The Idea of America by Gordon S Wood

The Idea of America by Gordon S Wood

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free UK delivery over £5
  • 10% off preloved books when you join +Plus
  • Buying preloved emits 46% less CO2 than new
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

The Idea of America by Gordon S Wood

"Exceptional... a remarkable study of the key chapter of American history and its ongoing influence on American character."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the Founding Era reflects on the birth of American nationhood and explains why the American Revolution remains so essential to our identity and culture.

For Gordon S. Wood, the American Revolution is the most important event in our history, bar none. Since American identity is so fluid and complex, we have had to continually return to our nation's founding to understand who we are.

In a series of illuminating essays, he explores the ideological origins of the Revolution--from Ancient Rome to the European Enlightenment--and the founders' attempts to forge a new democracy. He reflects on the origins of American exceptionalism, the radicalism and failed hopes of the founding generation, and the "terrifying gap" between us and the men who created the democratic state we now take for granted.

Gracefully written and filled with insight, The Idea of America is a profoundly revealing look at the event that forged the United States and its enduring power to define us.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780143121244
ISBN 10 0143121243
Title The Idea of America
Author Gordon Wood
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
Year published 2012-06-26
Number of pages 400
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.