What makes America so strong and yet so vulnerable? Why do the British and Americans so often stand shoulder to shoulder? What are the real roots of their common history? And what about the future, for England and the USA, particularly in a world threatened by a terrorism which claims religion as its heart? Both countries inherit a God-given sense of unique mission. In England, Church and the State were two sides of the same coin. The early Americans believed they were, like the Jews in the Old Testament, God's chosen people. This idea of being elected has both shaped and strengthened their identities but at a cost and it is this paradox that this fascinating book explores.