Being America: Liberty, Commerce, and Violence in an American World

by Jedediah Purdy

Having risen to national attention with his first book, For Common Things , Jedediah Purdy now cements his claim to being one of the most arresting public intellectuals of his generation. In Being America , Purdy turns his erudition and unique perspective to America’s relationship with a world that both admires and hates it.

Purdy has absorbed insights from people around the Westernized Egyptians who consider Osama bin Laden a hero, an urbane Indian who espouses gay rights and the most thuggish kind of Hindu nationalism, Cambodian sweat-shop workers, and others. Out of these conversations—and his inspired readings of political thinkers from Edmund Burke to James Madison—Purdy breathes new meaning into the American values of democracy, liberty, and free trade. Clear-thinking and far-sighted, Being America encourages America to strive to realize the potential it doesn’t always know it has.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology

369 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I learned a lot from this book. It seemed a bit ambitious, and sometimes I had a little trouble seeing the conceptual threads connecting the various topics, but overall it was well-written and obviously well-informed. I particularly liked the descriptions of his conversations with people in other parts of the world about how they saw America. I've been wanting to read some of Purdy's work for a while, and I started with this book because I found it at a book sale last year. FWIW, this book left me wanting to read more of his work.

The bibliographical glossary at the end was an unusual and valuable feature. Purdy gave a capsule summary of the range of definitions of some of the concepts he covered (modernism, liberalism, globalization), explaining where on the continuum his definitions and views fell and suggesting further reading. I wish more authors did this kind of thing.

[Shannon Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good. It was thought-provoking and I agreed with a lot of the author's perspectives on liberty and violence. I wish there had been more stories of people he met traveling abroad - I thought those were the most interest parts, so I liked the beginning of the book better than the end, which seemed less cohesive and more like his rambling on certain topics. Overall I thought the book was uneven but worth reading.

[noisy penguin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a similar message to No Logo. It's really interesting and very well researched, but my one complaint is long sentences. Long sentence after long sentence. Entire paragraphs that last over a page that are all one sentence. My pretty little brain kept getting muddled in the middle of them.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

How does the rest of the world see the USA and how do we see ourselves? And what does that mean for the future? Through interviews and analysis Purdy thoughtfully explores these themes.