Restless Nation (Paperback, New edition)

Were you ever tempted to throw it all away and start your life over? Most of us know the feeling, but only one country was actually founded on the concept: America, of course. Jasper puts forth a compelling argument that the American character is exemplified by Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, forever searching for a new life around the next bend in the river. Sixty million people have started over in America since the beginning of the 17th century, the largest migration in world history. Immigrants have had a vital effect on the American ethos of success. The USA has become a restless country full of their hard-travelling descendants, still on the road; the average American picks up and moves about every five years. Barely pausing for breath himself, Jasper details America's perpetual restlessness. He discusses the appeal of the 'promised land', gives many colourful examples of those who came and why they did shows how ambitious new Americans (like Houdini, formerly Ehrich Weisz) rewrote their lives. In the book's most interesting chapter, he delves into what he calls 'the culture of flight'. In it he examines those immigrants who rewrote the American myth, from film director John Ford (original name Sean Aloysius Feeney) to Raymond Chandler (raised in Ireland and England). America's fictional private eyes, claims Jasper, are simply 'Huck Finn with a hard shell'. The importance of music to the restless nation is persuasively argued. Louis Armstrong insisted that migration was the soul of jazz - he played on the Mississippi riverboats and likened himself to Twain's young hero. Blue's, rock 'n' roll and country are full of ramblin' men (rarely women) longing to 'throw my bills out of the window, catch a train to another town'. Like a trip across America, Restless Nation is exhausting but thought provoking. Review by KERRY SHALE (Kirkus UK)

In "Restless Nation," James M. Jasper isolates a narrative that lies very close to the core of the American character. From colonial times to the present day, Americans have always had a deep-rooted belief in the "fresh start"--a belief that still has Americans moving from place to place faster than the citizens of any other nation.

General

Imprint:	University of Chicago Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	November 2002
First published:	November 2002
Authors:	James M. Jasper
Dimensions:	230 x 166 x 17mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	276
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-226-39479-4
Categories:	Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Area / regional studies > General Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Cultural studies > History of ideas, intellectual history Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > History > American history > General
LSN:	0-226-39479-4
Barcode:	9780226394794

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