LAND OF HOPE An Invitation to the Great American Story

This one-volume history of the United States eschews the usual "great-man/great-war" approach and offers a more contextualized version. The author looks at trends rather than events, decades rather than years. Pete Cross offers a solid narration. His even tone carries the audiobook along nicely, a significant feat given its length. He breaks up the author's sometimes overly complex sentence structure, making listening all the easier. There are few extended direct quotations, so Cross wisely chooses not to affect different tones or pitches for the speakers. But occasionally it is difficult to know when a quote stops and the text resumes. Nonetheless, this audiobook offers a solid review and important insights (although women and minorities get short shrift). R.C.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]