Americanon

An Unexpected U.S. History in Thirteen Bestselling Books

By: Jess McHugh

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

“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 best-selling 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.

©2021 Jess McHugh (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"In an increasingly divided nation, it seems reasonable to ask: What is the glue that holds us together? It may be found here, in these bound pages. Jess McHugh has written 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, a reminder that our many narratives are intertwined and that - despite it all - they still bind us together." (Jake Halpern, Pulitzer Prize Winner and New York Times best-selling 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. As McHugh shows, much of our American canon has to do largely with axe-grinding, reputation, redemption, and, often, who is permitted to tell the story - and you won't want to miss a one moment of it.” (Brian Jay Jones, author of Becoming Dr. Seuss and the New York Times best-selling Jim Henson)

“We are what we eat, but we are even more what we read. Jess McHugh paints a rich and colorful portrait of America through the popular stories and reference books woven over decades into our cultural DNA. For book-lovers and historians alike, Americanon is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how famous books are made, and the lives they live long after they're printed.” (Daniel Stone, author of The Food Explorer and writer for National Geographic)

“Given the dominance of American power and culture over the last century, it may be difficult to grasp the idea that there was no such thing as an American when the Revolutionary War ended. The nation had been formed; now its people needed to be invented. In Americanon, Jess McHugh tells the story of this invention and the ongoing reinforcement and reinvention the American character has undergone since.... Among McHugh’s accomplishments is the deft way she establishes the evolution of ideas across the books she explores.... Jess McHugh’s achievement in Americanon is that she makes clear some of the problems with these aspirations that are baked into their design and not as a result of our frequently having fallen short of them.” (Washington Independent Review of Books)

Let's Learn About America

If you want to know why America is unique in the world Americanon will tell you via its analysis of 13 books that have sold multi-million copies. One has heard about several of these books; I have read only one: Old Farmer's Almanac. Ms. Mchugh is an author who praises achievements of these volumes with acerbic commentary about their downsides. Her recommendations for the future are helpful for those planning to write new self-help books. Read professionally and clearly by Ms. Potter.