Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. [Vol. 3.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 23)

BOOK REVIEWS - András Tarnóc: Charles Sellers, Neill McMillen and Henry May: Az Egyesült Államok története. Budapest: Maecenas Kiadó, 1995. 434 pp

offering profound explanations. As for the Hungarian version, in addition to the accurate translation, the Hungarian explanations of English historical terms are the most valuable. Sellers, McMillen, and May's work achieves its original purpose, the illumination of the process during which the U.S. assumed superpower status. Furthermore, by describing the tumultous growth of the American democracy Hahner's translation goes a long way in fighting popularly held myths, including the romance surrounding the cowboy and the notion of a solitary, Edison-like inventor propelling the American Industrial Revolution from his workshop. Unfortunately the volume contains some debatable information as well. While 1619 is indicated as the beginning of slavery in America (19), the infamous Dutch "man o'war" only brought indentured laborers from the Black Continent. The Civil War, a milestone in American history for eliminating slavery, discrediting the states' rights movement, reaffirming the country's political and economic unity, and proving the viability of the Constitution, is branded as a "failure" (198). The Reconstruction, best interpreted by Eric Foner as an "unfinished revolution" is presented as a "tragedy" (197). Furthermore, the work favoring violence over individuality, egalitarianism, and self-reliance as the greatest legacy of the West (217) offers a differing interpretation of Turner's frontier thesis. Tlie authors' estimate of the death toll of World War Two at one million is incorrect compared to the actual figures of 294,000 combat related and 119,000 other deaths noted in George B. Tindall and David F. Shi's America. The publisher is also remiss with information concerning the authors. Charles G. Sellers is a noted historian researching Jacksonian America and issues of historiography. Henry F. May's studies of American intellectual history yielded such works as The Enlightenment in America (1958), and The End of American Innocence. A Study of the First Years of Our Time 1912—1917 (1964). 204