LEADER 03667nam 2200601Ia 450 001 9910819593203321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-674-03416-3 024 7 $a10.4159/9780674034167 035 $a(CKB)1000000000805529 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3300504 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10318500 035 $a(OCoLC)923112092 035 $a(DE-B1597)571831 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780674034167 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3300504 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000805529 100 $a19990212d1999 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 14$aThe real American dream$b[electronic resource] $ea meditation on hope /$fAndrew Delbanco 210 $aCambridge, Mass. $cHarvard University Press$dc1999 215 $aviii, 143 p 225 1 $aThe William E. Massey, Sr. lectures in the history of American civilization ;$v1998 311 $a0-674-74925-1 311 $a0-674-00383-7 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- $tCONTENTS -- $tPrologue -- $t1 GOD -- $t2 NATION -- $t3 SELF -- $tNotes -- $tIndex 330 $aSince we discovered that, in Tocqueville's words, "the incomplete joys of this world will never satisfy the heart," how have we Americans made do? In The Real American Dream one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope. Andrew Delbanco tells of the stringent God of Protestant Christianity, who exerted immense force over the language, institutions, and customs of the culture for nearly 200 years. He describes the falling away of this God and the rise of the idea of a sacred nation-state. And, finally, he speaks of our own moment, when symbols of nationalism are in decline, leaving us with nothing to satisfy the longing for transcendence once sustained by God and nation. From the Christian story that expressed the earliest Puritan yearnings to New Age spirituality, apocalyptic environmentalism, and the multicultural search for ancestral roots that divert our own, The Real American Dream evokes the tidal rhythm of American history. It shows how Americans have organized their days and ordered their lives--and ultimately created a culture--to make sense of the pain, desire, pleasure, and fear that are the stuff of human experience. In a time of cultural crisis, when the old stories seem to be faltering, this book offers a lesson in the painstaking remaking of the American dream. 410 0$aWilliam E. Massey, Sr. lectures in the history of American civilization ;$v1998. 606 $aNational characteristics, American 606 $aMelancholy$xSocial aspects$zUnited States$xHistory 606 $aPuritans 606 $aNationalism$zUnited States$xHistory 606 $aSelf$xSocial aspects$zUnited States$xHistory$y20th century 607 $aUnited States$xCivilization$xPhilosophy 615 0$aNational characteristics, American. 615 0$aMelancholy$xSocial aspects$xHistory. 615 0$aPuritans. 615 0$aNationalism$xHistory. 615 0$aSelf$xSocial aspects$xHistory 676 $a973.01 700 $aDelbanco$b Andrew$f1952-$01150840 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910819593203321 996 $aThe real American dream$94061451 997 $aUNINA