David Kennedy, co-author of The American Pageant and co-editor of The American Spirit, the textbook and supplementary text used in Paly’s AP U.S. History classes, visited Paly on Friday during fifth period to speak about history and The American Pageant.

All students currently taking AP U.S. History were encouraged to come and listen to Kennedy.

“It’s a great opportunity to talk to the person who wrote the textbook we use in class,” said Paly history teacher Jack Bungarden prior to Kennedy’s visit.

Kennedy spoke to a rapt audience about the benefits of learning history and why he believes such a study is important.

“History gives us the power to understand and interpret the future,” Kennedy said. “It also gives us a deeper understanding of what makes us different from one another.”

Thomas Bailey, a former professor at Stanford, wrote the first edition of The American Pageant. He asked Kennedy to become his collaborator and Kennedy agreed and worked on later editions with him. When Bailey passed away in 1983, Kennedy took over and worked with Lizabeth Cohen to write the subsequent editions of The American Pageant.

“History is organic. It is always changing and being re-examined,” Kennedy said. “The consensus of the past changes over time, which is why we keep writing new editions.”

According to Kennedy, a new edition of the textbook comes out every four years, though it takes only two years to revise the textbook and write a new edition. The American Pageant is known for its unique and conversational style which reflects, according to Kennedy, Thomas Bailey’s individual personality and voice.

“We try very hard to preserve the unique voice of the textbook in every revision,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and has won many awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize. He is a renowned author and historian but, as busy as he is, he comes to Paly and Gunn once a year to speak about history and The American Pageant.

“For me, it’s fun to get a sense of what you [students] make of all this,” Kennedy said.