American Nations

A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

By: Colin Woodard

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

An illuminating history of North America's 11 rival cultural regions that explodes the red state/blue state myth.

North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ethnographic characteristics, creating regional cultures that have been at odds with one another ever since. Subsequent immigrants didn't confront or assimilate into an "American" or "Canadian" culture, but rather into one of the 11 distinct regional ones that spread over the continent, each staking out mutually exclusive territory.

In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. He illustrates and explains why "American" values vary sharply from one region to another.

Woodard reveals how intranational differences have played a pivotal role at every point in the continent's history, from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the tumultuous sixties and the "blue county/red county" maps of recent presidential elections. American Nations is a revolutionary and revelatory take on America's myriad identities and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and are molding our future.

©2011 Colin Woodward (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Woodard offers a fascinating way to parse American (writ large) politics and history in this excellent book." ( Kirkus)

"Woodard explains away partisanship in American Nations... which makes the provocative claim that our culture wars are inevitable. North America was settled by groups with distinct political and religious value - and we haven't had a moment's peace since." ( Publishers Weekly)

Palestine not lipestine

The Audible version of the book screwed up by reading Palestinian Lipestinians. I am sure it an honest mistake but a mistake at all. The word is not obscure or too exotic.

A piece of REAL history written on this place we call America

If you are interested in learning about how the euro centric white establishment formed some of the backward ideals within the regions of present day USA, this book begins to cover that well.

I wish the author could have gotten deeper on the history of New France in the West and what is today the Midwest, and also more into the relations between El Norte(Aztlan) and New France. In addition, more history on Anglo squatters that came to the territories and their relations with the Indigenous, Mestizo, French, and other populations that were there by this time. But overall cool..Well read.

Author bias quite obvious, but lots of info.

Learned some interesting things. Add with any lumping of humans into groups, there is a lot of blurring of individual achievements. Nevertheless, a book worth reading for all the factual data.

Great Historical Take on How Screwed Up We Are

I liked how the author carved up the America into 11 smaller "nations". It provided a fresh perspective on how how conflicts we still face today can be found in the distrust and apathy that certain nations held against each other since the beginning. Great listen.

Good Insight

Where does American Nations rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Middle of the pack

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Historical view was good

Which scene was your favorite?

Not sure

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nope just added insight into our country's history

Fascinating premise. Worth a listen.

The author has some glaring cultural blind spots (his grasp of Hispanic influence and culture is entirely focused on Tejano folk, and ignores large populations in the US with diverse roots from the Antilles), but overall his argument is persuasive as a partial explanation of some very old trends. This book could REALLY use a new addition by the author, updated for the 12 tumultuous years in North America since it’s publication.

Worth a listen, if you are trying to understand the current situation.

Of course, Of course!

Wow! This is one of those books after which you never look at things quite the same way again. And, oh, it all makes so much sense!

I'm sure there are experts who would question whether this is exactly the number of "American Nations" or the precise boundaries and variances within each district. However, the weight of historical fact and intuitive "rightness" of this general theory is, in my view, absolutely undeniable. So much of what puzzles us in the disagreements and different philosophies of America's regions is explained forcibly and persuasively by Colin Woodard.

All of the regions display good and appalling mindsets and inclinations in this description - no one escapes scathing criticism for actions throughout American history. Naturally, there are sweeping generalizations and stereotypes involved in presenting such a thesis, but I found myself often smacking myself on the forehead (figuratively speaking, mostly) and expostulating: "Oh, of course! of course!"

I'll never forget this book - it will come to mind especially at Election time. I recommend it highly for anyone from any region. You may not agree with it all, but you won't deny it offers intelligent insight into much of America's past and present - and probably foretells the future all too well!

Started most interesting

I enjoyed most of the book, following the multiple nations theory. The author however ruins the last chapter by letting his prejudices run wild. After a neutral scientific evaluation in the early chapters, he succumbs to a bad case of "left-coast" BDS, trashing Nixon, Regan, and any group that does not lean Left, while repeating unverified "facts" about other groups not in the progressive pantheon. He is particularly harsh on the Southern Baptists and church going folks, while ignoring the influence of other religions. It's too bad, as this unmasking of his slant invalidates his main theme.

mostly good except for the polemic at the end

I wasn't completely sold on the assertions at the beginning, but he backs them up with enough evidence to be plausible. I think, though, that the research into the cultures of New France, First Nations, and El Norte is a little outside of this author's expertise.

The last couple chapters, though, turn into a diatribe against modern conservatism.

A Sociological View of American History

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard examines American history from a cultural perspective. The author suggests that North American is made up more by Nations than by states. Nations he argues are groups of people or regions sharing a common cultural, history and set of values. He posits that there are eleven such national regions in North America formed from the immigrant groups who had different heritages. Woodard describes how these different cultures divided the American people into slave owners versus abolitionists, central government advocates versus states’ rights proponents, and Tories versus revolutionaries. He argues that every major event and movement in American can be attributed to regional cultural differences that originated in our country’s early history and exist to the present.
I enjoyed examining American history from a different perspective than I have in other sources I have studied. I recommend it to anyone truly interested American history or cultural issues.