Puritan Origins of the American Self

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Indispensable
Review: This is the single most important study of the formation of "America"--its culture, history and literature. Professor Bercovitch's brilliant analysis of these Puritan texts should be essential reading to anyone even remotely interested in undertanding the often bizarre nature of American society. Working with original Puritan chronicles, diaries and other texts, Bercovitch shows that so much of what we take for granted in this culture has a distinctly Puritan origin. Read this book, and you will never view any aspect of this country the same way again.