What is America?: A Short History of the New World Order

by Ronald Wright

In the six years since 9/11, as the bush regime has squandered domestic solidarity and international goodwill, many of the archetypes and ideals with which we’ve traditionally framed the American enterprise now seem endangered, even hollow. This raises the question, has America ever been what it thinks it is? What Is America? goes to the heart of that inquiry. Ranging with dazzling expertise through anthropology, history, and literature, Wright reconfigures our self-perception, arguing that the “essence” of America can be traced to the foundations of our history-literally to the collision of worlds that began in 1492, as one civilization subsumed another-and exploring how these currents continue to shape our world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Environment, Canada, American

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2008

About the author

Ronald Wright is a Canadian author who has written books of travel, history and fiction. His nonfiction includes the bestseller Stolen Continents, winner of the Gordon Montador Award and chosen as a book of the year by the Independent and the Sunday Times. His first novel, A Scientific Romance, won the 1997 David Higham Prize for Fiction and was chosen a book of the year by the Globe and Mail, the Sunday Times, and the New York Times.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this brilliant, insightful, revealing study British-born novelist, historian and essayist Ronald Wright (who participated in the 2004 CBC Massey Lectures series with A Short History of Progress) explains "how America is more truly American than we know: a uniquely vigorous and rapacious organism arising from the conquest that began with Columbus and begot the modern age ... Although the United States regards itself as the most advanced country on Earth, Ronald Wright reveals how it is also deeply archaic: a stronghold of religious extremism, militarism, and so-called modern beliefs - in limitless growth, endless progress, unfettered capitalism, and a universal mission - that have fallen under suspicion elsewhere, following two World Wars and the reckless looting of our planet." (from the blurb)

I don't want you to think, first of all, that this is an America-bashing book. It's not. What it is is a comprehensive history not just of the formation of modern America (as in, Columbus and afterwards) but of what came before Columbus, as well as the horrendous acts of the Spanish Empire on South America and southern United States; the effect of religions, nations (cultures and attitudes) and the importance of the frontier experience on the creation of the new American people (as separate from the British); the true state of affairs regarding the first Americans (natives, Indians, indigenous peoples - whichever word you want to use); and draws very important connections between history and the current situation.

Wright gives an incredibly readable, accessible and informative overview of American history, both political, religious and cultural, and what this means for everyone else. It is so readable and so well written and researched that almost every second sentence is quotable.

The premise of the book is a response to how America, since 2000 and 2001 in particular, has "squandered solidarity at home and goodwill abroad, provoking a re-examination of the nation's essence: Is America what it thinks it is? Is America what the world has long believed it to be?" (p11) Wright continues: "I hold that the recent difficulties run much deeper than a stolen election and an overreaction to a terrorist assault. The political culture and identity crisis of the United States are best understood as products of the country's past - the real past, not the imaginary one of national myth."

Wright continues:

The new republic was ... a bold and worthy experiment, an attempt to remake western civilization along utopian ideals of freedom, democracy and opportunity - "the world's best hope" as Thomas Jefferson, its third president, famously said. But the practice of those ideals relied on a unique historical circumstance: the opening up of a new territory, with new means, in which to try them. Seen from inside by free citizens, the young United States was indeed a thriving democracy in a land of plenty; seen from below by slaves, it was a cruel tyranny; and seen from outside by free Indians, it was a ruthlessly expanding empire. All these stories are true, but if we know only one without the others, what we know is not history by myth. And such myths are dangerous. (p13)

There is so much precedent in US history (there is everywhere - but the book is about the US), and in world affairs, and Wright adeptly draws in the present while discussing the past, to highlight those connections. Wright discusses treaties and ideologies, the creation and transformation of religions, manifest destiny and the Industrial Revolution, slavery and civil war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism. In all of it, you can see the past working in the present and the present a fateful result of the past.

One of the most shocking, for me, revelations concerns the original Americans: the Iroquois and Cherokee and Creek and Mohawks and so on. I have never studied American history, and have only touched on the creation of British-America through studying European history, so my pitiful knowledge comes mainly from the very myths put out by the US entertainment industry and general propaganda. I had no idea that the first Americans (as Wright says they should be called - I'm adding the adjective "first" in order to distinguish them from the new), had built villages and towns and temples, and had a democratic system of government (which Benjamin Franklin tried to have adopted by white America), as well as an extensive agricultural knowledge and farming ability, complete with elaborate irrigation systems that the white invaders merely took over.

