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Title: The Fourth of July and the Founding of America

Author: Peter de Bolla

Narrator: Richard Davidson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-30-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The United States is a nation that touts its diversity, but there is one tradition that all Americans love to share. Every year on the Fourth of July, Americans celebrate the founding of the nation. Independence Day is the greatest of national traditions, but much of the inherited lore that surrounds the Fourth is myth and legend, not history. Even the fact that the holiday is celebrated on the fourth is misleading, as the Declaration of Independence was in fact penned on July 2nd, 1776. Jefferson did not write it himself, nor was it intended to mark the birth of a new nation.

In this remarkable and wonderful work of research and narrative, Peter de Bolla teases out the true story of the Fourth of July. De Bolla traces the holiday's history from 1776 through the Civil War, the Cold War, and the present. This enlightening exploration of the ritual celebration and mythology of America's birthday offers a fascinating window into the history of our nation and our people.

Critic Reviews:

"Americans, unlike poets, are made, not born. Peter de Bolla, in his witty monograph on that most patriotic of days, July 4, dismantles the making machinery....[An] elegant, ironic, brief but deeply researched meditation on what makes America America." (The Financial Times)

Members Reviews:

Informative, Entertaining, Inspring

This book provides valuable historical information about the origin of the Fourth of July holiday and its relevance to the country we know today. Reading about the early celebrations and their backgrounds is entertaining. Being made aware of the worshipful attitude with which they were originally approached is inspiring.

A promise unfulfilled

I bought the book because I had read a couple of short pieces by the author. He used them to promote the book as one which would fill in the details about our so-called Independence Day. In reality, he spends more time talking about various symbols of patriotism than he does about the Declaration of Independence. He has plenty of new information, but the book left me disappointed. If you're interested in historical trivia, buy the book; if you want to read the story of the birth of the United States, get one of the works which are already in print.

Seems so much longer than it really is....

This excellent and exhaustive book about July 4th and all the details one might want to know about it covers everything. Everything (and I mean everything) is covered so well that the book expands, as you hold it, from exhaustive to exhausting. What might have been a sixty to eighty page book, if careully pared, heavily occupies most of the surface of a hundred and eighty-one pages. Each new aspect is chewed and ruminated as though the book had six stomachs. All the sentence fragments one could want. And more. Read it if you have the time to invest in the good parts and the time to waste in the repetition and boring point-making of the rest of it.

Why we Celebrate on the 4th

The text presents five topical chapters focusing on 4 July and its meaning within American society. The introductory thesis examines and dispels the notion of a "punctual moment" (p. 18) of historic significance. For example, everyone knows the Declaration of Independence was signed by the founding fathers on 4 July 1776--but that is not actually true.