Commentary
Historian David McCullough, who passed away on Aug. 7, spent his life telling stories that his fellow citizens should know. He wrote well-known biographies of John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and the Wright Brothers. He got his start chronicling the Johnstown Flood before turning to the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal and the early years of the American Revolution.
But McCullough was not just a teller of great American stories. He was above all a patriot who possessed an undying wonder about and gratitude for the country he loved.
In 2017, Simon and Schuster published “The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For,” which features public addresses McCullough delivered that capture his love of the historian’s craft and the country he called home. Its passages are worth reflecting on as we remember his life and legacy….