In fact, Wright quotes from many documents that show quite clearly that the invaders preferred to simply remove the Indians and take over their homes and farms, wherever they possibly could, rather than strike out on their own. Also, that the early settlers were all starving and stealing from the Indians, because they didn't know how to grow the food native to the area: potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, and cassava. The Indians gave them food, taught them how to grow it and bless the land in the ceremony of Thanksgiving (since converted into blessing God), and helped them in many other ways. Over several centuries, every treaty that the whites made with the Indians, the whites broke.

Two groups of ancient peoples stand out: the Iroquois Five Nations, or the Iroquois Confederacy; and the Five Civilized Tribes. The Iroquois Five Nations used a democratic system of government which the whites loosely adopted, as well as the eagle for their emblem - which the whites took too. "The Five (later Six) Nations Confederacy may well have been the oldest and most structured democracy in North America. ... In later years its workings would make a deep impression on Marx, Engels and Victorian feminists." (p98) Benjamin Franklin "promoted the Iroquois model at the Albany Congress of 1754 ... [but:] the scheme was thrown out by their assemblies and the British government." (p99)

The Five Civilized Tribes played the white's game better than they could: in their territory, the Cherokees had better literacy and education than amongst the white communities, their own newspaper, investments in industry and livestock, and a thriving, prosperous population. They were recognised, in the 1770s, as having "the refinements of true civilization, which cannot, in the least degree be attributed to the good examples of the white people" (p113) and "the Indians' genial character, orderly towns, lack of domestic violence and strict laws against alcohol" were also noted. Wright adds: "The leap to civilization was therefore not nearly as fundamental a change as most whites imagined: it was more like adding a new storey in European style to an existing structure." But Georgia wanted the land, and despite a Supreme Court verdict that it was against the constitution to evict the Cherokees from their land, President Jackson went ahead with his Indian Removal plan anyway.

The deep irony - that the whites came with civilisation and were better people with a higher moral ground - is never clearer than in the complete sham that was the rhetoric of the day - and continues to be used. It was a political shift to change the Indians from settled people with government, religion and agriculture into nomadic savages (the word "savage" comes from the Latin word for "woodland dweller", now bastardised - similar to how "barbarian" simply means "foreigner" - it's all in the context), and is directly linked to the expansionist etc. mentality that persists to this day. Also highlighted is how often the early white Americans talked about "selfishness", as a good thing, but something the Indians lacked.

That's just a small portion of what Wright covers in this book regarding the first Americans. Wright also discusses economics, and the change from Keynes' economics, which helped the world recover after the Great Wars (and which most countries still employ today) to Milton Friedman's model, which the US adopted after the Vietnam war, of letting the stock market run the world. "Predictably, the slashing of regulation brought fraud, speculation and crisis." (p203)

Also interesting is Wright's persistence in using the word "terrorism" to describe past events, such as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which "started" the First World War (an infamous overreaction that he likens to the "war on terror") - it's interesting how words are, by necessity or propaganda, re-appropriated by governments, the media, historians etc. for various reasons: here, with "terrorism", Wright is determined to show that this isn't a new thing, that the US has its own fair share of terrorism and terrorists, that it's not restricted to hardline fundamentalists from countries suffering from decades of US interference. (I also found it fascinating how Wright shows that America must always have someone to fight, that they have never gone without conflict. I never noticed before but look at a timeline: it's right in front of you!) This word wasn't used, before, in describing historical events, but now, in the search for context and perspective, it needs to be. Just shows that we are living in history.

It does answer the question "What is America?" It offers some hard truths to swallow, and some refreshing insight into the cloud of myth, and all in just 226 pages (just under half the book consists of notes, an extensive bibliography and the index). Published just prior to the outcome of the Democratic leadership race, it's highly current and relevant, as well as sympathetic and - important in this day and age - calm. There's a lot that isn't covered, of course, and plenty that Wright assumes some former knowledge of. This isn't a history text, though it does deal with history. It's a must-read for everyone, Americans included, especially as we try to understand the world we live in and where the hell it's going.

