American Heritage (magazine)
Encyclopedia
American Heritage is a quarterly magazine dedicated to covering the history of the United States
for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes
. Since that time, Edwin S. Grosvenor
has been its publisher.
bought the magazine in 1986.
On May 17, 2007, the magazine announced that it had stopped publication, at least temporarily, with the April/May 2007 issue." On October 27, 2007, the great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell, Edwin S. Grosvenor, purchased the magazine from Forbes
for $500,000 in cash and $10 million in subscription liabilities. The magazine was revived and began publishing again in December 2007 with the Winter 2008 issue.
For a magazine that has lasted one-fourth as long as the United States, its way of covering history has changed much over the years. Today, there is mention of television shows and Web sites, as well as short pieces on items that history buffs can find on eBay
. Each issue is still an eclectic collection of articles on the people, places, and events from the entire history of the United States.
Some things included annually
During the early 1960s, American Heritage sponsored a series of popular military board games produced by the Milton Bradley Company
.
The editor-in-chief of American Heritage is Edwin S. Grosvenor, the former editor of the fine arts magazine, Portfolio, which was nominated for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 1983. Grosvenor was also the editor of the literary magazine, Current Books, and magazines for Marriott and Hyatt Hotels. He was also the CEO of KnowledgeMax, Inc., an online bookseller which became publicly traded in 2000.
The executive editor is John F. Ross, the former senior editor of the Smithsonian Magazine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
. Since that time, Edwin S. Grosvenor
Edwin S. Grosvenor
Edwin S. Grosvenor is a writer, and the editor-in-chief of American Heritage magazine.Prior to purchasing the latter from Forbes, he was involved in a number of publishing and software enterprises, including Portfolio, a fine arts magazine published in the 1970s and '80s...
has been its publisher.
History
From 1947 to 1949 the American Association for State and Local History published a house organ, American Heritage: A Journal of Community History. In September 1949, a quarterly was published with broader scope for the general public, but keeping certain features geared to educators. Though the endeavor was not hugely successful, a group of concerned people formed the American Heritage Publishing Company and introduced the hardcover, 120-page advertising-free "magazine" with Volume 6, Number 1 in December 1954. Though, in essence, an entirely new magazine, the publishers kept the volume numbering because the previous incarnation had been indexed in the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. By 1980, costs made the hardcover version prohibitive for a regular subscription. Subscribers could choose the new regular newsstand high-quality softcover or the "Collector's Edition", even plusher and thicker then the previous hardcover. Each is usually about 80 pages and has more "relevant" features and shorter articles than in the early years, but the scope and direction and purpose had not changed. ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
bought the magazine in 1986.
On May 17, 2007, the magazine announced that it had stopped publication, at least temporarily, with the April/May 2007 issue." On October 27, 2007, the great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell, Edwin S. Grosvenor, purchased the magazine from Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
for $500,000 in cash and $10 million in subscription liabilities. The magazine was revived and began publishing again in December 2007 with the Winter 2008 issue.
For a magazine that has lasted one-fourth as long as the United States, its way of covering history has changed much over the years. Today, there is mention of television shows and Web sites, as well as short pieces on items that history buffs can find on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. Each issue is still an eclectic collection of articles on the people, places, and events from the entire history of the United States.
Contents
In addition to running four to six articles, American Heritages regular features include- Now on the Web - what's happening on their Web site
- Correspondence - readers' letters
- History Now - happenings in museums, historic sites, pop culture, TV, movies
- In the News - a historical look at current political and social issues
- History Happened Here - what to see and do and where to stay and eat in historic American cities
- My Brush With History - readers' own stories about incidents in their lives that have some interesting historical significance
Some things included annually
- A travel issue
- Overrated/Underrated, which features fresh perspectives from a variety of contributors on standards
- Great American Place Award, a periodic special issue that features an in-depth article on a historic American city or region
During the early 1960s, American Heritage sponsored a series of popular military board games produced by the Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
.
The editor-in-chief of American Heritage is Edwin S. Grosvenor, the former editor of the fine arts magazine, Portfolio, which was nominated for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 1983. Grosvenor was also the editor of the literary magazine, Current Books, and magazines for Marriott and Hyatt Hotels. He was also the CEO of KnowledgeMax, Inc., an online bookseller which became publicly traded in 2000.
The executive editor is John F. Ross, the former senior editor of the Smithsonian Magazine.
Notable staff members and contributing editors
- Stephen AmbroseStephen AmbroseStephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a long time professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many best selling volumes of American popular history...
- Kevin BakerKevin BakerKevin Baker is an American novelist and journalist. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in New Jersey and Rockport, Massachusetts....
- Alan BrinkleyAlan BrinkleyAlan Brinkley is the Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University, where he was also Provost 2003–2009. He was denied tenure at Harvard University in 1986 despite being an award-winning teacher. He lives in New York City with his wife, Evangeline, daughter Elly, and dog Jessie...
- Bruce CattonBruce CattonCharles Bruce Catton was an American historian and journalist, best known for his books on the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular histories that emphasized colorful characters and historical vignettes, in addition to the basic facts, dates, and analyses...
- Henry Steele CommagerHenry Steele CommagerHenry Steele Commager was an American historian who helped define Modern liberalism in the United States for two generations through his forty books and 700 essays and reviews...
- John A. GarratyJohn A. GarratyJohn Arthur Garraty was an American historian and biographer. He specialized largely in American political and economic history....
- T. A. HeppenheimerT. A. HeppenheimerThomas A. Heppenheimer is a major space advocate and researcher in planetary science, aerospace engineering, and celestial mechanics...
- David McCulloughDavid McCulloughDavid Gaub McCullough is an American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award....
- Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
- Jean StrouseJean StrouseJean Strouse is an American biographer, editor and critic. She is best known for her biographies of diarist Alice James and financier J. Pierpont Morgan....
- Geoffrey WardGeoffrey WardGeoffrey Champion Ward is an author and screenwriter of various documentary presentations of American history. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1962.He was an editor of American Heritage magazine early in his career...
- John Steele Gordon
See also
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English LanguageThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English LanguageThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is an American dictionary of the English language published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969...
- Invention and Technology Magazine