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Product Description
Review
“Brilliant.”
— The Walrus
“A broad synthesis buoyed by its compact, fluid prose, this account is also noteworthy for its extensive footnotes, which document but also invite readers to delve deeper.”
— Booklist
“Provocative, well-argued and raises important questions.”
— The Globe and Mail
“A devastating and brilliant critique.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“Eloquently impertinent and persuasive”
— Toronto Star
“Wright’s contribution feels like a voice added to a gathering zeitgeist, an accounting of past mistakes and transgressions that allows room for the possibility of better days ahead.”
— The Gazette
From the Hardcover edition.
— The Walrus
“A broad synthesis buoyed by its compact, fluid prose, this account is also noteworthy for its extensive footnotes, which document but also invite readers to delve deeper.”
— Booklist
“Provocative, well-argued and raises important questions.”
— The Globe and Mail
“A devastating and brilliant critique.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“Eloquently impertinent and persuasive”
— Toronto Star
“Wright’s contribution feels like a voice added to a gathering zeitgeist, an accounting of past mistakes and transgressions that allows room for the possibility of better days ahead.”
— The Gazette
From the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
From the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of A Short History of Progress comes another surprising, frightening and essential book.
The USA is now the world’s lone superpower, whose deeds could make or break this century. For better and worse, America has Americanized the world. How did a marginal frontier society, in a mere two centuries, become the de facto ruler of the world? Why do America’s great achievements in democracy, prosperity and civil rights now seem threatened by forces within itself?
Brimming with insight into history and human behaviour, and written in Wright’s captivating style, What Is America? shows how this came to pass; how the United States, which regards itself as the most modern country on earth, is also deeply archaic, a stronghold not only of religious fundamentalism but of “modern” beliefs in limitless progress and a universal mission that have fallen under suspicion elsewhere in the west, a rethinking driven by two World Wars and the reckless looting of our planet.
A fresh, passionate look at the past and future of the world’s most powerful nation, What Is America? will reframe the debate about our neighbour and ourselves.
From the Hardcover edition.
The USA is now the world’s lone superpower, whose deeds could make or break this century. For better and worse, America has Americanized the world. How did a marginal frontier society, in a mere two centuries, become the de facto ruler of the world? Why do America’s great achievements in democracy, prosperity and civil rights now seem threatened by forces within itself?
Brimming with insight into history and human behaviour, and written in Wright’s captivating style, What Is America? shows how this came to pass; how the United States, which regards itself as the most modern country on earth, is also deeply archaic, a stronghold not only of religious fundamentalism but of “modern” beliefs in limitless progress and a universal mission that have fallen under suspicion elsewhere in the west, a rethinking driven by two World Wars and the reckless looting of our planet.
A fresh, passionate look at the past and future of the world’s most powerful nation, What Is America? will reframe the debate about our neighbour and ourselves.
From the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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Most helpful customer reviews
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best non-fiction I've read in years,
By
This review is from: What Is America?: A Short History of the New World Order (Hardcover)
In this book, Wright isolates some basic characteristics of Americans and backs these up with incredible quotations and examples from his extensive research. He also succeeds in explaining the huge influence that the American continents have had on contemporary life, starting from the very advanced American civilizations that existed before Europeans "discovered" the Americas.Wright examines not only where we've come from but also where we might be going. While his conclusions about the United States are somewhat depressing, there is some room for hope, and Wright outlines these at the end of the book. This is the best analysis of the character of the United States that I've read and certainly the best work of non-fiction I've read in some time. It deserves to be an international best seller.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Separating FACT from MYTH with regards to the history of the United States,
By
This review is from: What Is America?: A Short History of the New World Order (Hardcover)
XXXXX"The Columbian Age [the Age that occurred after Christopher Columbus discovered America] was built on colonial attitudes: on taming the wilderness, civilizing the savage, and the American dream of endless plenty. Now there is nothing left to colonize...Mankind will either share [this planet] or fight over it--a war nobody can win...[The United States of] America...must now examine its own record--the facts, not the myths--and free itself from the potent but potentially fatal mix of forces that created its nation, its empire, and the modern world." The above is the very last paragraph of this eye-opening and riveting book by award-winning novelist, historian, author, and essayist Ronald Wright. This book's primary purpose is to understand the rise of the United States from small colony to world's lone superpower in the span of only two centuries. By delving deep into history, Wright is indeed able to, as the above quotation states, separate fact from myth. Interpretive history is also included. That is, the author is able to draw parallels from events of the past and apply them to today's events. The result is a coherent and insightful historical analysis of the United States, an analysis that some people may find difficult to read. What I especially enjoyed about this book is that it contains the actual writings of those from the past. Some of these writings may be distressing to some readers. Each chapter begins with a few profound quotations from others. My favourite: "The real war has been to keep alive the light of civilization everywhere...The end of the world begins not with the barbarians of the gate, but with the barbarians at the highest levels of state." (Acclaimed Nigerian poet and novelist, Ben Okri, 2003) Finally, it should be mentioned what this book is not: (1) It is not a rant. A rant is written work based on emotion (usually anger) and opinion. This book is based on history. It contains almost 125 pages of notes and bibliography. (2) It is not Anti-American. By examining history and human behaviour, the author derives his insight. In conclusion, this book is a must for those who want to understand the United States and our times. (first published 2008; forward; 9 chapters; main narrative 225 pages; notes; bibliography; acknowledgements; index; about the author) <<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>> XXXXX
4.0 out of 5 stars
The corporatocracy hates this book,
By
This review is from: What Is America?: A Short History of the New World Order (Hardcover)
This book won't change a darned thing, unfortunately, but it outlines how corporatocracy has destroyed democracy. Hey, Americans, you're country isn't what you think it is!
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