Around the year 2002, Ambrose was about to embark on a follow-up book to "Band of Brothers" (which you might have seen on the History Channel -- fabulous book and miniseries about the men who fought in Europe during WWII). His new book was supposed to be about the men who fought in the Pacific theater during World War II, but during the writing of the book, he was diagnosed with cancer. He then stopped writing that book and proceeded to write the book we're about to read, which are his personal reflections on approximately 20 different periods in U.S. history.
I'll be giving you the books tomorrow, but feel free to read a bit more online about Stephen Ambrose, the book, or any other book that he wrote, so that you can get a feel for the man to whose voice you're about to be listening.