![]() ![]() Her history brims, much more so than, say, the one David McCullough depicts in “1776.” Lepore, a specialist in Early American history, is in her element in the first quarter of “These Truths,” zestfully documenting complexity and contradiction amid a welter of citizens. Readers could also buy an African-American woman: "20 years of age, she is healthy and had the small pox, she has a young male child.” Inside it was a copy of the unratified Constitution, 444 words, “a strange, intricate document” the people considered as they went about their daily lives. She picks October 30, 1787, when a newspaper called the New-York Packet carried a front-page advertisement for an almanac. ![]() Lepore is writing a political book, and where one begins is a political question. “Some very important events haven’t even made it into the footnotes,” she writes, “which I’ve kept clipped and short, like a baby’s fingernails.” She doesn’t appear to be joking. She hangs her history on Hamilton’s question, letting it echo through the centuries along 880 pages - 87 of which are densely packed footnotes in a tiny font. Lepore’s brilliant book, “These Truths,” rings as clear as a church bell, the lucid, welcome yield of clear thinking and a capable, curious mind. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. ![]()
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