The early United States, scholars have noted, was a country in search of nationhood. Created as an ad hoc military alliance of disparate colonies to fight off a shared political… Read more »
Article Topic: book reviews
U.S. nationhood was created nearly from scratch in the 19th century. Was Daniel Webster responsible?
2023 Maine Humanities statewide community read picks — from yours truly this year — announced
The Maine Humanities Council organizes an annual statewide community read program — Read ME — with two titles chosen by a Maine author. It was my honor and privilege to… Read more »
Should we replace the U.S. National Anthem?
Over the July 4th weekend the Washington Post published my review of musicologist Mark Clague’s new book, O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of The Star Spangled Banner, a book… Read more »
Reviewing David Hackett Fisher’s Albion’s Seed sequel in Washington Monthly
More than thirty years ago, Brandeis historian David Hackett Fischer resuscitated the effort to develop a historical narrative of the United States with a book called Albion’s Seed, a sweeping… Read more »
Reviewing Yascha Mounk’s “Great Experiment” in Washington Monthly
The world’s ongoing slide into authoritarianism has generated a frantic effort among political scientists, historians, and national security experts to identify the causes and possible solutions. University of Chicago law… Read more »
Reviewing Matthew Pearl’s “Taking of Jemima Boone” in Washington Monthly
“The frontier” has played a huge role in the American imagination, a place where civilization and savagery supposedly met and the former — with allegedly heroic intent and deeds —… Read more »
Reviewing Alex von Tunzelmann’s “Fallen Idols” in the Washington Post
In Sunday’s Washington Post I reviewed Alex von Tunzelmann’s new book, Fallen Idols: Twelve Statues that Made History. It’s extremely topical, providing historical and comparative context for thinking about the evaluation and potential… Read more »
Reviewing Alan Taylor’s “American Republics” in the Washington Post
In Sunday’s Washington Post I reviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor’s new book, American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850. I’ve been reading Taylor, who was born and… Read more »
Reviewing Eric Posner’s “The Demagogue’s Playbook” in the Washington Post
In today’s Sunday Washington Post, I review University of Chicago Law School professor Eric Posner’s new book on demagogues… Read more »
Maine Sunday Telegram reviews UNION
Thanks to Thomas Urquhart for his review of my new book, Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood, which recognizes the book’s position in an informal… Read more »