American: Beyond Our Grandest Notions

In AMERICAN, Matthews proposes "Ten Grand American Notions:" a self-made country, the constant rebel, the reluctant warrior, the common man, the lone hero, the underdog, pioneers, action, optimism and American exceptionalism. Each notion is accompanied by stories of American legends that personify it. The "characters" of the book are both fictional and real-life heroes. Whether speaking of Casablancas Ricky or former President John F. Kennedy, Matthews captivates his audience with fascinating quips, motivating quotes and heartfelt memoirs.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of this book is its timeliness. In a time of international turmoil and political conflict, AMERICAN reminds us of what our nation was founded on, what it has endured, what it is we are fighting to defend. Void of personal bias and political preferences, Matthews delivers an objective view of our countrys history. He hails the good --- George Washingtons perseverance during the Revolutionary War, the heroic firefighters of September 11 --- without forgetting to condemn the evils of corrupt politics and slavery.

AMERICAN is written in a conversational style not often seen in history texts. Rather than continuous narrative, Matthews prefers to tell the story through short glimpses of the past. Appropriate pictures are interspersed among the pages, breaking the chapters into more readable portions.

The only downfall of the book is that by the last few chapters the endless stories and quotes become tiresome and begin to lack life, which left me wishing for some of Matthews trademark witticism. Overall, however, this is a great piece of work that every American should read.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Brown

The only reason why this book is so popular is because it says everything we want to hear. It has the authors main points of "some basic-and sometimes contradictory-precepts, are pugnacious but anti-militaristic; they admire gun-slinging loners and heroic men of action, but love the little guy and underdogs; they are optimists with a manifest destiny and an eye for personal reinvention." The book describes some Americans who were optimists. But there are equally important Americans, like Alexander Hamilton, who are not optimists. The book also claims that America loves the underdog. Why are the Yankees so popular then? Or that we are reluctant to go to war. Iraq, Spanish American War, War of 1812??? There are a lot of reasons why America is such a dominate power. In my opinion, the reasons why America has dominates is because we have a lot of natural resources, a lot of freedom that allows us to go from rags to riches, massive immigration, and a lot of luck. Rome lasted for over a millennium. America has barely lasted two centuries, and our dominance is more recent that that. I love this country; lets just keep things in prospective.