ischievously composed, this groundbreaking work intends nothing short of a revolution in how we think about the "American" Constitution and government. In colloquial language that is by turns satirical, bantering, metaphorical, and sexually charged, a mysterious young Englishwoman tutors a young American in the history of his country.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
A Country With No Name
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In a freewheeling, irreverent romp through American history, de Grazia, who won a Pulitzer in biography for Machiavelli in Hell, claims that the Founding Fathers illegally overthrew the first U.S. constitution?the Articles of Confederation?and framed our present Constitution to consolidate centralized federal power. Furthermore, he observes, the Constitution does not use the term Americans, and the newly unified 13 colonies called themselves "Columbia" and "America" interchangeably, which indicated a lack of cohesive national identity in the early republic. Written in the form of 12 dialogues between a female, English-born graduate student and her inquisitive male American pupil, this iconoclastic inquiry wants to force us to rethink basic assumptions about the American political system, but it frequently overstates its case with hairsplitting legalistic analyses, as when Lincoln is portrayed as a slippery lawyer whose self-appointed mission to save the Union undermined the voluntary basis of political unity. We also meet Thoreau, a self-proclaimed individualist who never left his parents' household and who erected a prefabricated dwelling along Walden Pond. But if constitutional history is not your bag, the grad student and her Yankee disciple enjoy a titillating relationship fraught with sexual undertones.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Strict constructionists, take note: de Grazia argues (via an alter ego, a mysterious Englishwoman instructing a young American) that since our country wasn't called anything until the end of the 19th century, when the names "America" and "United States" came into use, we can't really tell who are the parties to the Constitution?and hence what all our political ideals mean in the first place. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Machiavelli in Hell.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Constitution is best seen from a distance,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Country with No Name: Tales from the Constitution (Hardcover)
The Constitution may not be what you think it is. This book
examines the history and meaning of the Constitution through
tales presented, by a young English woman, in the fashion of Scheherezade (of Arabian Nights fame). Sounds strange, but it works remarkably well. I would highly recommend the
book to any - American. We could all use a good healthy dose of Constitutional tutoring and this particular lesson is taught with style.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Revisionist History,
This review is from: A Country With No Name: Tales from the Constitution (Vintage) (Paperback)
This book was written as tutor teaching history. The writing was dry between the tutor and student but the story part, the "history" was well written. Unfortunately, the history part is at best only partially correct or flat out incorrect. It was an interesting read to see how some people wish to portray history without having to back up the facts because this is a fiction book and not a history book. Very clever, to have people read this and believe that this is how events unfolded.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good - In A Way,
By Anderson (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Country With No Name: Tales from the Constitution (Vintage) (Paperback)
As someone very interested in American History, I was anxious to read this book to get a different perspective on the events that shaped our country's future.It's an interesting account but tends to ramble at times. Most of the writing is fairly dry. The author either skims over details or spends way too much time on them. A nice little refresher if you forgot what college reading was like.
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