Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children

This book was exactly as described, as well as carefully and thoughtfully packaged and shipped. Thank you.

This wonderful book spans more than three centuries and gives the reader insights into the thoughts of many great Americans as they wrote to their children.This treasury of short letters also provides some background for each one. The research needed to discover these personal letters is documented. I love this collection and the way all the letters are presented.To quote from the author's father, David McCullough, "This is a book to pick up and read at almost any page, a book to keep close at hand, to return to for nourishment and guidance, yes, but also for reassurance and pure pleasure". I couldn't have said it any better! This quotation says exactly how I feel. I want to purchase several copies to give as gifts and as a parent, I even feel compelled to write to my own children!All the letters provide wonderful insights into the minds of the parents, and I have several favorites; Eleanor Roosevelt wrote one to one of her sons who wanted to skip Christmas and it is so touching! As Dorie M. Lawson reminds us, letter writing is generally a thoughtful art - it cannot compare to e-mail writing.These personal letters from parent to child are arranged thematically and within each section, they are in chronological order and printed in their entirety just as they were composed. It is thrilling to read them, especially the really old ones and all of them were written by aparent who made worthwhile contributions to America.Here are a few of the parents whose letters are included: Thomas Jefferson to his daughter Patsy, Harry Truman to his daughter Margaret, General Patton to his son, Oscar Hammerstein to his son, and so many more from all walks of life. All of us who have children and even those who do not, will benefit from reading this rare collection of parents expressing their thoughts.Thank you Dorie McCullough Lawson and please continue writing!

What a great idea for a book: Collect some letters of celebrated Americans, from George Washington to Henry Louis Gates Jr., written to their children. The letters are grouped in categories: "Continuity," "The Developing Mind," "Love," "Good Work," "Struggle," "Strength of Character," "The Pleasures of Life," "Brace-Up," "A Place in Time," "Loss," "Aging," and "Rules to Live By." One of the delights of this book is the pairing of writers with unexpected topics: Teddy Roosevelt on love, Woody Guthrie on struggle, Groucho Marx on pleasures, Eleanor Roosevelt on courage. From time to time Dorie McCullough Lawson, whose father David offers a foreword, steps in to place people and letters in their historical context, which makes the read richer. A delightful volume with which to begin or end a day; a lovely gift from any parent to a child.

I belong to the "Living Your Best Life" study group at the Oshkosh Senior Center, and we are all delighted with this book. We read and discuss a section each week, and have enjoyed the first 3 very much. The book introduces several "Great Americans" that few of our members were familiar with, which has sent several of us to the local library to read some Sherwood Anderson, for instance. I would have given a fifth star if more great women were included--Elizabeth Cady Stanton's letter to her daughter was my favorite thus far, but most sections have only one woman, 3 have none, and two have two. I realize this reflects the relative absence of women from mainstream history texts, but I had hoped the past several decades of research in women's history had reached a wider audience.

Lovely book. Bought for my husband’s birthday who is an American history buff and lover of all things meaningful and inspiring from the past. We haven’t ready any critical letters yet so I don’t know how those will sit ha, but he’s read the first 5 letters to me out loud and they were all touching or enlightening with a nice intro to each to give context. My only complaint is that some of the letters are so captivating it’s almost tragic to be left with only the one! I want to hear the whole correspondence!

To often, we think of historical figures as cardboard characters, names in a textbook. In this wonderful book, they come alive as thinking, feeling human beings, sharing their innermost thoughts with their children. No matter the era, or the fame of the writer, the humanity is what one remembers. Perhaps the greatest tribute I can give Dorie McCullough Lawson is the fact that I have since read, or am reading, biographies of N.C. Wyeth, Theodore Roosevelt, John J. Pershing, and Harriet Beecher Stowe...all because of what I learned about them from her book, and the letters therein. "Posterity..." is a book to treasure.

Great little book. Everything it says it is. Brings a human quality to History as well as gives insight into the times the quotes were made. I enjoy sharing many of the quotes with friends. Yea, I look smart but more importantly it opens a discussion to many tangents that enhance the shared experience.

Listening in on handwritten letters from "Great Americans" to their children - this book was inspiring, heartbreaking and humbling. This book is still on my bookshelf and I pick it up to be inspired on themes of Love, Strength of Character, Struggle and Work - among others. Reminder that parenting is universally bewildering - no matter the century.A keeper.

Very prompt delivery of interesting book

Great ispirational book , It provides a perspective of how great man think and the kind of legacy the want to leave. Definitively is a book to promote to read in total or in part even at school

Un excelente libro, es una parte de historia de los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica (aunque se dicen América, no lo son del todo). El pedido llegó a tiempo y en buen estado.

la scelta delle lettere è molto deludente. Non l'ho letto tutto, ma non ho ancora trovato una frase significativa... Da evitare

Perfect!