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The Idea of America

Reflections on the Birth of the United States

Author Gordon S. Wood
Paperback
$19.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
On sale Jun 26, 2012 | 400 Pages | 978-0-14-312124-4
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  • History > Period History: U.S. > American Revolution (1754-1783)
  • History > Period History: U.S. > Early National Period (1783-1832)
  • History > Topical History > History of Political Thought
  • Philosophy > Social and Political Philosophy > Political Philosophy
  • Political Science > American Government and Politics > American Government
  • Political Science > American Government and Politics > Federalism
  • Political Science > Introduction to Political Science > Political Philosophy
  • Political Science > Introduction to Political Science > Political Theory and Thought
  • About
  • Author
The preeminent historian of the Founding Era reflects on the birth of American nationhood and explains why the American Revolution remains so essential.

For Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood, the American Revolution is the most important event in our history, bar none. Since American identity is so fluid, we have had to continually return to our nation’s founding to understand who we are. In a series of illuminating essays, he explores the ideological origins of the Revolution—from Ancient Rome to the European Enlightenment—and the founders’ attempts to forge a democracy. He reflects on the origins of American exceptionalism, the radicalism and failed hopes of the founding generation, and the “terrifying gap” between us and the men who created the democratic state we take for granted. This is a profoundly revealing look at the event that forged the United States and its enduring power to define us. 

 

Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood’s 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2010, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. View titles by Gordon S. Wood

About

The preeminent historian of the Founding Era reflects on the birth of American nationhood and explains why the American Revolution remains so essential.

For Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood, the American Revolution is the most important event in our history, bar none. Since American identity is so fluid, we have had to continually return to our nation’s founding to understand who we are. In a series of illuminating essays, he explores the ideological origins of the Revolution—from Ancient Rome to the European Enlightenment—and the founders’ attempts to forge a democracy. He reflects on the origins of American exceptionalism, the radicalism and failed hopes of the founding generation, and the “terrifying gap” between us and the men who created the democratic state we take for granted. This is a profoundly revealing look at the event that forged the United States and its enduring power to define us. 

 

Author

Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood’s 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2010, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. View titles by Gordon S. Wood

Additional formats

  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-1-101-51514-3
    $10.99 US
    Ebook
    Penguin Books
    May 12, 2011
  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-1-101-52625-5
    $22.50 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    May 12, 2011
  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-1-101-51514-3
    $10.99 US
    Ebook
    Penguin Books
    May 12, 2011
  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-1-101-52625-5
    $22.50 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    May 12, 2011

Other Books by this Author

  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-7352-2473-5
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Oct 23, 2018
  • The Purpose of the Past
    The Purpose of the Past
    Reflections on the Uses of History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311504-5
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jan 27, 2009
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311208-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 29, 2007
  • The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-303528-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 31, 2005
  • The American Revolution
    The American Revolution
    A History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-8129-7041-8
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Modern Library
    Aug 19, 2003
  • The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-679-73688-2
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Mar 02, 1993
  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-7352-2473-5
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Oct 23, 2018
  • The Purpose of the Past
    The Purpose of the Past
    Reflections on the Uses of History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311504-5
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jan 27, 2009
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311208-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 29, 2007
  • The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-303528-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 31, 2005
  • The American Revolution
    The American Revolution
    A History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-8129-7041-8
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Modern Library
    Aug 19, 2003
  • The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-679-73688-2
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Mar 02, 1993
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