American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Colin Woodard has written an interesting book. His basic thesis is very straightforward: that it is possible to have nations that don't have their own states. Using this thesis, he explores the idea that in North American there are multiple nations spread across north Mexico, the USA, and Canada. Woodard traces the origins of these nations from their founding through the various key historical events, such as the American Revolution, the framing of the Constitution, and the Civil War.Along the way he explains the culture of each nation and discusses how it relates to where the original settlers that constituted each nation came from. Later settlers sought out and settled in areas with a similar background and thus reinforced the original culture. An almost subterranean thread running through the book is an understanding that nations without states aspire, either overtly or instinctively, to become nation states. If there are indeed, as Woodard postulates (and one should note that he is not alone in advancing this idea) multiple stateless nations in North America, then some sort of a redrawing of boundaries is going to take place sooner or later.Woodard admits as much in his epilogue, but is - correctly in my view - unwilling to speculate on how, when or where. If you accept his initial thesis, and I'm inclined to, then Woodard makes a very persuasive case for there being 11 stateless nations, each with its own ideology and culture, spread across the continent of North America.Whether you agree with the idea or not, and many won't, I'm sure you will find in this well written book much food for thought. Recommended.

The current divisiveness of American culture makes so much more sense after reading this book, because it turns out there are not two ideologies in conflict, but 11! This is such a well researched historical investigation. I was completely convinced by the arguments and evidence.

This book geographically divides the USA into regions characterized by the sorts of people who first settled what is now the American nation. The conclusions are insightful, fascinating and make for cannot-put-it-down reading. The first two thirds of the book are an important history lesson not generally taught in schools. The last third of the book is (unfortunately) rather emotionally driven -- re-making points that were already made earlier.One thing the author should have done is better fact checking. While most of the history is factual, there are some glaring errors. For example, the author puts Donegal PA on the Great Wagon Road -- a 115 mile mistake. The Great Wagon Road did not go this far west. Another glaring error is erroneous comparison of the early relationship between the thirteen original states to the relationship of nations in the European Union. The author is way off the mark on this and obviously did not study the way the European Union is set up but just made assumptions.But, the author's overall goal of elucidating the regional characteristics of the USA is well served.

Anyone who thought that the United States was a coherent country with common values should read Woodard's book. It offers British readers in particular a much more nuanced insight into the complex mix of cultures and values assimilated into the boundaries of this state, and also signposts what might have happened instead at different junctures. The arguments are supported by solid references and the book would make not just enjoyable leisure reading but serve as a valuable alternative viewpoint to received wisdom for those studying the history and constitution of America.

This is a totally engrossing account of how the United States was founded. Having previously lived in America, I was easily able to identify as well as understand how the ethno-cultural differences came to be - in fact, I found it a revelation: the United States is anything but united! For anyone who has an interest in America - it's history and its politics - this is an unmissable read and I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Have yet to finish so far really enjoying it. Provides a very detailed and interesting collection of the events that founded America and expresses some great ideas with a lot of sources for information. Would recommend to anyone wanting to learn about the ideals America was founded on.

Well written and enjoyable, explains a lot about the USA to the foreigner. After reading it, I feel like I know the USA better than I know my own town. There are only a few dates, great men or battles, but history is springing out from every page of it.

This is great ride through the effects of European settlement on US politics up to the present - however, it does get increasingly partisan as it approaches recent years. It is hard thereafter to escape the idea that partisanship was present at the beginning, but lack of awareness or visibility of the primary sources prevented noticing it.However, this is a hard recommend and builds upon previous scholarship such as Albion's Seed

Very informative book which explains the USA culture in details.Strongly recommend to read it.

America has been called a melting pot and there are oft-told myths about the Pilgrims and the Revolution that are just that - myths. An in-depth explanation of how the country formed and it’s makeup is highly illuminating. Helps explain at least some of why America behaves as it does today. I strongly recommend to anybody interested in learning about the USA.

This book is 10 years old, yet it is more than relevant for US politics today. The brilliant thesis of the author (which is well supported by storiographic literature in the book) is that US has not been founded on one common culture, but it is a result of different ways of thinking based on those of the founding populations that reached the US coasts at the beginning of its history. These 11 nations have proudly shaped the history of America and still influence politics today. In my opinion this is a fundamental book to understand US historical and political environment. It will be interesting to see how the interests of Yankeedom and Deep South will shape the next presidential election.

Je suis ravi de ma commande. Je recommande Ultimate Treasures FR à tous les clients d'Amazon. Pour 3 raisons: leur choix de livres d'abord, l'exactitude de la description faite de leur état, et l' extrême vélocité et fiabilité des expéditions. Un grand merci à Ultimate Treasures FR.

初期の入植者たちがどこから来てどのように国を作っていったかを理解した。米国入植者たちの生活に興味あり。。。