Liberty Inherited: The Untold Story of America's Exceptionalism

I met John through a good friend. I don't usually read non fiction because I don't have much free time to read anything so I thought I would take a gander at this work. Hancock does a ton of leg work for the reader taking you back in time. While reading you begin to realize that there were some determined people back in those times that sacrificed everything to insure there was liberty in America. There was no internet. We are speaking of years, decades of determination and sacrifice. There was also lady luck...or maybe Divine intervention, depending on your point of view. When finished you will realize what a fragile process liberty really is. It a miracle we found that tree of liberty on the hill and with what is happening today you should be worried, very worried. Highly recommended.

A real eye-opener. Definitely MUCH more than a work about America's history, which makes it a shame that none of this is being taught in our schools -or, more importantly, our homes -these days (so it seems). If anybody wants to know -and actually needs to know -what America is all about and what it means to be an American should start by reading this book. It's brilliantly written, but in a simple style that anybody can easily understand (AND enjoy). Highly recommended for every home in America.

John Hancock's Liberty Inherited is a good overview of the English roots of American political institutions. The book highlights the Glorious Revolution of 1688 as the foundation of American exceptionalism. It also emphasizes the way in which the American colonists became "more English than the English" in demanding what they considered to be the traditional liberties of Englishmen. While I would place the foundations of Anglo-American exceptionalism farther into the past, Hancock makes a valuable contribution to understanding American exceptionalism with regard to political freedom and the political and constitutional framework required to preserve and protect it.

This book is clearly written about exactly why America is exceptional. Where this exceptionalism came from, why and how it worked. The information in this book is what should be taught in every history lesson in school.

Great investment of time to read this. Gives a low down on where conservative ideology was born and transplanted here in the colonies. It wasn't what I thought, but better, try it...