They say never to judge a book by its cover, but when I pulled The American Patriot’s Almanac out of the box, I fell in love with how it looked.

This hardback, 500+ page book has a blue cloth binding and old fashioned looking “rough cut” paper edges that give it the appearance of an old treasure, just waiting to be rediscovered and cherished. And really, that is just what this book is: “365 reasons to love America.”

From the first page, I knew that I was going to love this book. It starts out defending the American Patriot, and the many reasons why we should be proud to be Americans, and then launches into a journey meant to last an entire year through the history of the United States of America that is truly beautiful.

Every day is like a miniature history lesson as each page tells another part of the rich history of the American people and the principles behind what they stood for- and what we should stand for still. It is like a picture painted with words and memories of the reasons that I am proud to call this country my home.

Every date in this history book ends with with an “American History Parade” of important moments in America’s past that happened on that day, at the end of each month there are extra pages with the history of the flag, songs of America, and important and beloved historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the American creed, Gettysburg Address and much more.

I loved reading every single page. Some of the entries made my heart sick and sad as I read about some of the mistakes my country has made, or was reminded of some of the heritage we’ve disgraced in recent years. Some made me laugh, because the American spirit is still alive and well. Many made me cry as I read once again of the sacrifices that America and her people have made on behalf of freedom. Most of all, it made me proud to be an American. To be a patriot. To live in a land where I am still free.

Scott and I plan to read it together in the new year, taking a page at a time and enjoying the journey through time with our nation. Even though I just finished the book, I’m already looking forward to reading it again.

Our only fear for the future is to forget the past mistakes and the past struggles of History. The American Patriot’s Almanac is an excellent way to remember, and great resource to help families around the nation teach their children where we’ve been so we can know where we need to go.

The American Patriot’s Almanac is not all inclusive, and surely has little faults here and there (like a reference to evolution, while still giving honor to God as the one who is the author of freedom) and as with every book, probably has some of the author’s bias tucked into the writing, but I appreciated the fact that the Christian heritage of our nation and of the founders of this nation was not hidden away, but the credit was often given to God, who is the author of Liberty and who guided them as He wants to guide us today. And for this reason, I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to add some American History to their library.

Thanks to booksneeze for providing me with a  free complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions here expressed are the honest opinions of me alone.