America: From White Settlement to World Hegemony

While there have been many analyses of American imperialism, few have equaled the breadth or insight of America: From White Settlement to World Hegemony, which was one of the first books to provide a historical perspective on the origins of the American empire.

Victor Kiernan, heralded by Edward Said as the “great Scottish historian of empire,” employs a nuanced knowledge of history, literature, and politics in his tracing of the evolution of American power. Far reaching and ambitious in its scope, the book combines accounts of the changing relationship between Native Americans and the white population with readings of the works of key cultural figures such as Melville and Whitman, as well as an analysis of the way in which money and politics became so closely intertwined in American democracy. The result is a compelling account of how the country came to be the dangerous global power that it is today. Brought up-to-date with an afterword by John Trumpbour, research director at Harvard Law School, this new edition includes a look at America’s ongoing war on terror.