Battles For Freedom: The Use and Abuse of American History - Essays from 'The Nation'

For almost four decades, Eric Foner has introduced readers of The Nation to unknown or forgotten
characters in American history, methodically unearthing the hidden history of American radicalism. In this collection, Foner expounds on the relevance of Abraham Lincoln's legacy in the twenty-first century and on the need for another era of Reconstruction. In addition to calling out politicians and
the powerful for their abuse and misuse of American history, Foner assesses some of his fellow leading historians of the late 20th century, including Richard Hofstadter, Howard Zinn and
Eric Hobsbawm. Foner ends with an essay on the great tradition of radicalism that he has spent his career studying and which, he argues, Americans of progressive disposition should seek to
celebrate, retrieve, and renew.