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)

Grinder Meet Axe

For about the first 20 chapters, I was enthralled with this relatively objective history of the societal-cultural factors that built the American nations.

Wait, now let's editorialize for the last hour and a half!

If you're interested in reading a non-myopic history, you'd be better served with something by David McCullough, Roger Crowley, Lawrence Wright, or Thomas Asbridge.

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.

Scholarly work vs. political work

Would you try another book from Colin Woodard and/or Walter Dixon?

Sadly no, I would not buy another book, given the author's highly politicized agenda. If one is a serious historian, one avoids politicizing, especially that of a blatant nature. The premise is good: namely that North America can historically be divided into eleven "nations", and can be better understood, by analyzing historical events and attitudes using such context. However, the author leaps into the present day and projects the nations of old as if they exist today, with unchanged attitudes over several centuries, and posits that is what we see today, attitudes that persist more aligned with the antebellum south and the reasons for the American Civil War. It's quite a leap! It presumes that attitudes never change, despite the lives and passing of many generations in between! (Shame!) To borrow from people of the author's ilk and the criticisms they use against opponents, it is a vast oversimplification that thoroughly misunderstands 21st century policies and the beliefs and attitudes of the people in those "nations". It is almost an insult. At the very end, the author glorifies the inhabitants of the "First Nation." Come on. Advocacy is not becoming to a work that wants to be taken seriously. I have no problems with such advocacy, but put it in a second book. Leave book one for an admirable thesis on "American Nations." Leave the politicizing to book two (so I don't have to buy it).

I have a lot to say about this book and really bought and read it as a reference to better understand the American regions for the sake of writing my own book. For America of a bygone age, yes it succeeds. For an understanding of modern America in the 21st century, it needs many more chapters, not merely the few 1 or 2 chapters near the end or the epilogue. I'd write a longer critique but sadly I don't have the time to reread this book. If you don't mind skipping the last few chapters of a book, it is somewhat interesting. I'd give this book an additional star or two, but the flaws in this book need to be pointed out.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

As I've already summarized, the thesis of these separate American nations is interesting. As a historical work, it is of interest. As a modern work, it falls flat, unless the author could seamlessly transition to the present, by presenting far more to say why things haven't changed in over 200 years, and if indeed things haven't changed, by presenting more evidence. More work yes, but it makes this book seem better researched.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator wasn't bad. My only complaint was that he sounded like Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Is that the narrator's fault? Of course not. But it was slightly distracting nonetheless.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Yes, there are redeeming qualities. The first 75% of the book is worth reading, or listening to, as in my case. The last 25% really sank into severe politicizing. It's very annoying and detracts from the book (even though I don't come from Tidewater or the Deep South), turning it into a political tract instead of a scholarly work. But what else will you find in this day and age that we live in?

A 6-star book, not to be missed.

If you could sum up American Nations in three words, what would they be?

Illuminating, stimulating, indispensable

What did you like best about this story?

This book made me understand America as never before (and I have read or listened to more than one book on American history).

Which character – as performed by Walter Dixon – was your favorite?

The question is not really appropriate, but if I had to answer, it would be William Penn who founded Pennsylvania. Walter Dixon is an excellent reader.

Any additional comments?

I heartily recommend this book to anyone with any interest interest in America, and even to those who don't think they do. More than any other book I know or indeed imagined possible, it sheds light on what America is and how it came to be. The opportunity to read (listen to) this book is itself reason enough for me to feel thankful to be alive in 2014.

Political bias ruins intriguing premise

The authors political inclination causes severe problems with the narrative proposed. This is evident with outright historical falsehoods and a shuffling of the boarders of the "nations" described when explaining the action of a historical figure the author agrees with. A historical/sociological examination that is not trying to assign all good things in America as coming from the northeast and all bad things coming from the south would be much better. History is not that simple.
Recommended if you would like to understand how a progressive liberal arts college professor views American history.

Very Biased Agenda Not Revealed Until Second Half

What would have made American Nations better?

Very disappointing. First half is surprisingly objective and very informative. But, it's a trap. Having hopefully convinced the reader of his objectivity, the author then descends into an anti-Conservative rampage that continues to the end. Overall, a deceptive, dishonest attempt to soil all conservatives as racist, oppressive, anti-science, and uneducated. His rants no longer inform, but only reinforce the self-righteous Left of their dogma and PC agenda.

Would you recommend American Nations to your friends? Why or why not?

Only the first half.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

This is not open-mindedness, it is indoctrination. The judgmental, self-righteousness of Puritanism has morphed and is now manifested and preached by Academics like Colin Woodard.

Connects a lot of dots

Would you listen to American Nations again? Why?

Yes, there's plenty of meat on the bone for a second listen.

What did you like best about this story?

It provides a framework from which to understand many peculiarities of culture that separate the various "nations" of America. I think it can provide a more rational way of understanding some of the deeply rooted differences that tend to exasperate without proper context.

Any additional comments?

If I were to level a criticism, it would be that Woodard gets a bit too personal at the end of the book.

One of the best books I've listened to

I've always had a theory similar to this swirling around in my mind, so it's great to see it laid out so well here. America being such a vast land mass, it only makes sense that different areas would be settled by people with different values. A strong case is made that the people who subsequently moved in felt comfortable with the established culture, and therefore reenforced it, rather than stirring the pot. As the book lays out, the dominant cultures in each area have endured over hundreds of years, and there are many parallels to modern regional struggles in each century since contact.

Not very flattering to the southern regions, and clearly quite liberal in his views, this author might not be your cup of tea if you are a social conservative. But I'm not, so I didn't have a problem with a few interjections sneaking their way in.

Good length, good pacing, smooth narration. Just a breeze to listen to. Near the top of my list of reccomended books.

Fascinating!

This has more sense about American heritage and politics in it than anything else I've ever read. Past really is prelude, and where we come from really does resonate through time.
If nothing else, it clarifies how different areas make their decisions and what they perceive as democracy. Get ready for the fact that it's not homogenous or the same.

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.