Liberty in America, 1600 to the present

This is the first volume of a majestic work which tells the story of liberty in America- from the first European settlers to today. It is history on the grand scale written by one of America's most accomplished historians, in collaboration with his historian wife, and it's clearly a book of outstanding interest and importance. It is also a book about people- all sorts of people as they struggled to survive, as they felt fear and love, as they worked to get ahead, and as they became aware of rights and began to understand the meaning of liberty: not just governors and ministers, but also scamps and scoundrels and, above all, ordinary folk who went above their lives in wildness or in societies just emerging from it. The first volume shows how the New World repeatedly frustrated schemes to transfer European ways of organizing power, how practical necessities showed that government functioned well only when those who were ruled consented to obey. This new awareness molded a new type of person, the American, marked by a preference for innovation, a willingness to take risks, and the ability to stand somewhat apart from the community. Well before 1776, when theory caught up with reality, the people of the colonies had discovered the meaning of liberty. This book comes at a time when the birth of liberty in America has renewed relevance to the issues of today, when this intimate and revealing exploration of colonial America helps to illuminate the dilemmas of the present.