[Hedeieh1012 · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a good book! i think everyone needs to read this book!! FUCK AMERICA

[Banafsheh Serov · Rating 2 out of 5]

How did America, transform from a frontier country to the lone super power in just over two centuries? How do America’s claims to be the most modern and democratic country in the world, stand up to scrutiny whilst Middle America – The Backwoods America – remains the stronghold for the religious right?

In ‘What is America’, Wright traces the origins of America back to its original Indigenous Americans – the great Aztec and Incas civilizations. Wright explains that these empires were not conquered by the Spaniards until the small pox. In future years, the small pox and other white man’s diseases were deliberately reintroduced whenever they were faced with strong indigenous opposition.In one generation, the American Indian’s population was reduced to just a tenth of its size, mainly through white man’s diseases.

In the first century of their settlement, the white leaders made 370 treaties with the Indians and proceeded to break them all. Aside from breaking all their promises, the white settlers continued to enslave, massacre and drive the indigenous population off their lands. The settlers justified their actions by demonizing the Indians, calling them savages and condemning their beliefs as devil worshipping. It’s interesting to note, echoes of such tactics are still evident in the current US “War on Terror”. Sadly, as Wright notes, such methods give “all repressive regimes of both right and left an excuse for their own atrocities.”What is America is a captivating read about the colonial culture of America and its influence on how America is perceived in the eyes of the world. My one criticism is that I found the book far too brief (There are only 9 chapters and the last third of the book is taken up with notes). I would have liked to have read a more in depth commentary on the state of America during the past century – and its influence on the rest of the world- than what Wright offered.

An enjoyable read but unfortunately the length of the book left me unsatisfied.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. The author's thesis is that the world today is a culmination of attitudes that are a result of the conquest of the Americas 500 years ago, that the 'goldrush' mentality has shaped history since then, but is on the verge of destroying it now.
There isn't much in here that is new. Wright makes the point himself that other writers (Marx among them)have set out all of the major points. The value of the book is the way that they have been assembled and the perspective that he brings to them. He makes the point that current actions by American politicians and armies have happened so repeatedly in the past that they aren't so much odd aberrations as standard operating procedure.
Excellent sections on the attitudes that have driven the expansion of America and the contradictions in Americans' self-image.

[Courtney MA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re-read this. I’d be interested in an updated version that takes Trump into account and the lessens learned (or not) since 2008. Great read if you have trouble understanding the American mindset - also, Ronald Wright is an excellent historian whose other work is worth a read!

[Kym Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not so much a book as it is a collection of essays. Perhaps one essay that meanders across American-US history, skipping swathes of it only to delve with little detail into periods. The author dribbles with prose that tastes a little like Vidal or Zinn but it does not have the sustenance of either man. Instead we get a book that is in many aspects a contrarian view of text book US history. That in itself is not exceptional.
This book is not an exceptional book. It was written in 2008 just before the election of President Obama so it is infected with much of the anti Bush writings that filled the pages of the era in US political writing. That moment when suddenly the US ‘left’ had an anti-war voice, only to quiver into silence once President Obama’s noble peace prize drowned in foreign blood as his kill list grew and thousands died beneath his regime.
That is the trouble with this book, it squirms through history with a partisan voice. Republicans bad and democrats mostly good, what ills the democrats did paled in comparison that sort of blandness. Men like Roosevelt (both of them) and Wilson are heralded for being visionaries, because of some speeches and words they said, not because of the conduct that was committed beneath their executive command.
The book drools with academic pretention and intellectual leftism, the sort of champagne and caviar conversation that wafts among educated elites as they cite human misery and injustice as a talking point. As another paper for them to produce or as another talking point to raise inside their classroom where their tenure protects them as they with limp wrists wave through the motions of dissent. These voices are the status quo that they claim to oppose. With every condemnation of imperialism and war lurks just another yearning to steal and grab at others lives and possessions beneath the cloud of benevolence.
Perhaps this is an unkind call of Ronald Wright as a man, I do not know much about him. His book however for a non American reader was just lacking spine. It lacked moral consistency and seemed just like another one side of the same road journey through history. It does not matter what lane you drive on, Republican, Whig, Democrat, Bull Moose, etc the empire, the slavery, all of it still occurs. That is the answer to his question, What is America?

