TO AMERICA Personal Reflections of an Historian

Popular historian Stephen E. Ambrose, who died last year at age 66, shares his views on the evolution of the United States and on his own life. He notes that U.S. history is full of contradictions, starting with Thomas Jefferson, who held slaves but inspired the eventual end of slavery through his eloquent writings. Ultimately Ambrose is optimistic about our nation's progress. Even in his own life, he finds contradictions, recalling his own failure to break up a campus men's club and reconciling it with his later support for women's rights. Jeffrey DeMunn reads Ambrose's words with a personal tone that makes you forget that the voice you're hearing isn't Ambrose's. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]