"Eyewitness to America: 500 Years of America in the Words of Those Who Saw it Happen" by David Colbert

Updated on June 4, 2026: This has been sold.

Full title: Eyewitness to America: 500 Years of America in the Words of Those Who Saw it Happen edited by David Colbert. Published in New York by Pantheon Books in 1997.

In like-new condition.

This book delivers on the promise of its title, with accounts by Columbus, John Smith on the founding of Jamestown, John Adams on the selection of Jefferson to write the Declaration, Chief Seattle, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Malcolm X on King’s speech, and on through to the mid-'90s.

From the publisher:

"Here’s history from the people who saw it happen. Some are famous, some are anonymous. Some were caught in the rush of events, others kept their distance. Some knew they were writing for the public record, others recorded thoughts they never expected to share.

"They have one thing in common: They were at the right place at the right time, with their eyes wide open and a gift for telling about what they saw.

"The result is history as it felt to live through it: exciting, confusing, and sometimes frightening."

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