03700nam 2200613Ia 450 991045487500332120200520144314.00-674-03416-310.4159/9780674034167(CKB)1000000000805529(MiAaPQ)EBC3300504(Au-PeEL)EBL3300504(CaPaEBR)ebr10318500(OCoLC)923112092(DE-B1597)571831(DE-B1597)9780674034167(EXLCZ)99100000000080552919990212d1999 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierThe real American dream[electronic resource] a meditation on hope /Andrew DelbancoCambridge, Mass. Harvard University Pressc1999viii, 143 pThe William E. Massey, Sr. lectures in the history of American civilization ;19980-674-74925-1 0-674-00383-7 Includes bibliographical references and index.Frontmatter -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- CONTENTS -- Prologue -- 1 GOD -- 2 NATION -- 3 SELF -- Notes -- IndexSince we discovered that, in Tocqueville's words, "the incomplete joys of this world will never satisfy the heart," how have we Americans made do? In The Real American Dream one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope. Andrew Delbanco tells of the stringent God of Protestant Christianity, who exerted immense force over the language, institutions, and customs of the culture for nearly 200 years. He describes the falling away of this God and the rise of the idea of a sacred nation-state. And, finally, he speaks of our own moment, when symbols of nationalism are in decline, leaving us with nothing to satisfy the longing for transcendence once sustained by God and nation. From the Christian story that expressed the earliest Puritan yearnings to New Age spirituality, apocalyptic environmentalism, and the multicultural search for ancestral roots that divert our own, The Real American Dream evokes the tidal rhythm of American history. It shows how Americans have organized their days and ordered their lives--and ultimately created a culture--to make sense of the pain, desire, pleasure, and fear that are the stuff of human experience. In a time of cultural crisis, when the old stories seem to be faltering, this book offers a lesson in the painstaking remaking of the American dream.William E. Massey, Sr. lectures in the history of American civilization ;1998.National characteristics, AmericanMelancholySocial aspectsUnited StatesHistoryPuritansNationalismUnited StatesHistorySelfSocial aspectsUnited StatesHistory20th centuryUnited StatesCivilizationPhilosophyElectronic books.National characteristics, American.MelancholySocial aspectsHistory.Puritans.NationalismHistory.SelfSocial aspectsHistory973.01Delbanco Andrew1952-918462MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910454875003321The real American dream2059365UNINA