I am a American history buff who purchased this book before it was released and eagerly jumped into it when I was released. I have never been so disappointed in a supposed history book. It was actually a chore to finish it. The reason, the book is laced with the authors very biased opinions and he bends history to support his preconceived conclusions, often in a totally blatant manner. His premise is that it is government that made America what it is and the obscure people he digs up have one common character, they are government people. The explorers and entrepreneurs who actually made things happen are pretty much insignificant. In fact, the entrepreneurs were all pretty much robber barrons. The only purpose of his relating his current day visits to historical places is to push his anti development Luddite theories. He also has the very annoying habit of judging the decisions of pioneering developments by consequences decades later, with 100% hindsight and much more advanced scientific knowledge, than judging them by the knowledge of the times these bold adventurers were executed. A very disappointing book that I would not recommend.