The American Experience in Words
The United States of America was founded by readers and writers. Thomas Jefferson’s library alone contained thousands of books, so it’s no surprise that so many Americans have reflected upon themselves and their country with a unique flair for language.
In poetry, first-hand accounts and retrospective examinations of our culture and history, read how these authors put their American experience into words to share across space and time.
Poetry
American war poetry : an anthology
Every generation of American life has been touched by national and international struggles. From the revolution that sparked our founding, to the Civil War and through to contemporary conflicts, this book collects the poetry of American witnesses to the wars that have shaped our country and the world.
American Poetry: the nineteenth century. Volume one & two
19th century writers working to reflect the value they placed on their natural surroundings, self-reliance, and workmanship, shaped the uniquely American identity developing around them. This thorough collection is filled with these poems, resounding with the excitement and idealism the new nation inspired.
Words of Protest, words of freedom: poetry of the American civil rights movement and era
The struggle for justice and equality in the Civil Rights Movement is representative of the ongoing mission of American democracy. This collection of the poetry of that movement and the moments that surrounded it brings to life that history in indelible images and thought-stirring observations.
First Hand Accounts
Democracy in America
Alexis De Tocqueville was not an American, but the Frenchman spent nine months touring the new nation in 1831. His observations and reflections, collected here, provide a unique eyewitness testimony to the new social order of our democratic state, its potential, as well as its caveats.
Autobiography of Mark Twain. Volume One
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and passed in 1910. Covering everything from the Gold Rush to the Civil War, from early frontier doctors and school, to the excess of the gilded age, his sprawling stream-of conscious-styled autobiography gives us an astute and thoughtful glimpses into nearly a century of incredible moments in the growth of the United States.
American Earth: environmental writing since Thoreau
America has long been conflicted with the duality of it’s environment, a diverse country both awe-inspiring for its majesty and its industrial potential. This collection brings together reflective writings from across that spectrum and the centuries, in the form of poetry, speeches, fiction and song.
Culture
Twenty-five books that shaped America
The concept of the “great American novel” is a cornerstone of American literature discussions. This collection of essays covers 25 books (though not all novels) that could compete for that title. With humor and insight, the author provides a unique understanding of the context and impact of each book, weaving a picture of the history of America embedded in its books.
Three squares: the invention of the American meal
It is easy to forget that eating is one of the most important parts of life. It’s even easier to forget how much our eating habits have changed. This book’s focus on eating in America provides a jumping off point for topics as varied as colonial agriculture, the industrial revolution, and health food.
Writing with scissors : American scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem renaissance
Scrapbooking today is a popular hobby, but before the Internet, it was one of the only ways common people had to chart the goings-on of their life. This intriguing history of an oft-overlooked craft showcases the historical relevance of those intimate collections, as their popularity and complexity rose with our nation in the 19th and 20th centuries.
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