Table of Contents

1. The Prehistoric Roots of the Modern Mind
1. A People's Country
2. Broke and Patriotic
3. Heading to Alabama and Montana
4. The Last Hope
5. The Land of Milk and Honey
6. Freedom
7. Reconciling Poverty and Patriotism
8. An Unshakable Bond

About the Author

Francesco Duina is Professor of Sociology at Bates College, as well as Honorary Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia and Visiting Professor of Business and Politics at the Copenhagen Business School. He is the author of several books, including Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession (2011).

Reviews

"This is superlative ethnography, allowing voices too little heard to speak for themselves, and to do so with pride. Social understandings can be furthered more by this book than by any other at present in the marketplace."—John A. Hall, McGill University

"A superb book! Anyone who wants to know why poor Americans love their country should read this. The answers Duina finds to this question are startling and reveal deep and enduring beliefs in freedom, God, and the American Dream. The lessons Duina provides are especially important given the current state of American politics."—John L. Campbell, Dartmouth College and Copenhagen Business School

"An excellent, timely book, which can help us understand the results of the recent elections. The American poor do not envy the rich. They are proud to be Americans and derive personal dignity from membership in the nation. Rather than blame their poverty on society, they take responsibility for it. The elite talk in the great cities would not make sense to them. A sociological counterpart to Hillbilly Elegy."—Liah Greenfeld, author of Mind, Modernity, Madness