A boxed gift edition of the best single-volume history of the United States. With its engaging narrative style and its richness of anecdote and detail, this complete history of our country--including over 300 illustrations and 100 maps--continues to delight readers. From presidencies and battles to the culture of everyday life, this is a compelling history of the American experience, animated by human characters, informed by analysis and social texture, and guided by the unfolding of events. It is a story in the best sense, the story of the land and the people, from the pre-Columbian experience of the Native Americans through the trials and tragedies of colonization, revolution, and civil war, to the modern era of world wars and global economies, up through the Clinton administration. This book is a must-read--and a marvelous gift--for all lovers of history.