It’s rare for me to start a book and then set it aside. But that’s what happened when I began reading The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points That Saved the World, by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart. I couldn’t get through the opening chapters, much less the whole book.

Which is a shame because the book’s premise would seem to be pretty good. The authors track seven key points in history that shaped the idea of freedom. And if those events had gone the other way, freedom might be something we still merely long for. I agree with the premise, actually. Or at least I was eager to hear how the premise unfolded.

I just didn’t like how the book was rah-rah USA and didn’t acknowledge some significant breaches of freedom within our society. The default mode was to espouse the greatness of America rather than discuss how we also are a work in progress. It lacked nuance and painted a simplistic picture of reality. I’m highly patriotic, love our country, consider it the greatest on earth. But that doesn’t mean we are perfect, or that my socio-economic lens doesn’t shape my view.

For instance, the books points out that relatively few people in history have lived in freedom (true) but that America has had an unprecedented 200+ years of freedom. Now, that’s true for white males. And though I don’t require an author to be politically correct, this book didn’t even bother to insert a footnote about the millions of people held in slavery during much of those 200 years. Or the Native Americans being forced into reserations. Or the women who couldn’t vote for over 100-years. Or even the landless white men who couldn’t vote when the country was created. The examples could go on. I mean seriously…how can they make such a claim about American freedom without at least some caveat included?

And the entire first section of the book is like this. It drove me nuts. In some ways it felt like a 1950’s Disney version of American history. It’s a very Western view of history, and a very white male American view of Western history. Which is a shame because the importance of understanding the tenuous nature of freedom is an important lesson to learn. Apparently the rest of the book delves into that. Good. But the first part was just too simplistic for me to appreciate.

So I put the book aside. Maybe others will enjoy it. I won’t.