THE NEW NATION

``Now this is confusing, so pay attention.'' Deftly simplifying difficult issues, Hakim continues her vivacious tour in this fourth volume (of a projected ten) in the Oxford History of US. Covering the half century from Washington's inauguration to Taylor's election, she focuses less on the progression of events than on the play of ideas (e.g., how the Constitution's provisions for checks and balances were wrestled into a working system) and on sweeping trends such as the profound social changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution or the effects of having seven gifted leaders in a row as presidents, followed by five who were mediocre. Hakim hangs her narrative on the theme of leadership—not just that of Washington, Jefferson, et al., but also as provided by John Marshall, Tecumseh, Sequoyah, Samuel Slater, Frederick Douglass, and Daniel Webster, among many others. She firmly points out the paradox of a nation that was founded on the idea of equality but nevertheless condoned slavery and the forced removal of Native Americans. Though the blocks of diminutive type and plethora of small, dark period illustrations have an imposing look, readers young and old will find themselves amused, amazed, and engrossed by this searching, opinionated survey. Chronology; wide-ranging bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 10+)