American Future, The: A History - Softcover

"His specialty is finding interesting midlevel characters from the buried mounds of history and telling their stories. In the first great chunk of the book, he tells the stories of the Meigses...gripping portraits...Simon Schama the outstanding historian still survives."--David Brooks, New York Times Book Review

"Schama is a genius of storytelling. . . . A historian who radiates such anticipated pleasure is a rare thing. We are lucky to have him."--The Times (London)

"Schama is a masterful stylist and storyteller."--Boston Globe

"As a literary endeavor, The American Future does live up to the author's lofty standards. Schama is, among other things, a nimble biographer...[and] a writer of gorgeous prose."--Washington Post

"I hope Obama will have this book on his bedside table. A more inspiring evocation of the spirit of liberal America--past, present and future--does not exist."--Niall Ferguson

"It has its own particular charm . . . a fabulous jumble-sale, full of old treasures and recent acquisitions. Anyone interested in America will find in it something to their fancy."--The Economist

"His historical narrative is excellent. . . . [Schama] writes beautifully about Americans of the past."--Miami Herald

"It is a tribute to Mr. Schama's talent that he is able to make this work sound exciting, even inspiring. . . . The American Future is a success because Mr. Schama knows how to entwine past and present into a meaningful, continuous whole."--New York Times

"With eloquence, wit, passion and irony, The American Future traces the history of an idea: that of our national destiny. . . . Schama's is a book of beautiful writing, peppered with wisecracks, slashed with rapier thrusts."--Philadelphia Inquirer

"A lively meditation on American history . . . Schama's wide-ranging narratives wander between contemporary reportage . . . and fluent, richly literate history."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A Columbia professor and cultural essayist's historical assessment of the landmark U.S. 2008 presidential election also evaluates current issues facing the nation and how the election may enable a reclamation of American ideals. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.