American Places

Abstract For anyone interested in history, the physical traces of the past, especially places, have special fascination. Sometimes such a visit raises new questions in our minds. James McPherson has described walking in the field where Pickett's men charged at Gettysburg and wondering, what made them do it? But whatever our motivation for visiting these places, or how they affect us, there is no question that we understand the past in a different way when we encounter it 'on the ground'. We can touch, or be touched by, history in many places that are not historic sites' in the guidebook sense. A rusted bridge on Route 66 may speak more evocatively to us than the Bunker Hill Monument--partly because each of us has an individual sensibility, and also because each encounter with the past is unique. In AMERICAN PLACES, some of America's most gifted historians write about their own encounters with historic places, bringing a personal viewpoint to bear on a wide variety of sites, ranging from Monticello to Fenway Park, Queens to Cyberspace. The volume will celebrate the career of Sheldon Meyer, who over his years at Oxford University Press has published a wide variety of distinguished writing in American History. The range of authors and places represented will represent the breadth of Sheldon Meyer's career, and to attain his goal of publishing works that speak to a readership beyond academia while engaging the most important issues in American History.