The American Patriot's Almanac

The American Patriot's Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb is a beautiful hardback book in classic style chock full of fascinating bits of American history and culture. It really does read like an almanac that is all about the United States of America.

It is divided into short readings, one per page for each day of the calendar year. Often each day's reading has something to with that day in history. It may commemorate an important event or a famous person’s birthday. Other days have interesting bits of trivia such as a list of the longest suspension bridges in the United States, origins of state names, or a list of old American congregations and houses of worships. At the bottom of each day's page is a list of events that happened on that day in history: "American History Parade."

Between each month is a fantastic longer collection of Americana. For example, there is a list of Fifty All-American Movies, Flag Etiquette, the text of important historical documents, patriotic song lyrics, poems, and prayers, and much more.

I was amazed at how much I learned in little bite-size pieces as I read through the almanac in just a few days. It would be a great book to keep near the breakfast table to read each day’s entry aloud to the whole family.