A review by dixiet
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard

5.0

This book should be read by every American, especially now. It tells the true story - not the simplified and fudged version we heard in school - of how America was founded, not by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock but first from the south, and then in many waves from Europe. Each group had its own reasons for coming to America and its own agenda. After the union was formed and immigrants from other countries arrived, like gravitated to like and in the end the regional differences - the "nations" - become stronger, not diluted. We are seeing the impact of the different "nations" in politics to this day. The reader learns where settlement started and how it progressed, and why there are so many strong divisions and differences of opinions about how our country should be run. For example, yes, everyone came to America to be "free", but for some that meant freedom to have strong communities with everyone working together; for some it meant individual freedom FROM such communities; for some it meant freedom from overlords; for some it meant freedom to BE overlords. It's very illuminating to realize that even the issues on which it appears all Americans agree, such as the wish for "freedom," are themselves sources of dispute and dissent.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone who wants to better understand America.