The American Beast Essays, 2012-2022

'Essential reading, with quick insights and bomblets of surprise' TLS A panoptical vision of modern America, from the brilliant mind of Jill Lepore. The 2010s marked a shift in America's trajectory, beginning with the run-up to Donald Trump's election, through to the chaos and confusion left in its wake. With the wit and verve that has made her the acclaimed national historian of a generation, Jill Lepore reflects on the consuming fissures of this era: culture wars and media corrosion; disruptive innovation and techno-utopianism; constitutional crises surrounding gun rights and a reckoning with a deep history of racial violence. These essays make sense of American life in a moment of polarization, capturing the tumultuous relationship between the country's violent past and fractured present. 'The pre-eminent historian of forgotten tales from America's past' David Runciman 'A person can't help but feel inspired by the riveting intelligence and joyful curiosity of Lepore' George Saunders 'Lepore is that rare combination in modern life of intellect, originality and style' Amanda Foreman