These Truths
by Jill Lepore · first published 2018
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A single-volume survey of American history organized around the US as an experiment: can democracy work, and what sustains it? A strong read for general readers wanting big-picture context.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian ... Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation, an urgently needed reckoning with the beauty and tragedy of American history. Written in elegiac prose, Lepore's groundbreaking investigation places truth itself--a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence--at the center of the nation's history. The American experiment rests on three ideas--'these truths, ' Jefferson called them--political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. And it rests, too, on
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2019–2022Prepared
Diane Tavenner
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 31 recommend · 3 mention1 recommend · 31 recommend
2019–2022Growth
Vaclav Smil, Eric Jason Martin
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 75 recommend · 7 mention5 recommend · 75 recommend
2015–2026The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers
Recommended by 24 · mentioned by 4024 recommend · 40 mention24 recommend · 4024 recommend
2014–2026Exhalation
Ted Chiang
Recommended by 86 · mentioned by 11186 recommend · 111 mention86 recommend · 11186 recommend
2021–2026Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
Recommended by 131 · mentioned by 221131 recommend · 221 mention131 recommend · 221131 recommend
2017–2026Why We Sleep
Matthew P. Walker, Matthew Walker
Recommended by 202 · mentioned by 378202 recommend · 378 mention202 recommend · 378202 recommend
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones https://www.amazon.com/American-Marriage-Novel-Tayari-Jones/... Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501... These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore https://www.amazon.com/These-Truths-History-United-States/dp... Growth by Vaclav Smil https://www.amazon.com/Growth-Microorganisms-Megacities-MIT-... Prepared…
on “Bill Gates: 6 books to enjoy this winter” ↗These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore
on “Ask HN: Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2020?” ↗These Truths (Jill Lepore)
on “Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2021?” ↗Jill Lepore’s These Truths was the best history book this year. Perhaps this decade.
on “The Best History Books 2018” ↗…Maddow, Thom Hartmann, etc. For whatever reason, aside from MLK and Gandhi, I don't recall reading much from non-white authors. Highest recommendation to these books, probably in this order: Jill Lepore's These Truths, The 1619 Project, Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us, Caro's LBJ biographies (passing the Civil Rights Act). I think I needed These Truths to prepare me for 1619 Project, to provide context, set the stage.…
on “Learning The Elite Class” ↗Jill Lepore's These Truths is a good survey of American history published this year. Its focus is on the notion of America as experiment i.e. Will Democracy work? What makes it possible? And the wild exaggerations that result.
on “The Best History Books 2018” ↗> As a former strategist for a big news room... Would love to hear how you (and your cohort) would tackle these issues. I just finished Jill Lepore's These Truths. Terrific. Tracks how our nation transformed from seekers of truth (for all our faults) to anti-truth. The transition period from newspapers to mobile mediums as people's primary source of news is very…
on “Facebook whistleblower says she wants to fix company, not harm it” ↗…Hobbit (3rd read) The Illiad The Odessey Walden Leisure, The Basis of Culture The Seven Storey Mountain Confessions The City of God Ways of Life St Augustine Catechism of the Catholic Church These Truths Battle Cry of Freedom The Complete Guide to Fly Fishing The Lure and Lore of Trout Fishing The Duck Huntingest Gentlemen
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗…screams of those struggling under the knife mingled discordantly with everyday noises drifting in from the street below: children laughing, people chatting, carriages rumbling by.” Currently reading These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lapore where she argues for the pressing relevance of our foundational principles. It’s a hefty tome of about 800 pages, so I still have a ways to go. Next up…
on “Ask HN: What book(s) had the most impact for you in 2019?” ↗…by Vasily Grossman The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking by Saifedean Ammous Financial Shenanigans by Howard M. Schilit Up next: Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman These Truths by Jill Lepore Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms by Shalev Shwartz and Ben David
on “Ask HN: Which book do you want to read next?” ↗…titles include “Prepared” by educator Diane Tavenner, about helping kids find a path to a fulfilled life; “Loonshots,” Safi Bahcall ’s book about nurturing creative ideas that may initially seem nuts; and “These Truths,” a re-examination of U.S. history by Jill Lepore. Bill Gates actively blogs about his reading at https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books
on “In Bill Gates’s Mind, a Life of Processing” ↗…5000 Years reprogrammed my brain, I've been binging on anarchistic-libertarian and adjacent ideas. Such as The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow, everything by Jill Lepore such as If Then and These Truths. Next up is Mine! by Heller and Salzman. I'm slowly chewing thru the podcast The History of Philosophy without Any Gaps. Penance for ignoring this stuff in my youth. Highest recommendation for the podcasts…
on “Ask HN: What Books Do You Recommend Reading for 2022?” ↗…of the battleship to the assistant secretary of the navy, Theodore Roosevelt, informing him that the disaster was no accident. (The cable was later revealed to be a fake.) Jill Lepore, September 2018. These Truths: A History of the United States.