A Nation Forged by Crisis

"Sexton organizes his astute history around 'the greatest periods of crisis in each century of its existence'.... Claiming that, in the current unsettled times, Americans should 'revisit [these] previous moments of crisis,' Sexton's book offers an insightful roadmap of how the country got here."

"The learned and wise Professor Sexton invokes three crises of America's present--national security, globalized capitalism, and exploding immigration--to reinterpret America's past in illuminating, lucid, and--yes--exciting analyses."

"With U.S. constitutional democracy on alarmingly high alert, eminent scholar and prizewinning teacher Jay Sexton reminds us that the nation has been forged by crises. Though turbulent times have yielded extraordinary opportunities for change, outcomes have neither been certain nor up to Americans alone to decide. This is an essential read for anyone inclined to believe that the United States has determined its own destiny."

"Bold in conception and rich in ideas, A Nation Forged by Crisis delivers a scintillating new reading of United States history. Jay Sexton places pivotal episodes in the American past within a broad framework of periodic disruptions brought about by international economic and strategic shifts. He triumphantly vindicates the interpretive possibilities of entangled global history, confirms his reputation as one of the most accomplished historians of his generation--and offers a lesson on the dangers that follow the nation's prioritising inward-looking objectives over international ones."

"A Nation Forged by Crisis is a superb history of America-in-the-world. Building on the best new work on the crises that have shaped the unpredictable course of American history, Jay Sexton's provocative synthesis offers fresh perspectives on our own troubled times."

"Only a scholar of Jay Sexton's caliber could write a book that ranges so widely, offers so many keen insights, and is such a pleasure to read--even as it is a sober warning that Americans must remember our connections to the world outside our borders if we wish to navigate the crises that we confront."