{"product_id":"the-american-future-a-history-isbn-9780060539238","title":"The American Future: A History","description":"\u003cp\u003e“With eloquence, wit, passion, and irony, The American Future traces the history of an idea: that of our national destiny….A book of beautiful writing, peppered with wisecracks, slashed with rapier thrusts.” —Philadelphia Inquirer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA De Tocqueville for the 21st century, Simon Schama, NBCC Award winning author of Rough Crossings offers an essential, historical, long view analysis of the American character in The American Future. Shama examines four themes—war, race and faith, immigration, and custodianship of the land—through the prism of the historic 2008 presidential election in a magnificent work that the Wall Street Journal calls a “celebration of American resiliency.” Niall Ferguson says, “I hope Obama will have this book on his bedside table.”\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcclaimed historian and award-winning author Simon Schama offers an essential historical perspective on the crucial 2008 presidential election and its importance for reclaiming America's original ideal. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's not business as usual. Cultural hostilities more irreconcilable than any since the Civil War have divided America in two. In November 2008, the American people elected a new president, feeling more anxious about the future of the nation than at any time since Watergate. Our omnipotent military, the cornucopia of material comforts available, the security of our borders, and the global economy can no longer be taken for granted. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe American Future\u003c\/em\u003e, historian Simon Schama takes a long look at the multiple crises besetting the United States and asks how these problems look in the mirror of time. In four crucial debates—on wars, religion, race and immigration, and the relationship between natural resources and prosperity—Schama looks back to see more clearly into the future. Full of lost insights, \u003cem\u003eThe American Future\u003c\/em\u003e showcases Schama's acclaimed gift for storytelling, ensuring these voices will be heard again. \u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“If there’s a better living writer of history than Simon Schama, I’d sure like to know who it is.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCleveland Plain Dealer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Simon Schama’s \u003ci\u003eThe American Future\u003c\/i\u003e is a historical \u003ci\u003eOn the Road\u003c\/i\u003e: a rhapsody in Democratic blue. It shares Kerouac’s almost inebriated eloquence, the words tumbling delightfully across the page, the sentences as playfully ornate as the Charlie Parker saxophone solos that Kerouac so adored. . . .  Yet this road trip is also an inspiring and illuminating work of history, a reflection on the essence of America with a bedrock of deep knowledge. . . .  The author’s genius lies in the way he uses micro-historical, human-scale narratives to make his big analytical points.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It has its own particular charm . . . a fabulous jumble-sale, full of old treasures and recent acquisitions. Anyone interested in America will find in it something to their fancy.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A lively meditation on American history . . . Schama’s wide-ranging narratives wander between contemporary reportage . . . and fluent, richly literate history.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It is a tribute to Mr. Schama’s talent that he is able to make this work sound exciting, even inspiring. . . . \u003ci\u003eThe American Future\u003c\/i\u003e is a success because Mr. Schama knows how to entwine past and present into a meaningful, continuous whole.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“As a literary endeavor, The American Future does live up to the author’s lofty standards. Schama is, among other things, a nimble biographer...[and] a writer of gorgeous prose.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“His historical narrative is excellent. . . . [Schama] writes beautifully about Americans of the past.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“His specialty is finding interesting midlevel characters from the buried mounds of history and telling their stories. In the first great chunk of the book, he tells the stories of the Meigses...gripping portraits...Simon Schama the outstanding historian still survives.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDavid Brooks, New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Schama is a masterful stylist and storyteller.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe American Future\u003c\/i\u003e is an imaginative work . . . mixing the art of the historian and the craft of the journalist. . . . Mr. Schama’s book is to be savored for its celebration of American resiliency.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“His take on the complicated subject of American religious fervor is particularly nuanced and refreshing . . . he attenuates his prose, using well-chosen historical examples to make subtle and insightful points. . . . The book contains some wonderful moments...The author’s fascination with and affection for the United States shines through, and he provides many engaging insights into the nation’s past and future. Ambitious historical examination of what it means to be an American.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I hope Obama will have this book on his bedside table. A more inspiring evocation of the spirit of liberal America—past, present and future—does not exist.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNiall Ferguson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Schama is a genius of storytelling. . . . A historian who radiates such anticipated pleasure is a rare thing. We are lucky to have him.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“His specialty is finding interesting midlevel characters from the buried mounds of history and telling their stories. In the first great chunk of the book, he tells the stories of the Meigses...gripping portraits...Simon Schama the outstanding historian still survives.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDavid Brooks, New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“With eloquence, wit, passion and irony, \u003ci\u003eThe American Future\u003c\/i\u003e traces the history of an idea: that of our national destiny. . . . Schama’s is a book of beautiful writing, peppered with wisecracks, slashed with rapier thrusts.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889414041829,"sku":"NP9780060539238","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060539238.jpg?v=1730231205","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-american-future-a-history-isbn-9780060539238","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}