The American Future: A History

Simon Schama talked about his book The American Future: A History (Ecco; May 19, 2009), which is also the title of his four-part BBC documentary. He spoke about the importance of history, history education, and facing historical facts. He mentioned shameful facts of American history that he said should be faced, without being ashamed of an American identity. He responded to questions from members of the audience.

Simon Schama is author of numerous books, including Rough Crossings, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for non-fiction; The Embarrassment of Riches; and Power of Art. His award-winning 15-part television series, “A History of Britain,” was broadcast on the BBC and the History Channel from 2000 to 2002, and the series “The Power of Art” on PBS and BBC in 2006 and 2007. He is a university professor of art history and history at Columbia University.

This was a 2:40 p.m. program in the History and Biography Pavilion of the 9th annual National Book Festival, close