The Empire of Reason: How Europe Imagined and America Realized the Enlightenment

The foremost American historian of his generation delves into the nation's European origins, illuminating how the new country embodied the principles of the Enlightenment--ideals that Europe, trapped by tradition and privilege, could not itself realize. "...crystalline clarity of...writing [causes] explosions in the reader's mind...history to be pondered and cherished."--The New York Times. "Learning and reason are at the service of a mind whose understanding of democracy gains brilliance and power from a passion for...freedom."--Arthur Schlesinger Jr.