The American Future LP - Large Print by Simon Schama (Paperback)

About the Book

"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 A 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."

Book Synopsis

"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

A De Tocqueville for the 21^st 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."

From the Back Cover

The acclaimed historian and award-winning author offers an essential, historical, outsider's perspective on the crucial 2008 presidential election and its importance for reclaiming America's original ideal.

It's not business as usual. Cultural hostilities have divided America in two irreconcilable blocs more completely than at any time since the Civil War. 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 borders, and the global economy all seem to be in question.

In The American Future, historian Simon Schama takes a long look at the multiple crises besetting the United States and asks: How do these problems look in the mirror of time? In four crucial debates (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, The American Future showcases Schama's acclaimed gift for storytelling, ensuring these voices will be heard again.

Review Quotes

"If there's a better living writer of history than Simon Schama, I'd sure like to know who it is." - Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Simon Schama's The American Future is a historical On the Road: 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." - Financial Times
"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." - The Economist
"A lively meditation on American history . . . Schama's wide-ranging narratives wander between contemporary reportage . . . and fluent, richly literate history." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"It is a tribute to Mr. Schama's talent that he is able to make this work sound exciting, even inspiring. . . . The American Future is a success because Mr. Schama knows how to entwine past and present into a meaningful, continuous whole." - New York Times
"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." - Washington Post
"His historical narrative is excellent. . . . [Schama] writes beautifully about Americans of the past." - Miami Herald
"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." - David Brooks, New York Times Book Review
"Schama is a masterful stylist and storyteller." - Boston Globe
"The American Future 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." - Wall Street Journal
"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." - Kirkus Reviews
"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." - Niall Ferguson
"Schama is a genius of storytelling. . . . A historian who radiates such anticipated pleasure is a rare thing. We are lucky to have him." - The Times (London)
"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." - David Brooks, New York Times Book Review
"With eloquence, wit, passion and irony, The American Future 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." - Philadelphia Inquirer