American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of presidential elections.
image & summary from goodreads.com
I would have loved history in high school if Mrs. Stickel had used information like this! I enjoy reading books that explain the people and events that shaped the development of our country. I find them extra fascinating when there are clues about how and why our ancestors came here and settled when and where they did.
I would put this book on my required reading list for American history. It would go on the shelf with Cokie Roberts' “Founding Mothers - The Women Who Raised Our Nation.” Roberts points out that the fight for independence involved the whole family, not just the men who usually get the limelight. :)
Woodward mentions “Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America” by David Hackett Fischer. I read that decades ago when a friend mentioned it in a conversation about genealogy.
I enjoyed reading reviews on goodreads.com to see what people had to say about where Woodard got it right and where it didn’t. I can't recommend this as a page turner. But I do recommend it as a good source of information about our development as a country. There's much food for thought about the current state of affairs in this country - and how it came to this point.
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