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting view on how Europeans encountered the Americas and assumed its great wealth. It then focuses on the evolution of the United States, originally the colonists fighting against the native Americans, then founding a country based on greed, religious fervour, and lack of trust for authority. Populated by rebellious religious groups and prisoners. Based on the greed for land and wealth permitted by the self deception that "god was on their side" they expanded, appropriated land while their diseases killed off the local farmers. Ronald Wright chronicles this rapaciousness with the deceptions people told themselves to allow themselves to steal, pillage and rape their way across the continent. The fuel of greed, fervour and distrust continues today setting the United States apart from other countries in many ways. Despite its rich and cultured elite, it is still under the "backwoods" mentality that wants more, believes the strangest things and distrusts its institutions as well as strangers. Fear is a great motivator.
This book was written before the 2008 US election. Wright writes that the conditions are ripe for "a crook or incompetent to mature by the glow of nostalgia into a statesman" - an uncanny prediction of Donald Trump. From the beginning the US was all about the money, so it is no surprise that the model of democracy run by the economy, not citizens has been consistent. In the corporation known as the US, there are preferred shareholders, common shareholders and those with no shares. There is a constant battle of these groups to determine who gets what. Private armies, private prisons and private healthcare common. The US commitment to military (which includes policing) is a form of socialism that supports the economy, therefore needs enemies, expansion and wars. The US has been at war with someone virtually all of its existence. All of this is contrary to the mythology spun out by the country. As Mr. Wright points out, the US is far from a peaceful land of opportunity and filled with dissonant claims - all men created equal is only a start.
I was hoping for more on the rest of the Americas as a comparison to the US. Wright does refer to how the US has destabilized other American countries (Guatemala being the worst case) for commercial purposes. The development of other countries has been diverse in the Americas with few recognizing the contribution of the original Americans who have been defamed as much as possible to permit European appropriation.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I felt a certain unease about a Canadian writing such an intimate and ultimately scathing review of America’s evolution. It seemed to fall too close to “other people” (metaphorically, of course, because this isn’t the case at all ) pointing out that my family is crazy. It’s true, it’s obvious, but it’s only okay for me to say it. The book does not however, prompt the quiet smugness inherent in Canadian conversations about US foreign policy. Wright knows all too well that he is the pot calling the kettle black, and asks that we all reflect on our shared history as New World pilgrims.
As Wright clearly illustrates, it is fascinating to think about how in just two short centuries, America went from being a second choice, frontier colony to the only remaining Superpower. Of course, the book examines the relationship between America and Great Britain, but it is Wright’s handling of the history of settlement and the First Nation population that resonates with me. At times I would get so angry at the injustices that Wright outlines, that I would need to physically shut the book, and even remove myself from the room where I was reading, in order to regain enough composure to continue reading. But read on I did. I was a captive and captivated audience, eating up the 300+ pages in a little more than three days (including composure breaks).

You’ll like this book if you like: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond; A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright; 1491: New Revelations Of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann; reading.

You should read this book if you: have an interest in First Nation history, the evolution of religion and/or the settlement of the New World; live in North America; can read.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely sober read. Recommended in a post-Trump-election world. Anyone who had any delusions of America's rise to prominence being somehow due to its core values should understand America's true core values. Puritans committed bloodthirsty genocide. Trump would be hard-pressed to be more despicable and corrupt than Andrew Jackson. Anyone who objects to WMDs and terrorism should understand the true extent of hundreds of years of genocide. I thought that the smallpox-laden blankets were some miscreants' sad individual ideas, not that they were policy by the government and sanctioned by religious leaders. 9/11 was nothing new in concept, just larger in scope. And we respond by invading... Iraq, which had nothing to do with it, because THAT'S WHAT WE ALWAYS DO, we justify an invasion of a place our leaders want to invade, be it Cherokee country, Singapore, Cuba, Iraq, ... Either the American public is just that gullible, or they do actually choose leaders who continue to make exactly the same decisions and mistakes year after year.

[Patrik Sampler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book -- even more than A Brief History of Progress. It's interesting that the trends that Wright identifies here have intensified under the current US President, and I look forward to a follow-up on that topic.

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosa è l'America?: Una breve storia del Nuovo Ordine Mondiale è un libro scritto da Ronald Wright che offre un esame critico della storia e dello stato attuale degli Stati Uniti. Il libro fornisce una panoramica breve ma completa di come l'America sia evoluta in una superpotenza globale e delle implicazioni della sua posizione dominante nel mondo.

