One Man's America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our

One Man's America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation

In his provocative and compelling new book, Americaâ€™s most widely read and most influential commentator casts his gimlet eye on our singular nation. Moving far beyond the strict confines of politics, George F. Will offers a fascinating look at the people, stories, and eventsâ€“often unheraldedâ€“that make the American drama so endlessly entertaining and instructive.

With Willâ€™s signature erudition and wry wit always on display, One Manâ€™s America chronicles a spectacular, eclectic procession of figures who have shaped our cultural landscapeâ€“from Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., from Victorian poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, from cotton pickerâ€” turnedâ€”country singer Buck Owens to actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan.

Will crisscrosses the country to illuminate what it is that makes America distinctive. He visits the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor and ponders its enduring links to the present. He travels to Milwaukee to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of an iconic brand, Harley-Davidson. In Los Angeles he finds the inspiring future of education, while in New York he confronts the dispiriting didacticism of the avant-garde. He ventures to the Civil War battlefields of Virginia to explore what we risk when we efface our own history. And on the outskirts of Chicago he investigates one of the darkest chapters in American history, only to discover a shining example of resilience and graceâ€“the best the country has to offer.

Willâ€™s wide lens takes in much more as wellâ€“everything from the â€œmost emblematic novel of the 1930sâ€ (and no, it is not about the Joads) to the cult of ESPN to Brooks Brothers and Ben & Jerryâ€™s. And of course, One Manâ€™s America would not be complete without the authorâ€™s insights on the national pastime, baseballâ€“the icons and the cheats, the hapless and the greats.

Finally, in a personal and reflective turn, Will writes movingly of his thirty-five-year-old son Jon, born with Down syndrome, and pays loving and poignant tribute to his mother, who died at the age of ninety-eight after a long struggle with dementia.

The essays in One Manâ€™s America, even when critiquing American culture, reflect Willâ€™s deep affection and regard for our nation. After all, he notes, when America falls short, it does so only as compared to â€œthe uniquely high standards it has set for itself.â€ In the end, this brilliantly informative and entertaining book reminds us of the enduring value of â€œthe simple virtues and decencies that can make communities flourish and that have made America great and exemplary.â€

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Brand CROWN
Manufacturer PRH Christian Publishing
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber Refer to Sapnet.
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 2009-11-17
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780307454362

Country	USA
Brand	CROWN
Manufacturer	PRH Christian Publishing
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	Refer to Sapnet.
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2009-11-17
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780307454362

One Man's America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation

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