Flag

"The curious history of Old Glory and the special veneration it often evokes" comes alive in this comprehensive volume—preface by Nelson DeMille ( Kirkus Reviews). The thirteen-stripe, fifty-star flag is a quintessential American icon. It stirs something in the hearts of Americans like no other symbol. Yet the flag's history is cloaked in myth and misinformation. In Flag, historian Marc Leepson presents an illuminating, myth-busting look at the American flag from its colonial origins to its renewed importance in the aftermath of 9/11. Leepson examines how the flag's meaning and popularity evolved over the years, and sheds light on key figures in its story, such as the maker of the star-spangled banner, Mary Pickersgill; the author of the national anthem, Francis Scott Key; the coiner of the phrase "Old Glory," US Navy Capt. Samuel Driver; the first African-American Medal of Honor recipient, William Carney, who carried the flag during the Civil War; the creator of Flag Day, Wisconsin schoolteacher B. J. Cigrand; and many others.