An Introduction to American Studies presents thirteen interdisciplinary essays which provide a coherent portrait of American history, literature, culture and society, and looks closely at some of the central themes and preoccupations of American life. Fundamental influences like the machine and the city, subjects such as imagery and iconography, myth, national identity, ideology, popular culture and painting are analysed in order to provoke us into thinking about what it actually means to study a culture, and how such a study can best be achieved. The thirteen chapters are chronologically arranged and cover the whole of American history, with most emphasis on the twentieth century. They discuss regions, themes and periods central to America's development.