American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America. Unique among nations, America is deeply religious,... religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation’s religious landscape has been reshaped. America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced the rise of evangelicalism and the Religious Right. Since the 1990s, however, young people, turned off by that linkage between faith and conservative politics, have abandoned organized religion. The result has been a growing polarization—the ranks of religious conservatives and secular liberals have swelled, leaving a dwindling group of religious moderates in between. At the same time, personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased while religious identities have become more fluid. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings surprising interfaith tolerance, notwithstanding the so-called culture wars. American Grace is based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America. It includes a dozen in-depth profiles of diverse congregations across the country, which illuminate how the trends described by Putnam and Campbell affect the lives of real Americans. Nearly every chapter of American Grace contains a surprise about American religious life. Among them: • Between one-third and one-half of all American marriages are interfaith; • Roughly one-third of Americans have switched religions at some point in their lives; • Young people are more opposed to abortion than their parents but more accepting of gay marriage; • Even fervently religious Americans believe that people of other faiths can go to heaven; • Religious Americans are better neighbors than secular Americans: more generous with their time and treasure even for secular causes—but the explanation has less to do with faith than with their communities of faith; • Jews are the most broadly popular religious group in America today. American Grace promises to be the most important book in decades about American religious life and an essential book for understanding our nation today.

Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. In recent decades, however, the nation’s religious... landscape has undergone several seismic shocks. American Grace is an authoritative, fascinating examination of what precipitated these changes and the role that religion plays in contemporary American society. Although there is growing polarization between religious conservatives and secular liberals today, at the same time personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased, and religious identities have become more fluid. More people than ever are friendly with someone of a different faith or no faith at all. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings greater interfaith tolerance, despite the so-called culture wars. Based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America (and with a new epilogue based on a third survey), American Grace is an indispensable book about American religious life, essential for understanding our nation today.

Selected as one of the best books of 2002 by The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Sun-TimesWithin... days after September 11, 2001, William Langewiesche had secured unique, unrestricted, round-the-clock access to the World Trade Center site. American Ground is a tour of this intense, ephemeral world and those who improvised the recovery effort day by day, and in the process reinvented themselves, discovering unknown strengths and weaknesses. In all of its aspects--emotionalism, impulsiveness, opportunism, territoriality, resourcefulness, and fundamental, cacophonous democracy--Langewiesche reveals the unbuilding to be uniquely American and oddly inspiring, a portrait of resilience and ingenuity in the face of disaster.

Gathers writings by Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Alexis de Tocqueville, Wa Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, Edmund Wilson, W.E.B. DuBois,... a Adrienne Rich.

Before September 11, 2001, few Americans had heard of immigration detention, but in fact a secret and repressive prison system run by the U.S.... Immigration and Naturalization Service has existed in this country for more than two decades. In American Gulag, prisoners, jailers, and whistle-blowing federal officials come forward to describe the frightening reality inside these INS facilities. Journalist Mark Dow's on-the-ground reporting brings to light documented cases of illegal beatings and psychological torment, prolonged detention, racism, and inhumane conditions. Intelligent, impassioned, and unlike anything that has been written on the topic, this gripping work of investigative journalism should be read by all Americans. It is a book that will change the way we see our country.American Gulag takes us inside prisons such as the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, the Corrections Corporation of America's Houston Processing Center, and county jails around the country that profit from contracts to hold INS prisoners. It contains disturbing in-depth profiles of detainees, including Emmy Kutesa, a defector from the Ugandan army who was tortured and then escaped to the United States, where he was imprisoned in Queens, and then undertook a hunger strike in protest. To provide a framework for understanding stories like these, Dow gives a brief history of immigration laws and practices in the United States--including the repercussions of September 11 and present-day policies. His book reveals that current immigration detentions are best understood not as a well-intentioned response to terrorism but rather as part of the larger context of INS secrecy and excessive authority.American Gulag exposes the full story of a cruel prison system that is operating today with an astonishing lack of accountability.

Too many colleges and universities have become places for focusing on means and not upon ends—and, as such, places where the confused and bewildered... of the next generation acquire techniques and tools, but graduate having gained neither direction nor order to their souls.The Hillsdale College History Faculty has painstakingly assembled American Heritage: A Reader in order to provide its own students with a true liberal arts education grounded in the American tradition. Perfect for classroom use at the high school level and up, this extraordinary textbook will provide readers both inside and outside the classroom with a traditional educational experience that enlarges and ennobles the mind.From the Preface:“The primary role of this Reader is to supply a rich sample of documents from the periods we examine. These primary sources provide portals into the American past. Reading them, we escape the provincialism of our own time and culture. As artifacts of the past, they do not convey information merely, but they are the sources that historians interpret to make sense of our past.  Consequently, we invite students to engage in the same enterprise as they examine these fragments of the American past as the primary means of understanding both the roots of American order and sources for contemporary disorders.  This daunting task of viewing sympathetically ideas that, although part of our heritage, seem distant and alien is an important and exhilarating part of a proper education in which one seeks to make sense of oneself as an American.”

Adapted from the popular "American Heritage Idioms Dictionary," the "AH Dictionary of Idioms for Students of English" provides clear, practical... information on the most useful idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs, figures of speech, and common proverbs in American English. Each entry is defined and has a sample sentence showing how the idioms are used in context.

