Pulitzer prize winning historian David Kennedy spoke to Advanced Placement United States History students from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. this past Tuesday at Palo Alto High School.

Kennedy has written and edited numerous novels, including The American Pageant, a widely-used APUSH textbook across the nation and at Paly. He received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a Master’s and Ph.D. degree in American Studies at Yale.

After discussing the nature of history and its philosophical implications, Kennedy proceeded to recite an essay, comprised of funny and illogical sentences written by college students in a serious setting, to his audience.

“I really enjoyed the humorous essay that he delivered to us,” junior Jensen Hsiao said.  “I also liked how he touched upon the importance of history and why we should be copious in our study of it.”

After further discussing the topic of history in general, Kennedy went on to answer the questions of students who have been reading his textbook all year.

Junior Corbin Dodd appreciated the opportunity to hear from such a knowledgeable source.

“I thought it was really interesting, and Kennedy is clearly a very smart guy,” Dodd said. “I thought it was a nice culmination of the year to hear from the man who wrote our textbook.”

Kennedy comes to speak to Paly students who take APUSH annually each spring after students take the AP exam in May.