Title The real American dream : a meditation on hope / Andrew Delbanco

Published Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, ©1999

Click on the following:
ProQuest Ebook Central

Copies

Description 1 online resource (viii, 143 pages) Series The William E. Massey, Sr. lectures in the history of American civilization ; 1998 William E. Massey, Sr. lectures in the history of American civilization ; 1998 Contents ch. 1. God -- ch. 2. Nation -- ch. 3. Self Summary Since we discovered that, in Tocqueville's words, "the incomplete joys of this world will never satisfy the heart," how have we Americans made do? In The Real American Dream one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope. Andrew Delbanco tells of the stringent God of Protestant Christianity, who exerted immense force over the language, institutions, and customs of the culture for nearly 200 years. He describes the falling away of this God and the rise of the idea of a sacred nation-state. And, finally, he speaks of our own moment, when symbols of nationalism are in decline, leaving us with nothing to satisfy the longing for transcendence once sustained by God and nation. From the Christian story that expressed the earliest Puritan yearnings to New Age spirituality, apocalyptic environmentalism, and the multicultural search for ancestral roots that divert our own, The Real American Dream evokes the tidal rhythm of American history. It shows how Americans have organized their days and ordered their lives--and ultimately created a culture--to make sense of the pain, desire, pleasure, and fear that are the stuff of human experience. In a time of cultural crisis, when the old stories seem to be faltering, this book offers a lesson in the painstaking remaking of the American dream Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL Print version record digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL Subject National characteristics, American. Melancholy -- Social aspects -- United States -- History Puritans. Nationalism -- United States -- History Self -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century HISTORY -- State & Local -- General. HISTORY -- United States -- General. Civilization -- Philosophy Melancholy -- Social aspects National characteristics, American Nationalism Puritans Self -- Social aspects Zivilisation Philosophie Geschichte Kulturelle Identität Nationalcharakter Hoop. Melancholie. Nationale kenmerken. Zivilisation -- USA -- Philosophie. SUBJECT United States -- Civilization -- Philosophy. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85139966 Subject United States USA USA -- Zivilisation -- Philosophie. United States -- Civilization. Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780674034167 0674034163 9780674003835 0674003837

  Permalink