American Exceptionalism

Arnon Gutfeld

"A fresh intellectual history of the role of the frontier in the American national experience... An excellent analyis of the positive and dark sides of the American national experience." -- American Studies (University of Kansas and the Mid-American Studies Association)."...makes a compelling argument that displays a deep, highly original understanding of the historical myth and reality of the American frontier... Throughout his book, Gutfeld argues convincingly that 'plenty' and the 'frontier' have been weighty and malleable concepts in American history. Yet the ideas of available plenitude and an open frontier also entailed devastating practical consequences. Despite so much tragic history and such harsh contemporary reality, these ideas still flourish today. Insistent ahistoricism also is a key element of American theory and practice. Americans even seem inclined to repeat past mistakes as exactly as possible, rather than to learn much from them. Though one should not bet on the power of any book to change deep-rooted American behavioral patterns, American Exceptionalism clearly offers an insightful, important corrective." -- From the Foreword by Avi Soifer, Boston College Law School, Massachusetts.

• Contents: Foreword by Professor Aviam Soifer; Preface; Europe Dreamt and America Realised the Enlightenment, or Did It?; American Exceptionalism and the Forces that Maintain It; The Unique Nature of American Political Violence; The Deprivation of Indian Sovereignty; Genocide, North American Style; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index.