Book Review: Rediscovering God in America by New Gingrich

Ok, the people who REALLY know me well, you can now stop fanning yourself, I don't care if you feel faint, because I am reviewing a book by HIM-MR. Gingrich! The book was up on the list of books available to me for review by Thomas Harrison publishing and I knew my Dad would love the book, and I thought it might be interesting based on a review I had read elsewhere.


Seriously though, Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gringrich (with photos by his wife, Callista Gingrich) is interesting in that it provides an eye-opening walking tour of our Nation's capitol and the foundations of our Deomcratic government. Yes, Gingrich attacks the liberal left (like he wouldn't in a book? right...) but if you read the book for the HISTORICAL content and the superb pictures, then you will find yourself with a valuable addendum to the history books we are taught from.

In this age when our children's history books have been seriously rewritten with a profound PC correctness, there are alot of things that now get left out,  and our children are no longer taught. Teachers no longer have the time to add side info or interesting lessons from books off the 'approved' school district list. They have to teach what will be on the standardized tests. There is no time for enriching and filling out the spectrum of what is being taught. So in THAT light, books like this one from Gingrich serve as valuable tools to us as parents to supplement our children's education. Don't believe me? Go read Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen, then go look at your kid's history textbook, then come back and we'll talk...

ANYHOO..before I go off on too much of a rant (HA), here's some items from the book that you might NOT have known:
  • There was no court building in DC until 1935 when the Supreme Court Building was built. Before that from 1800-1860, various rooms at the Capitol Building were uses, then from 1860-1935, the old Senate Chamber at the Capitol Building served as the Supreme Court room!
  • It wasn't til 1934 that it was decided to follow the ORIGINAL city plan from Pierre L'Enfant, laying out FIVE memorials in a cross like manor in the center of Washington DC and that the first of these enacted upon was the Jefferson Memorial.
  • While Thomas Jefferson was firm in his belief of separation of Church and State, he was not an Athiest and had a profound faith in God, which is why at his memorial there are THREE plaques of his writings with God prominent in all of them
  • The Greek doric columns at the Lincoln memorial are homage to his fight to preserve DEMOCRACY during the Civil War (or the War Between the States as we Southerns like to call it)
  • One of Lincoln's hands is open to represent his compassion, the other closed to represent his determination and strength
  • There is a chapel at the Capitol Building, but it is off limits to the public- only members of Congress and their families can use it. In fact, the Capitol Building itself served as the location for church services in DC for the Members of Congress until the chapel was built in the 1950s!
  • The 4 'rooms' in the FDR memorial represent each of his terms in office. The last plaque echoes his 1941 State of the Union speech and what most of believe are the TRUE caveats of our Democratic nation: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear
  • Over 50,000 objects/mementos have been left at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial since it was open tot he public. 58,159 U.S. soldiers died during the conflict. Those numbers stager the mind, and they should.
  • 10,000 NEW items, A DAY, are received by the Library of Congress a DAY, mostly due to the daily submissions to the US Copyright Office - are we a country of inventors or WHAT?
Intriqued? SEE, I KNEW you would be!  The pictures are stunning and really add depth to the book. The book is not very big (only 118 pages) but I think it would be a great book for parents and children to share. AND if you ever to to DC, I would definitely read or take it with you to give you an excellent guided tour of the city's national monuments!You can go to the Gingrich's website and download a map of the spots in the books as well- how great would that be for those that home school?

I think this would be a superb book to give as a gift to yourself and your family, or to friends who love history or like to spout off about the founding of America. Everybody can learn something from it!



Disclosure:  Thomas Harrison Publishing sent me this book, at no cost to me, for review purposes.I was NOT compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product!