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[I]f New England and Pennsylvania and Ohio had been favorable to the growth of cotton and rice and tobacco, if the northern States had gradually become enmeshed and entangled in slavery, familiarized with its cruelties, and in love with its kindly features, if their fortunes, and the future of their children had depended upon its continuance, they too might have fought for its preservation.-from Chapter XXVAmerican writer MARY PLATT PARMELE (1843-1911) believed that in the typically dry presentation of her day, the reading of history was a "dreary task," and so she set out to remedy that with a series of sprightly chronicles of the past and accounts of the present that encompassed the essential facts necessary for appreciating the state of the world as she saw it.With this 1896 book, she explained "the grand simple lines" of the story of the United States so that it would serve as an inspiration to readers young and old alike. From Christopher Columbus to the fate of the "New West" at the dawning of the 1900s, this is a chipper trip through the American centuries that condenses the story of a nation while never corrupting it. As Parmele herself said, "A little, thoroughly comprehended, is better than much imperfectly remembered and understood."OF INTEREST TO: readers of American historyParmele's books available from Cosimo Classics:* The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France* A Short History of France* A Short History of Germany* A Short History of Spain* A Short History of Rome and Italy* A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland