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American: Beyond Our Grandest Notions
Matthews, Christopher
267 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Chris Matthews
71 books164 followersChristopher John “Chris” Matthews is widely respected for his in-depth knowledge of politics. Now retired, he was a nightly host, news anchor and political commentator on MSNBC (1997-2020), a Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the newspaper, San Francisco Examiner (1987–2000), a Chief of Staff to long-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill, a Carter era presidential speech writer, and penned a number of bestselling books, to name a small part of his impressive resume. Chris has been married to Kathleen (née Cunningham) since 1980 and they share three children and several grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 16, 2008
This is Chris Matthew's version of a "USA" chant at a hockey game.
January 19, 2013
ISBN 0743240863 - Manufactured in the United States of America (and oh boy was that good to find in this book, of all my recent reads!). I want to love this book because it's about America, a country that I love, and Americans, a people that I... think highly of, in general. But LOVE just isn't happening with this book. I'm in like with it, though.
Chris Matthews lays out a very loving, inspirational and wholly positive view of America and Americans, with "Ten Grand American Notions". These include our love of, and desire to be, "The Reluctant Warrior" and the way we love to cheer for "The Underdog". Using short vignettes about famous figures, both historical and modern, and a little pop culture, by introducing some of America's best loved movies, Matthews makes his case well.
The book is a tough one for me, so I'll rattle off the flaws first. It seems obvious, given the publication date, that this book was sped to press in response to September 11, 1001. While Chris is not, by any means, the only person to rush to put out a "Yay, America!" book after the attacks, I can't help feeling a bit of distaste whenever I come across one, by anyone. In addition, the rush becomes more obvious when you take the time to read, something the editor apparently couldn't manage to do. Typos abound, some of them possibly due to the use of a spellcheck program, which allowed "In short, he was playing for keeps." to become "In shot, he was playing for keeps.", among other stupid, preventable errors. (another, which I found hilarious but I've been told may be "accurate", was regarding the Bush v Gore election, where Matthews asks "So why didn't he [Gore] eat Bush's lunch?" In my neck of the woods, that would be "why didn't he eat Bush for lunch?")
On the positive side, there's nothing here that is partisan. Matthews, generally a conservative Democrat, keeps his modern politics out of it and chooses politically diverse people to represent his "notions". Particularly well written, to my surprise, was the section regarding Bush's coming into his own as a president in the days after the attacks. Tomorrow, Chris will wake up a Democrat, but for the duration of this book, he's just an American who loves his country and loves the history of it, too. The vignettes he chose are not presented as events that shaped America, they're told to flesh out the list of very American notions he offers. This means that some people appear in several chapters, as they personify more than one American character type. George Washington, John McCain, Oprah Winfrey, Rocky Balboa... the list is varied, but they all have things in common, one above all: they're Americans.
Worth perusing for the reminder that, under everything else, we're all Americans and we all love our country. Maybe not worth a spot on the keeper shelf, though.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Chris Matthews lays out a very loving, inspirational and wholly positive view of America and Americans, with "Ten Grand American Notions". These include our love of, and desire to be, "The Reluctant Warrior" and the way we love to cheer for "The Underdog". Using short vignettes about famous figures, both historical and modern, and a little pop culture, by introducing some of America's best loved movies, Matthews makes his case well.
The book is a tough one for me, so I'll rattle off the flaws first. It seems obvious, given the publication date, that this book was sped to press in response to September 11, 1001. While Chris is not, by any means, the only person to rush to put out a "Yay, America!" book after the attacks, I can't help feeling a bit of distaste whenever I come across one, by anyone. In addition, the rush becomes more obvious when you take the time to read, something the editor apparently couldn't manage to do. Typos abound, some of them possibly due to the use of a spellcheck program, which allowed "In short, he was playing for keeps." to become "In shot, he was playing for keeps.", among other stupid, preventable errors. (another, which I found hilarious but I've been told may be "accurate", was regarding the Bush v Gore election, where Matthews asks "So why didn't he [Gore] eat Bush's lunch?" In my neck of the woods, that would be "why didn't he eat Bush for lunch?")
On the positive side, there's nothing here that is partisan. Matthews, generally a conservative Democrat, keeps his modern politics out of it and chooses politically diverse people to represent his "notions". Particularly well written, to my surprise, was the section regarding Bush's coming into his own as a president in the days after the attacks. Tomorrow, Chris will wake up a Democrat, but for the duration of this book, he's just an American who loves his country and loves the history of it, too. The vignettes he chose are not presented as events that shaped America, they're told to flesh out the list of very American notions he offers. This means that some people appear in several chapters, as they personify more than one American character type. George Washington, John McCain, Oprah Winfrey, Rocky Balboa... the list is varied, but they all have things in common, one above all: they're Americans.
Worth perusing for the reminder that, under everything else, we're all Americans and we all love our country. Maybe not worth a spot on the keeper shelf, though.
- AnnaLovesBooks
November 17, 2013
In a world where anti-American rhetoric is sadly becoming the norm, this book is proudly and impartially pro-USA. It explores the idea of what it means to be American, through these tenets;
the self-made man
the constant rebel
the reluctant warrior
Action
The Common Man
the underdog
the lone hero
pioneers
optimism
American exceptionalism
Chris Matthews illustrates these ideals, by weaving together examples from cinema, literature, history, and current events. We get a glimpse of how our history led us to appreciate the things we value, and how we are still much the same as our ancestors.
In the 21st century, I've noticed a groundswell of anti-Americanism among Americans! This book has received criticism because it doesn't acknowledge all that's wrong with the country. But I have never understood the perpetual cynicism and pessimism that is embraced by many modern-day people. "Intellectuals" relish the opportunity to tell us what's wrong with the country, and with gleeful smugness, they tell us ad nauseum how "bad" we are for things we've done in the past. But while there is a time and place for a country to learn from its mistakes, there is an equal time and place for that country to move forward! This book is a reminder that there is greatness among us, and more to be had, if we are willing to make it so.
the self-made man
the constant rebel
the reluctant warrior
Action
The Common Man
the underdog
the lone hero
pioneers
optimism
American exceptionalism
Chris Matthews illustrates these ideals, by weaving together examples from cinema, literature, history, and current events. We get a glimpse of how our history led us to appreciate the things we value, and how we are still much the same as our ancestors.
In the 21st century, I've noticed a groundswell of anti-Americanism among Americans! This book has received criticism because it doesn't acknowledge all that's wrong with the country. But I have never understood the perpetual cynicism and pessimism that is embraced by many modern-day people. "Intellectuals" relish the opportunity to tell us what's wrong with the country, and with gleeful smugness, they tell us ad nauseum how "bad" we are for things we've done in the past. But while there is a time and place for a country to learn from its mistakes, there is an equal time and place for that country to move forward! This book is a reminder that there is greatness among us, and more to be had, if we are willing to make it so.
August 31, 2008
Perhaps I should explain why I even chose this book in the first place: Chris Matthews is a fellow Holy Cross grad and I bought a signed copy of the book at an alumni event several years ago. As I unpack my stuff in my new apt, I came across it again and thought maybe I should actually read it.
Well, I didn't--couldn't--finish it. He completely and ridiculously promotes the American Dream while failing to even remotely acknowledge any barriers or even failures that some people (in my opinion, most people) have when trying to achieve it. As a social scientist, this does not jive with me.
If that weren't enough, he also gives props to John McCain. Now, the book was written pre-George W. Bush-cloning, but still, I really don't want to hear that sh*t right now. Go Obama.
Here is another, kinder review from another goodreads person that I enjoyed and am pasting into my own: "This is Chris Matthew's version of a "USA" chant at a hockey game."
I don't do those kinds of chants, so this wasn't a good fit for me.
Well, I didn't--couldn't--finish it. He completely and ridiculously promotes the American Dream while failing to even remotely acknowledge any barriers or even failures that some people (in my opinion, most people) have when trying to achieve it. As a social scientist, this does not jive with me.
If that weren't enough, he also gives props to John McCain. Now, the book was written pre-George W. Bush-cloning, but still, I really don't want to hear that sh*t right now. Go Obama.
Here is another, kinder review from another goodreads person that I enjoyed and am pasting into my own: "This is Chris Matthew's version of a "USA" chant at a hockey game."
I don't do those kinds of chants, so this wasn't a good fit for me.
January 5, 2014
A surprising read in many ways. I have always viewed Chris Matthews as a hard left kind of guy, but in this book he seems to take the position of a classic liberals interpretation of american history. Throughout the book he covers major american personalities from sports to politics. It was an interesting read, that changed my view of Mr. Matthews politics slightly. Being mostly of a conservative bent myself I could hardly agree completely with his politics, but it showed me that he isn't completely hard left.
May 18, 2009
Chris Mathews is at the other philosophical spectrum from my perspective so I begin this read with some reluctance...I do so at the urging of a niece who is 3 "goose-steps" to the right of me...if she liked it then maybe I will...very similar in tone with Bill Bennett's "Vitues" series...I like the interspersing of cinema and literature to emphasize common cultural cohesive connedctions that make us American...maybe Mathews isn't as much of a "cultural relativist" as he appears?
May 2, 2012
I am going to give this listen, mainly because the pickings are getting slim in the non-fiction audiobook section in the public library.
January 13, 2016
American by Chris Matthews was a good read. He really has a love for America.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews