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Americanon
An Unexpected U.S. History in Thirteen Bestselling Books
1 of 1 copy available
“With her usual eye for detail and knack for smart storytelling, Jess McHugh takes a savvy and sensitive look at the 'secret origins' of the books that made and defined us. . . . You won't want to miss a one moment of it.”—Brian Jay Jones, author of Becoming Dr. Seuss and the New York Times bestselling Jim Henson
The true, fascinating, and remarkable history of thirteen books that defined a nation
Surprising and delightfully engrossing, Americanon explores the true history of thirteen of the nation’s most popular books. Overlooked for centuries, our simple dictionaries, spellers, almanacs, and how-to manuals are the unexamined touchstones for American cultures and customs. These books sold tens of millions of copies and set out specific archetypes for the ideal American, from the self-made entrepreneur to the humble farmer.
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Webster's Dictionary, Emily Post’s Etiquette: Americanon looks at how these ubiquitous books have updated and reemphasized potent American ideals—about meritocracy, patriotism, or individualism—at crucial moments in history. Old favorites like the Old Farmer’s Almanac and Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book are seen in this new way—not just as popular books but as foundational texts that shaped our understanding of the American story.
Taken together, these books help us understand how their authors, most of them part of a powerful minority, attempted to construct meaning for the majority. Their beliefs and quirks—as well as personal interests, prejudices, and often strange personalities—informed the values and habits of millions of Americans, woven into our cultural DNA over generations of reading and dog-earing. Yet their influence remains uninvestigated—until now.
What better way to understand a people than to look at the books they consumed most, the ones they returned to repeatedly, with questions about everything from spelling to social mobility to sex. This fresh and engaging book is American history as you’ve never encountered it before.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 1, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593409411
- File size: 316459 KB
- Duration: 10:59:17
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 26, 2021
Journalist McHugh’s appealing cultural history dissects the American character through a close examination of “ordinary, instructional books that average Americans have consulted every day.” Contending that the most popular of these books, including The Old Farmer’s Almanac, continuously published since 1792; Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook, “the bestselling U.S. cookbook of all time”; and Stephen R. Covey’s 1989 self-help phenomenon, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, taught readers “about their role in society and their responsibilities to family and country,” McHugh examines how changes in American values over the past 245 years have been reflected in and spurred by “dog-eared books for daily life.” Discussing Emily Post’s 1922 guidebook Etiquette in Society, McHugh notes that Post turned to writing after divorcing her husband over his adulterous affairs, and reflects on how the ambiguity of class divisions in America fueled anxiety over the rules for social conduct. Other books that come under McHugh’s expert gaze include Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People (inspired by the author overcoming his “inferiority complex” by joining the speech team at a Missouri teacher’s college) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). Brisk publication histories and author profiles enrich the cultural analysis, which is consistently on-point. This lucid survey entertains and enlightens.
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