Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd

The Great Experiment: An Introduction to the History of the American People by FrankThistlethwaiteReview by: F. S. L. LyonsIrish Historical Studies, Vol. 14, No. 53 (Mar., 1964), p. 82Published by: Irish Historical Studies Publications LtdStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30006370 .

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82 REVIEWS AND SHORT NOTICES

chapter, but since ten of the twenty-five contributors are now dead this was obviously impossible in a fair number of cases. And the extent to which it was not done in others is illustrated by such a sentence as this: 'His [Rhodes's] advocacy of the exclusion of the 'imperial factor' from the internal affairs of the country, coupled with his conviction that its highest destiny lay within the British Empire, is reflected in the present status of the Union and of the other dominions'.

J. L. MCCRACKEN

THE GREAT EXPERIMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. By Frank Thistlethwaite. Pp. xiv, 335. Cambridge: University Press. 1955. Paperback, I96I. 12s. 6d.

Histories of the United States are, of course, legion, but nearly all of them that are available over here suffer from defects of one kind or another. Either they are in several massive volumes and are unreadable, or else they are so brief and allusive that they are unintelligible. Or they are written by Americans for Americans and too esoteric, or by Englishmen for Englishmen and too superficial. Mr Thistlethwaite's book, which first appeared nearly ten years ago, and has been re-issued as a paperback, seems to have avoided these various pitfalls very successfully. He knows America well, he is familiar with the sources of American history, and he writes lucidly and attractively. The result is a survey which provides an altogether admirable introduction to the subject.

It is, however, as he himself stresses, an introduction. It is not intended as a general history and it ought to be read in conjunction with such a history. He takes up the story on the eve of the revolution and goes on in succeeding chapters to develop a number of the most significant themes --the 'continental thrust' (the western movement), 'the democratic idea', 'the hegemony of big business' and so on, but while these are undoubtedly the most important themes, they need a linking narrative to become fully intelligible. This is a book which caters for the interested general reader but is also particularly valuable for undergraduates. I have myself recommended it to several hundred final-year students and the response has always been enthusiastic.

F. S. L. LYONS

THE BRITISH PAPER INDUSTRY, 1495-1860. By D. C. Coleman. Pp. xvi, 368. London: Oxford University Press. 1958. 55s.

THIS, as the title implies, is not a book about the making of paper, or about old watermarks and other matters of largely antiquarian interest, but it is rather a study of the paper industry in Britain - mainly in England-- from the standpoint of economics. Mr Coleman's themes are, therefore, those of organisation, finance, entrepreneurial enterprise, labour relations, wages, prices and costs. His subject is a large one and

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