Secondo la descrizione del libro, si tratta di una lettura "sorprendente, spaventosa ed essenziale" che proviene dall'acclamato e bestseller autore di "Una breve storia del progresso". Il libro mira a fare luce sul "Nuovo Ordine Mondiale" emerso con l'ascesa al potere dell'America e l'impatto che ha avuto sul resto del mondo.

Il libro ha ricevuto recensioni positive, con un punteggio di 4,6 su 5 stelle su Amazon.it e feedback positivi su altre piattaforme come Goodreads e AbeBooks. I lettori sembrano apprezzare l'analisi perspicace e stimolante dell'autore sul ruolo dell'America nel plasmare il panorama globale moderno.

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Ecco un estratto del testo della Dichiarazione di Indipendenza degli Stati Uniti del 4 luglio 1776:

"Quando, nel corso degli umani eventi, diviene necessario per un popolo spezzare i legami politici che lo hanno unito ad un altro, ed assumere, fra le potenze della terra, la posizione distinta e paritaria a cui le leggi della Natura e di Dio gli danno diritto, il giusto rispetto dovuto alle opinioni dell'umanità esige che esso dichiari le ragioni che lo costringono a separarsi.

Consideriamo verità evidenti per sé stesse che tutti gli uomini sono creati uguali; che sono stati dotati dal loro Creatore di taluni diritti inalienabili; che, fra questi diritti, vi sono la vita, la libertà e il perseguimento del benessere. Che per garantire questi diritti, vengono istituiti fra gli uomini dei governi che derivano dal consenso dei governati il loro giusto potere. Che ogni qualvolta una forma di governo diviene antagonistica al conseguimento di questi scopi, il popolo ha diritto di modificarla e abolirla, e di creare un governo nuovo, ponendo a base di esso quei principi, e regolando i poteri di esso in quelle forme che offrono la maggiore probabilità di condurre alla sicurezza ed alla felicità del popolo medesimo."

Questa dichiarazione solenne afferma i principi fondamentali di libertà, uguaglianza e diritto all'autodeterminazione che hanno ispirato la rivoluzione americana e la fondazione degli Stati Uniti come nazione indipendente.

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L'America oggi svolge ancora un ruolo chiave nello scenario geopolitico globale, nonostante alcune sfide e incertezze:

Gli Stati Uniti mantengono sfere di potenza in cui confermano una netta superiorità di risorse sia per qualità che per quantità, anche se la crescita di nuove potenze regionali e l'andamento negativo dell'economia americana negli ultimi anni hanno alimentato dibattiti sul suo possibile declino.

Il "pivot verso il Pacifico" rappresenta la strategia americana per rafforzare il proprio ruolo e peso nella regione dell'Asia-Pacifico, attraverso maggiori investimenti diplomatici, economici e militari.

Nella guerra in Ucraina, gli USA sembrano avere una prospettiva più ampia rispetto all'Europa, essendo consapevoli che la vera minaccia strategica a lungo termine non è la Russia, ma la Cina. Per questo motivo, stanno cercando di evitare che il conflitto diventi una "diversione strategica" che li obblighi a sprecare risorse in una battaglia non prioritaria.

Tuttavia, la mancanza di un consenso bipartisan interno indebolisce l'America nel mondo, in una fase in cui difendere il suo ruolo globale sarebbe cruciale. Alcuni esperti ritengono che la strategia del primato mondiale degli USA sia fallita, obbligandoli a ridurre la loro proiezione geopolitica globale a causa di sovraestensione e malcontento popolare.

Nonostante rimanga la superpotenza dominante, l'America sta affrontando sfide interne ed esterne che ne mettono in discussione il ruolo di guida globale, spingendola a rivedere le sue priorità strategiche, come dimostrato dal suo approccio alla guerra in Ucraina.

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Ecco la situazione negli Stati Uniti nel giorno della ricorrenza dell'Independence Day 2024:

Il presidente Joe Biden starebbe valutando se continuare o meno la sua corsa per la rielezione. Ciò arriva in un contesto di incertezza politica, con un sondaggio che mostra che circa un terzo dei democratici ritiene che Biden dovrebbe ritirarsi.

Nonostante le incertezze politiche, i mercati azionari statunitensi hanno chiuso la giornata con variazioni minime, con il Nasdaq che ha raggiunto un nuovo massimo storico. Questo suggerisce una certa stabilità economica nel Paese.

