The Unfinished Country: A Book Of American Symbols
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Poor
Jacket: Damaged
Pages: Good , price clipped
Markings: Fair - Bumping on spine and corners. Rubbed edges.
Condition remarks: Binding coming loose at FEP - otherwise pages still intact. Shelf wear on binding. Tears on jacket spine.
A landmark work of American political and cultural thought, The Unfinished Country: A Book of American Symbols presents Max Lerner's sweeping intellectual portrait of the United States as a civilization still in the process of defining itself. Lerner argues that America is not a finished product but a dynamic, evolving experiment, and he unpacks the myths, institutions, and symbols — from the Constitution to the frontier spirit — that give the nation its distinctive character. Written with the confidence of a seasoned scholar and the accessibility of a gifted essayist, the work draws on history, sociology, and political philosophy to illustrate how American identity is shaped by contradictions and aspirations in equal measure. Lerner's tone is both celebratory and critically probing, refusing easy patriotism while affirming the enduring vitality of the American democratic ideal. This mid-twentieth-century classic remains an essential text for anyone seeking to understand the cultural and ideological foundations that continue to animate American life.
Author: Max Lerner
Format: Hardback
Published: 1959, Simon and Schuster
Condition remarks:
Book: Poor
Jacket: Damaged
Pages: Good , price clipped
Markings: Fair - Bumping on spine and corners. Rubbed edges.
Condition remarks: Binding coming loose at FEP - otherwise pages still intact. Shelf wear on binding. Tears on jacket spine.
A landmark work of American political and cultural thought, The Unfinished Country: A Book of American Symbols presents Max Lerner's sweeping intellectual portrait of the United States as a civilization still in the process of defining itself. Lerner argues that America is not a finished product but a dynamic, evolving experiment, and he unpacks the myths, institutions, and symbols — from the Constitution to the frontier spirit — that give the nation its distinctive character. Written with the confidence of a seasoned scholar and the accessibility of a gifted essayist, the work draws on history, sociology, and political philosophy to illustrate how American identity is shaped by contradictions and aspirations in equal measure. Lerner's tone is both celebratory and critically probing, refusing easy patriotism while affirming the enduring vitality of the American democratic ideal. This mid-twentieth-century classic remains an essential text for anyone seeking to understand the cultural and ideological foundations that continue to animate American life.