In The American Revelation, Neil Baldwin, one of our most exciting and provocative intellectual historians, applies his formidable energies to the story of how the American Spirit developed over four centuries, through an inspiring—and unsparing—examination of selected ideals that have helped inform our culture through the vivid personalities who set the course. Figures both familiar and forgotten illuminate this timely narrative of popular history that enlivens the current debate about America's proper role in a turbulent post-9/11 world. Though an ideal may have been forgotten, that does not mean it no longer has the power to move us and shape our future.Exuberant and lively, The American Revelation will inspire all readers, regardless of their politics, to revisit and revalue our country's high-minded heritage.