American History - spice it up?

Well, I'm enjoying a few books on American history, but I can't seem to finish any of them. I started the American Patriot's Almanac, but I can't really read that one as a book. Leah told me that I wasn't supposed to read a whole months worth of days in one sitting. It's definitely a fun read if you enjoy American history. So I started a book called American Lion! No, this is not the book about Ted Kennedy... lock the doors and careen me of a bridge if I ever want to read a biographical book on him. This one is about Andrew Jackson... one of the most awesome presidents we've ever had. The man was stubborn, dueled a ton and had been shot, survived an assassination attempt when not one, but TWO guns jammed, and found time to love his family and his Creator. He also loved his Nation. I am slightly concerned about his preference to greater federal rights, but that doesn't lower him in my eyes. He had great hair as well. My problem? The book reads like a text book in some areas. When it starts to slow down to a crawl; I fall asleep and, ultimately, lose interest for a time. So I sit that one down, and pick up Blacklisted by History to attempt to find out something closer to the truth about McCarthy. In a successful attempt by his enemies, or unfriendlies, he has been vilified by America without the average American knowing the truth. That's not to say that he's a saint, or was wrong in how he went on a cleaning spree of the government. Again, this is a GREAT read, but doesn't hold my interest long enough.

I believe it comes down to the fact that I can read fast and retain a good amount of the information in a book, but I don't get lost in it. Robert Jordan, Glen Cook, Tad Williams, or Joe Abercrombie all have the ability to take you away to a different time(yes, I understand what is and isn't reality). History can do that, but it seems I'm reading about the tight rope that our nation continues to walk on. Did McCarthy rid the government of Communism, or did he allow it to become more insidious? Through his love for the Nation, did Andrew Jackson give too much power to a government that was meant to run from the bottom up? And have we lost our heroes?

I hope that our Nation shows the ability to produce exceptional people that don't provide the government with more power, but provide America with a proper footing and prosperous times. A country that can understand and hold itself to a great moral standard. A people that can love the God that put all this in motion... One that allows us the freedom to choose even when it can cost us everything. I'll keep reading.. slowly... and continue to keep an eye for the people that gave so much for a great, but precarious Nation. (My little salute to George Washington, Jefferson, Revere, Lincoln, MLK Jr, Jackson, et al.)

D

P.S. I won't always be so serious - I enjoy insanity too much.