Inoltre, la Coppa America di calcio è in corso, con la Colombia che ha pareggiato 1-1 contro il Brasile nell'ultima giornata della fase a gironi. Ciò dimostra che gli americani, oltre alle questioni politiche ed economiche, continuano a seguire e partecipare agli eventi sportivi internazionali.

Il giorno dell'Independence Day 2024 vede gli Stati Uniti affrontare incertezze politiche, ma con una relativa stabilità economica e un interesse persistente per lo sport a livello internazionale.

[Voyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast and easy access to FACTS:
This is a devastating, crushing, sour, undeniable and sarcastic criticism of human race using example of conquest, colonization, wars and genocides that happened in South and North Americas.
I gobbled it down in two sessions. Truly embarrassing and depressing. Shame on you, long time gone Britons and Spaniards particularly, though author emphasizes that any nation, tribe or society is capable and willing to behave the same way when given a chance. Highly recommended - read it first, then go for "The Shock Doctrine" by Noami Klein and "Collapse" by Jared Diamond.

[♠️Mateusz♣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great position for a not-so-mainstream start to a deeper dive into the history of how the New World became the United States.

Wright, using numerous unpopular historic examples shows how the Europeans outcasts gave birth to the modern contradiction-ridden star-spangled America, which although calling itself the Land of Freedom wears the cloak of the first-ever worldwide empire.

A worthwhile lecture painting a mosaic of events, politics, and thoughts on the American soil between XV and early XXI century is surely a recommended position for anyone who looks for something else than Manifest Destiny-copy paste of popular accounts of the history of the biggest democracy of our age.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the truths expressed in the Declaration of Independence, history’s lessons are self-evident - if we engage with the subject. Wright’s tight narrative makes a convincing case: ignoring (or worse, glamorizing) America’s past will not lead to a more secure future - for America or for the billions of others with whom we share the planet.

[Richard Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue......... Along with this little ditty we were given a narrative for the "founding" of the America's that has little to do with reality. Ronald Wright spends his time revealing the history of the America's, the impact of the European invasion and how the wealth discovered in the America's has created an empire culture in our neighbours to the South. And to be sure Canada does not escape as the good guy in all this. What we benefit from the most is not our virtue, but the historical circumstance that has left us as something less than Empire.

It's not a pretty picture, but at least it's not based on myth, but rather on solid historical research which Wright gives in over 120pp of Notes and Bibliography. He describes a nation born of a brutal expansionist policy which continues to this day. But now the western expansion is over, everything has been conquered and the Empire is left with nowhere to go. Wright sees this historical outcome as leading to the downward trend in the strength and influence of the American Empire and thus the subtitle: A Short History of the New World Order.

If you enjoy reading history and then how history might shape our world in the future, you'll appreciate Wright's work.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 'What is America?' Ronald Wright (one of the most under-rated contemporary non-fiction authors around IMHO) traces the development of what we now call 'America'. What sets Wright apart is his linking America's violent colonial past with its imperialistic present. Ronald Wright's view can be summed up in the adage, 'those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it'. Kind of like his other book, 'A short history of Progress' but specially tailored to the U.S.

And unlike many other non-fiction writers, Ronald Wright knows how to keep his prose pithy and punchy, without getting bogged down in details (*cough, cough, Jared Diamond!, cough, cough*). Wright intends to give his reader a sweeping overview of American history, and he does it beautifully.

I only wish Wright has chosen to use footnotes instead of endnotes. Almost a third of 'What is America?' is taken up with references and additional information, and it would be so much more convenient to look to the bottom of the page than continually flip to the back of the book.

[H Wesselius · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good but not great book. His concept of a Colombian Age for the Europeans based on the influx of New World wealth and resources is well founded. Adopting the frontier thesis uncritically he posits a Roman type American Empire until the post WWII era from whence American foreign policy shifted to an Aztec type client states empire. The more interesting writing centered on his tracing of Puritan type thought and missionary zeal from the Plymouth to Jackson to McCarthy to Bush. In opposition he sees the intellectual class and those who remained on the coast absorbing the moderating influence of 1688 as opposed to the radicalism of 1648-9 (in English history). A small irritant was the uncritical acceptance of explorer’s tales — he doesn’t entertain the possibility that the explorer’s were exaggerating to impress their bosses in Europe.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This follow on from A Short History on Progress focuses specifically on the Americas in general, more so than solely the USA. It analyzes the history of those on the periphery of both American expansionism and the Columbian exchange, from the perspective of workers, indigenous peoples and immigrants. Not as unique as A Short History of Progressive (this book shares a similar approach and subject matter to much of Howard Zinn's work), it is still an entertaining read which doesn't seek to praise or condemn any group, but instead come to an understanding of the collective experience. One quote from the book best summarizes the approach Wright adopt's here; "Neither indigenous nor European had a monopoly on virtue or violence."

