9780593409404
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Americanon audiobook

  • By: Jess McHugh
  • Narrator: Kirsten Potter
  • Category: General, History, United States
  • Length: 10 hours 58 minutes
  • Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
  • Publish date: January 01, 2021
  • Language: English
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Americanon Audiobook Summary

“An elegant, meticulously researched, and eminently readable history of the books that define us as Americans. For history buffs and book-lovers alike, McHugh offers us a precious gift.”—Jake Halpern, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author     

“With her usual eye for detail and knack for smart storytelling, Jess McHugh takes a savvy and sensitive look at the ‘secret origins’ of the books that made and defined us. . . . You won’t want to miss a one moment of it.”—Brian Jay Jones, author of Becoming Dr. Seuss and the New York Times bestselling Jim Henson

The true, fascinating, and remarkable history of thirteen books that defined a nation

Surprising and delightfully engrossing, Americanon explores the true history of thirteen of the nation’s most popular books. Overlooked for centuries, our simple dictionaries, spellers, almanacs, and how-to manuals are the unexamined touchstones for American cultures and customs. These books sold tens of millions of copies and set out specific archetypes for the ideal American, from the self-made entrepreneur to the humble farmer.
 
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Webster’s Dictionary, Emily Post’s Etiquette: Americanon looks at how these ubiquitous books have updated and reemphasized potent American ideals—about meritocracy, patriotism, or individualism—at crucial moments in history. Old favorites like the Old Farmer’s Almanac and Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book are seen in this new way—not just as popular books but as foundational texts that shaped our understanding of the American story.

Taken together, these books help us understand how their authors, most of them part of a powerful minority, attempted to construct meaning for the majority. Their beliefs and quirks—as well as personal interests, prejudices, and often strange personalities—informed the values and habits of millions of Americans, woven into our cultural DNA over generations of reading and dog-earing. Yet their influence remains uninvestigated–until now.

What better way to understand a people than to look at the books they consumed most, the ones they returned to repeatedly, with questions about everything from spelling to social mobility to sex. This fresh and engaging book is American history as you’ve never encountered it before.

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Americanon Audiobook Narrator

Kirsten Potter is the narrator of Americanon audiobook that was written by Jess McHugh

About the Author(s) of Americanon

Jess McHugh is the author of Americanon

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Subjects

The publisher of the Americanon is Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. includes the following subjects: new release books, girl dad gifts, dad books, fathers day gift from daughter, fathwrs day gifts for dad, fathers day gifts for dad, daddy gifts from daughter, best books 2021, americana, book gifts, librarian gifts, library, book gift, nerd gifts, literature, history buff gifts, history book, history, book lover gifts, american history, gifts for readers, book lovers gifts, gifts for history buffs, gifts for book lovers, history books, history gifts, gift for him, gifts for her, unexpected, essays, anthology, us history, History, United States, General, History, Social History, Literary Criticism, Comparative Literature The BISAC Subject Code is General, History, United States

Additional info

The publisher of the Americanon is Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. The imprint is Penguin Audio. It is supplied by Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. The ISBN-13 is 9780593409404.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

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