Skip to content
Scan a barcode
Scan
Paperback Reconstructing America: The Symbol of America in Modern Thought Book

ISBN: 0300084536

ISBN13: 9780300084535

Reconstructing America: The Symbol of America in Modern Thought

Select Format

Select Condition ThriftBooks Help Icon

Recommended

Format: Paperback

Condition: Like New

$8.29
Save $33.71!
List Price $42.00
Almost Gone, Only 1 Left!

Book Overview

For too many people, America has become the primary symbol of all that is grotesque, deadening, and oppressive. It is time, says James Ceaser in this provocative book, to take America back, to reaffirm confidence in our principles, and to remind ourselves that the real America-as opposed to the symbolic one-has forged a system of liberal democratic government that has shaped the destiny of the modern world. "A splendid, . . . important book."-Adam Wolfson, Wall Street Journal "A fascinating compendium of misconceptions about America, a catalog of expressions of European anxiety and paranoia that may be followed down to the historical present. . . . Ceaser's knowledge of European political traditions is prodigious, and he puts it to excellent use. . . . Like all good histories, his is motivated by an impassioned concern for our precarious present."-Richard Wolin, The New Republic "An important book . . . about the European image of the United States, showing the ways in which philosophers of both left and right have constructed a symbolic America often bearing little resemblance to the place itself. This] wryly written . . . book is a timely corrective to loose thought in the academy and a candid appeal to reason."-John S. Gardner, The Weekly Standard "Gracefully written and provocative."-Solomon L. Wisenberg, Wilson Quarterly

Customer Reviews

2 ratings

Reconstructing America

Ceaser eloquently captures the intellectual and political foundations of today's anti-america climate. Ceaser provides a clear, yet thorough genealogical analysis of this movement, and manages to spark occasional laughter while providing clever personal insight into the greatest intellectual debates of the 20th century, including the thought of Kojeve, Strauss, Heidegger, and Baudillard. This book has in it the spirit of Alan Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind," Roger Kimball's "Tenured Radicals," and Peter Lawler's "Postmodernism Rightly Understood."

It's about anti-americanism

This book is about the intellectual roots of anti-american sentiment. It traces anti-americanism back to 18th century France where Buffon, a famous biologist, developed a theory about the degeneracy of animals and plants in the New World. Although Franklin and Jefferson reacted against Buffon thesis it was to have a brilliant future. James W. Ceaser shows how it morphed through two centuries of intellectual aberrations from having racial, economic to philosophical foundations. Central in his essay are figures like Heidegger and Baudrillard.
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
GoDaddy Verified and Secured