A very close connection exists between history and chronology, since chronology explains the events that have taken place as the result of what happened earlier. We may know many well-documented accounts of history; however, if these accounts were not given to us in a chronological order, but in a scattered way, we would surely miss the reasons behind those events.

A failure to correlate the history of the United States with its chronology by us Americans or by the other nations has resulted in the misunderstanding of the principles that we hold dear as a nation. Our ability to defend the truth of the United States depends upon our knowledge of its existence.

Many attempts have been made at noting down the chronology of events here and there, especially in the yearly almanacs a few companies publish; however, they have come short of giving their readers a full historical perspective. Most of those accounts center on the so-called significant events. Since what is significant can be a subjective choice by non-historians, a nation's true past can only be determined through its chronology and on events whose facts all historians agree upon.

1001 Events That Made America by Alan Axelrod fills this gap by providing the readers with the exact evolution of this country, starting from 40,000 BC and ending in 2005 with the disaster hurricane Katrina caused. The author calls this book a patriot's handbook, which is a brilliant way of looking at our history and the way we like to exist.

In the introduction of the book, the author claims that the events he has chosen represent the consensus by other historians on what is important to us as a nation. In the author's words, "the bare bones timeline" is not enough and the one thousand and one events a reader should know about America will bring him closer to this country.

I read quite a bit of history; however, what little I know is scattered. In school, we were told the reason the colonists broke away from England was because of the tax put on the tea imports, which had seemed rather a flimsy excuse to me. In this book, looking at the well-chosen yet concisely-explained events in chronological order gave me a better understanding of how Northern America's distant past tied to our country and how our country developed a different character from its mother country to bring about the separation.

The author, Alan Axelrod, PH. D., resides in Atlanta, Georgia, and has written two best-sellers. "Patton on Leadership" and "Elizabeth One, CEO." The author's other books are: "The Complete Idiot's Guide to American History," " Nothing to Fear: Lessons in Leadership from FDR," "Office Superman," "Chronicle of the Indian Wars: From Colonial Times to Wounded Knee," "America's Wars," "Ace Your Midterms & Finals: U.S. History," "Profiles in Audacity: Great Decisions and How They Were Made," "What Every American Should Know about American History: 200 Events That Shaped the Nation,""When the Buck Stops with You: Harry S. Truman on Leadership," "Everything I Know about Business I Learned from Monopoly: Successful Executives Reveal Strategic Lessons from the Worlds Greatest Board Game." Alan Axelrod has also collaborated with other authors on various history books.

"1001 Events That Made America: A Patriot's Handbook" ISBN: 978-0-7922-5307-5 is printed in hardback with 287 pages, containing an introduction and a comprehensive index.

This small book, as a gift, will delight anyone and will make an enlightening edition to any library as a reference book.