The End of the Myth
Book description
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
A new and eye-opening interpretation of the meaning of the frontier, from early westward expansion to Trump’s border wall.
Ever since this nation’s inception, the idea of an open and ever-expanding frontier has been central to American identity. Symbolizing a future of endless promise, it…
Why read it?
5 authors picked The End of the Myth as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
It helped explain how the U.S. got to the divisiveness of today and gave suggestions on how to perhaps change it.
Greg Grandin is a historian's historian, a brilliant researcher, a captivating writer. It's honestly hard to pick which of his books to feature here. But since The End of the Myth won the Pultizer Prize, I'll choose it as my favorite. What I loved about this book is that it gives me a new perspective about the history of my own country—about which, frankly, I do not know that much—and the region I have reported on for most of my life, Latin America. He makes connections and does so in a compelling fashion.
The book focuses on the United States…
From June's list on classics for understanding Latin America.
Grandin makes a masterful argument that “frontier” is the defining American obsession, from Manifest Destiny to 21st Century capitalist imperialism. According to Grandin, it is America’s sense of an ever-expanding frontier that guides so much of our decision-making on an individualistic and national scale. His thesis gives clarity to all of the energy and enthusiasm that has gone into the idea of building an impractical, impossible 2,000-mile-long barrier along the U.S. southern border.
From D.W.'s list on understanding borders in a globalized world.
The push outward to new frontiers is ingrained in America’s identity. What happens when there is no longer an outer frontier beyond the US borders to conquer? Gandlin’s book, which explores the meaning of the US frontier from the Revolutionary War to Trump’s Border Wall, leads to an unexpected and deeply disturbing answer. America’s expanding frontier has always been the site of genocidal savagery. But the savagery was directed outward, providing a “gate of escape” from facing unresolved internal conflicts.
The twin catastrophes of unwinnable wars in the Middle East and the 2008 financial meltdown, Gandlin argues, ended the frontier’s…
From Gerard's list on why ordinary citizen voices matter to a democracy.
This study shows how the concept of an endlessly expanding frontier came to encompass the entire globe. The focus is on American history and the extermination of the native Indian tribes, which extend to external colonized countries. Thus the book is relevant for studying the wars in Korea and Vietnam, as well as Washington’s policies in East Asia and the Middle East.
From Moss' list on modern Asia.
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