How were the ideals that were articulated in America's founding documents-freedom, democracy and government based on the consent of the governed-disseminated to the nation? That question animates this extraordinary new study by Furstenberg, an assistant professor of history at the Universit de Montreal, which shows how popular print-broadsides, newspaper columns, schoolbooks, sermons-taught citizens "liberal and republican values," and ultimately "create[d] a nation." Thus Furstenberg devotes a chapter to Mason Weems's bestselling early biography of Washington: in addition to originating the famous cheery tree story, Weems taught a generation of Americans subtle stories about nationalism, virtue and piety. Indeed, Washington-or, rather, images of Washington-became central to American political education. In reading Washington's farewell address aloud to the family when it was reprinted, year after year, in the local newspaper, or in hanging his portrait on the dining room wall, Americans were expressing their consent to be governed by the government Washington presided over. In the deluge of founding father books, Furstenberg's blend of high-brow intellectual history and popular culture studies stands out; rather than lionize Washington, it advances an important argument about his role in shaping American political identity. B&w illus. (June 26) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Furstenberg (history, Universit de Montr al) has written a scholarly work on the development of the American national spirit, detailing how print culture-almanacs, newspapers, and books-created an "American mind" in the 50 years following the end of the Revolutionary War and how the national spirit, so fostered, later responded to the problem of slavery. Furstenberg spends much time on the biographical material published by "Parson" Mason Locke Weems, the man behind the George Washington cherry tree legend, and assesses Weems's contribution to the general folklore surrounding Washington. He discusses the ambivalence of some of the Founding Fathers, particularly Washington, toward slavery. He then goes on to examine Abraham Lincoln as the person who proved most able to reshape much of the American national spirit into one positioned against slavery and assesses how the media we know today are still serving to create our own heroes. With an extensive bibliography and notes; suitable for academic and large public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/06.]-Karen Sutherland, Bartlett P.L., IL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Extraordinary . . . In the deluge of founding father books, Furstenberg's blend of high- brow intellectual history and popular culture studies stands out. (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

A profoundly important book for anyone interested in the origins of the American Republic. (Ira Berlin, former president of the Organization of American Historians)

Furstenberg presents two works in one in this well-written and researched work. Examining the ideas that formed the American mindset and framed its outlook in the early decades of our republic, we see how George Washington came to be known as "The Father of His Country" and how slavery was both justified and condemned. As the author analyzes Washington's "Farewell Address" and continues with other numerous documents and objects of popular culture, we see how our "sacred scripture" was formed. Michael Prichard has the voice we wish all of our professors had. He reads with an almost patrician confidence and the authority of someone who is intimately acquainted with his subject. His resonant voice leaves us wanting more. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine