The compact history of a giant country.American history is one of those subjects that students frequently labor over and can seem like a random collection of names, dates, and events. Understood as a collective biography and free of the cheerleading found in many text books, the fully updated fifth edition of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to American History explains the changing tides in America’s most pivotal periods.• From a seasoned author and researcher• The most current and comprehensive series title on American history• Heightened interest right now in the question of how America got where we are—a question that can only be answered by an understanding of history