No Mere Textbook

No Mere Textbook

Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story by Wilfred M. McClay. Encounter Books, 2019. Hardcover, 504 pages, $35. Reviewed by Bruce P. Frohnen In this fine book, Wilfred McClay makes an important contribution to American education and culture. Every year...
Through the Lens of Civil Society

Through the Lens of Civil Society

Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse by Timothy P. Carney. Harper, 2019. Hardcover, 368 pages, $28. Reviewed by Addison Del Mastro Alienated America, by Washington Examiner editor and journalist Tim Carney, is the latest and most expansive...
That Old-Time Civil Religion

That Old-Time Civil Religion

The Tragedy of U.S. Foreign Policy: How America’s Civil Religion Betrayed the National Interest by Walter A. McDougall. Yale University Press, 2016. Hardcover, 424 pages, $30. Reviewed by Richard M. Gamble Walter McDougall begins his sober analysis of civil religion...
A Conflicted Idea of America

A Conflicted Idea of America

These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore. W. W. Norton, 2018. Hardcover, 960 pages, $40. Part One: The Idea (1492–1799) Reviewed by Craig Bruce Smith “The United States is founded on a set of ideas,” says eminent historian Jill Lepore in the opening...
A Conflicted Idea of America

What Hath Lepore Wrought

These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore. W. W. Norton, 2018. Hardcover, 960 pages, $40. Part Two, The People (1800–1865) Reviewed by Daniel N. Gullotta Sweeping histories of the United States by a single scholar always worry me. This is not to say...