[Marius Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent brief history, from an often not examined perspective, of the principles, patterns and attitudes that drive the world's dominant superpower. From this well written and concise examination it becomes clear that if we are to understand the direction that the world is going as America increasingly directs it, we need to understand the history that has brought us to our current situation. The world, and indeed American's themselves, would do well to become more aware of these ideas illuminated by Ronald Wright, as they are likely to play a very heavy role in determining the future of large numbers of people on this planet.

[Brian Ayres · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-defended, brief history of the Columbian Age in human history. Granted Wright argues from a progressive point of view, what I like most about his book is the bibliography. He uses books from a wide-range of fiction and non-fiction authors throughout the 20th century.

In the echo chamber of partisan politics, what are commonly used for citations are news articles and web sites. Books have permanence and more authority in my opinion.

The only negative of this book's structure is that too little time is spent on today's struggles. Also, I wish Wright would make the notes in the back as footnotes.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great at showing all of the hypocrisies, misdeeds, and paranoia of the United States. What he does do well is show how all of these negative traits have been with us all along, as part of our national psyche, and recent manifestations such as the War on Terror are not coming out of left-field.
He does this in a very interesting and insightful way, making striking juxtapositions and connections across time.
On the other hand, as to the title's question, Wright only provides half the answer. In leaving out all of the good things that America has brought into the world I don't feel that he is doing
the country justice. Maybe a better title would have been "What's wrong with America?"

[Amber Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book out of a sense of curiosity and a love for some of Wright's previous work. (I read 'A Short History of Progress' in a first year history class).

I found it to be just what I was looking for - the answer to a lot of questions I had about the attitudes of 'backwoods america' and why those attitudes exist, a more thorough history on what happened (and is continuing to happen) to the natives, and a look at the gratuitous war-making of the nation over history.

Highly recommended, well timed, incredibly well-researched and fascinating.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read this one, but it had a profound effect upon me. It has influenced much of the way I've been looking on the ever-lengthening 21st century, and on the way I've been consuming past centuries...especially when I'm considering history lecture materials for my senior classes. This is one of the easiest-to-read politico-historical-philosophical epics you are every likely to read.

[Pip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ronald Wright is a great story teller and ranges from North to South America in this synopsis of American history. He focuses on the stories rather than the facts, although the book is very well researched. He is a philosopher rather than a historian, and while he can be a tad didactic and anti the modern USA, his story telling makes the pages sing.

[Gabriel Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A politically charged work of advocacy-history, Ronald Wright splices together select, but telling, patches of America's past, darkly foreshadowing the imperialist ideology of Bush-era U.S.A. Less a history than a political lens, "What is America?", despite its occasionally conspiratorial overlay, is able to remain buoyantly playful. Persuasive, insightful and pertinent.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. I learned a lot about American historical growth within their frontier along with a better understanding of the origins of Mormons. Ronald Wright makes some compelling arguments about some of the United States' larger challenges and he is an obvious supporter of the Democrats vice the Republicans. I definitely enjoyed the book.

[Rdurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. The true history of the United States. The only short-coming for me is that in the conclusion he blames everything on the Republicans. The George W Bush regime was especially appalling, but credit where credit is due: the Democrats initiated Vietnam, dropped the atomic bombs, etc. That aside, it was very revealing and thought-provoking.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puts America's modern imperialism into context, arguing that conquest has been the foundation of America in the Columbian Age. Only to our detriment do we "opt for the fast food of the national myth instead of the sobering nourishment of history."

[Paddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history elements are good; the drawing of connections to modern Republican adminstations are not. Even if they are true, these criticisms are presented here in boilerplate fashion and seem more about making political commentary than drawing bona fide links to history.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can get past the accounts of all the Indian wars (extremely depressing reading), this provides some interesting theories on why the US does what it does, particularly in relation to foreign policy. A short read, but well worth it.