in history survey courses is Reconstruction. Never. It's at the end of the first section of US to 1877 and invariably, it gets left out. When you go to US after 1877, the assumption is, "They covered this in the last class." So, it falls in the cracks of American Historical Education. I have a BA in history and am getting a MA in history-- trust me, I know.
I suppose all survey classes are rooted in the interest of the professor. My US to 1877 professor was interested in the Puritans and England so I can tell you all about the Puritans and John Winthrop but couldn't tell you the periods of Reconstruction to save my life. Though, being a reference librarian at heart, they can be found here. Just because I don't know it, doesn't mean you can't. I am, after all, learning it with this book.
So far, it's an enjoyable read. I can't say you would want to spend your Saturday evening reading it, but I am interested in the book and think Foner has an engaging writing style and the book is very well balanced. Not too "Damn Yankees" or too "All Southerners were racist pigs" thus far. He seems to take into account class and race issues and realize that because things went a certain route doesn't mean everyone wanted it to go that way. He isn't overly sympathetic to Southern whites but he doesn't think they are all devils and doesn't seem to think all Northerners were saints.
That being said, we'll see how it goes. A lot can change in 500 pages!
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