with mediocre contemporary snaps. Also; given Philadelphias high level of architectural splendor; it includes lots of unimpressive modern buildings. Finally; a fair number of mistakes. Worst goof was a photo caption for one house (Drexel mansion I believe) was completely repeated about 50 pages away from its first appearance.
