Shakespeare in a Divided America - What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future (Paperback)

One of the New York Times Ten Best Books of the Year * A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist * A New York Times Notable Book A timely exploration of what Shakespeare's plays reveal about our divided land. "In this sprightly and enthralling book . . . Shapiro amply demonstrates [that] for Americans the politics of Shakespeare are not confined to the public realm, but have enormous relevance in the sphere of private life." -The Guardian (London) The plays of William Shakespeare are rare common ground in the United States. For well over two centuries, Americans of all stripes-presidents and activists, soldiers and writers, conservatives and liberals alike-have turned to Shakespeare's works to explore the nation's fault lines. In a narrative arching from Revolutionary times to the present day, leading scholar James Shapiro traces the unparalleled role of Shakespeare's four-hundred-year-old tragedies and comedies in illuminating the many concerns on which American identity has turned. From Abraham Lincoln's and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth's, competing Shakespeare obsessions to the 2017 controversy over the staging of Julius Caesar in Central Park, in which a Trump-like leader is assassinated, Shakespeare in a Divided America reveals how no writer has been more embraced, more weaponized, or has shed more light on the hot-button issues in our history.

General

Imprint:	Penguin USA
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	March 2021
Authors:	James Shapiro
Dimensions:	214 x 140 x 16mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	320
ISBN-13:	978-0-525-52231-7
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Constitution, government & the state Books > Language & Literature > Literature: texts > Drama texts, plays > 16th to 18th centuries > Shakespeare plays, texts Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945 Books > History > American history > General Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
LSN:	0-525-52231-X
Barcode:	9780525522317

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