“A wise, humane and beautifully written book.”—Bret Stephens, Wall Street JournalFrom the best-selling author of Benjamin Franklin comes this... remarkable work that will help redefine our notion of American heroism. Americans have long been obsessed with their heroes, but the men and women dramatically portrayed here are not celebrated for the typical banal reasons contained in Founding Fathers hagiography. Effortlessly challenging those who persist in revering the American history status quo and its tropes and falsehoods, Morgan, now ninety-three, continues to believe that the past is just not the way it seems.

Books about Jane Addams—founder of Hull House, social reformer, suffragist, pacifist, and one of the most greatly admired women in American... history—come and go, but Allen Davis's account of her life, work, and ideas remains the standard biography. "A distinguished work of scholarship, mature, incisive....Davis has written not only the best study of Jane Addams but perhaps the best biography of any great American woman."—William L. O'Neill. "The first book that systematically and persuasively separates the real woman from the myth. It will be indispensable to anyone interested in the subject or the period."—Rosemarie Scherman, New York Times Book Review. "An important work, especially valuable for its cultural analysis and its sane, careful approach to the biographer's task."—Alonzo L. Hamby, History. "Detailed and well researched, this account...is the best thing written on Jane Addams I have seen."—Doris Grumbach, New Republic. "An impressively researched, perceptive biography." —Gertrude Benson, Philadelphia Inquirer.

First published in 1998, American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century offers a comprehensive entree to the central issues facing American... colleges and universities today. This thoroughly revised edition brings the volume up to date on key topics of enduring interest.Placing higher education within its social and political contexts, leading scholars discuss finance, federal and state governance, faculty, students, curriculum, and academic leadership. Contributors also address major changes in higher education, especially the influence and incorporation of the latest technologies and growing concern about the future of the academy in a post–Iraq War setting. No other book covers such wide-ranging issues under the broader theme of higher education’s relationship to society. Highly acclaimed and incorporating cutting-edge research, American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century remains the standard reference in the field.Contributors: Philip G. Altbach, Benjamin Baez, Michael N. Bastedo, Robert O. Berdahl, Marjorie A. E. Cook, Melanie E. Corrigan, Judith S. Eaton, Peter D. Eckel, Gustavo Fischman, Roger L. Geiger, Lawrence E. Gladieux, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Patricia J. Gumport, Fred F. Harcleroad, D. Bruce Johnstone, Adrianna Kezar, Jacqueline E. King, Aims C. McGuinness Jr., Amy Scott Metcalfe, Michael Mumper, Michael A. Olivas, Robert M. O'Neil, Gary Rhoades, Frank A. Schmidtlein, Sheila Slaughter, Daryl G. Smith, John Willinsky

This new edition of American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century explores current issues of central importance to the academy: leadership,... accountability, access, finance, technology, academic freedom, the canon, governance, and race. Chapters also deal with key constituencies—students and faculty—in the context of a changing academic environment.While the contributors agree with critics who argue for ongoing reassessment of public institutions, they provide a more balanced perspective. They take issue with the "crisis" culture that has emerged among critics of current higher education practices, pointing out that higher education has faced challenges through its history. By illuminating the complex interplay between institutions and external forces, the book provides a key to guide the endeavors of faculty, students, and administrative leaders. Fully revised and updated, the second edition includes a new chapter on higher education markets. Contributors include Philip G. Altbach, Michael J. Bastedo, Robert O. Berdahl, Robert Birnbaum, Mitchell J. Chang, Marc Chun, Melanie E. Corrigan, Eric L. Dey, Judith S. Eaton, Peter D. Eckel, Roger L. Geiger, Lawrence E. Gladieux, Patricia J. Gumport, Fred. F. Harcleroad, Sylvia Hurtado, D. Bruce Johnstone, Jacqueline E. King, Kofi Lomotey, Aims C. McGuinness Jr., Michael A. Olivas, Robert M. O'Neil, Gary Rhoades, Frank A. Schmidtlein, Sheila Slaughter, and Ami Zusman.

First published in 1998, American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century offers a comprehensive entree to the central issues facing American... colleges and universities today. This thoroughly revised edition brings the volume up to date on key topics of enduring interest.Placing higher education within its social and political contexts, leading scholars discuss finance, federal and state governance, faculty, students, curriculum, and academic leadership. Contributors also address major changes in higher education, especially the influence and incorporation of the latest technologies and growing concern about the future of the academy in a post–Iraq War setting. No other book covers such wide-ranging issues under the broader theme of higher education’s relationship to society. Highly acclaimed and incorporating cutting-edge research, American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century remains the standard reference in the field.Contributors: Philip G. Altbach, Benjamin Baez, Michael N. Bastedo, Robert O. Berdahl, Marjorie A. E. Cook, Melanie E. Corrigan, Judith S. Eaton, Peter D. Eckel, Gustavo Fischman, Roger L. Geiger, Lawrence E. Gladieux, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Patricia J. Gumport, Fred F. Harcleroad, D. Bruce Johnstone, Adrianna Kezar, Jacqueline E. King, Aims C. McGuinness Jr., Amy Scott Metcalfe, Michael Mumper, Michael A. Olivas, Robert M. O'Neil, Gary Rhoades, Frank A. Schmidtlein, Sheila Slaughter, Daryl G. Smith, John Willinsky