You're Invited: Join the American History Reading Group!

Running from mid-April through early July

Summary: Maximum New York is leading a nationwide reading of the American history book Land of Hope. The group formally begins in mid-April, and you must finish it by the Fourth of July. Happy 250th, America! (And if you want to know more about how your government works, you can apply to Foundations of New York, which begins in mid-April.)

If someone asked you to tell them the story of America…could you?

Well soon the answer will be a strong affirmative! This year is America’s 250th birthday, and my present to the nation is empowering its citizens to tell its story.

While many people have ideas about what America is, precious few of them could even provide a basic outline of its history. Instead, they get batted back and forth between extreme (and extremely incorrect) views on social media: that America is the source of all modern evil, or that America is blameless perfection.

These view lack the texture, detail, and kind of soul that makes people compelling as well as nations. America’s history is far more surprising, and captivating, than most would expect.

And: it is our home, and the home of our friends and family. And it is worth understanding one’s home—its institutions, its past, its path dependencies, and its stories. These not only help us make sense of the present in practical terms, they are an animating force in civic life.

And so: I am leading a book group to read through Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story. It’s an accessible, sensible history of the United States. The book group is open to anyone, anywhere in the US (and beyond!). I will host reading events and other field trips here in NYC, and Michael Adams of CivLab will anchor SF. Otherwise, if you sign up, I’ll put you in touch with others in your area.

Reading group details:

• Begins the week of April 13, ends no later than the week of June 29 (you have to finish by the Fourth of July!)

• You need to get your own copy of Land of Hope. The default reading pace is about 50 pages a week.

• Participants will go into a directory for everyone to browse, and I’ll create a Discord if that makes sense.

• If you’re in NYC, I’ll host regular reading hours and some field trips in the city.

• What you do in the reading group is up to you! Invite your friends, host your own small reading groups, post online about what you learn, and more!

• The expectations and etiquette for this reading group are the same as those for the Foundations of New York class.

• The reading group is free to participate in, although you need to buy your own copy of Land of Hope. However, I will suggest a $50 donation (if you can) to help offset time and planning.

From the introduction to Land of Hope:

It means to offer American readers, young and old alike, an accurate, responsible, coherent, persuasive, and inspiring narrative account of their own country—an account that will inform and deepen their sense of the land they inhabit and equip them for the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship. “Citizenship” here encompasses something larger than the civics-class meaning. It means a vivid and enduring sense of one’s full membership in one of the greatest enterprises in human history: the astonishing, perilous, and immensely consequential story of one’s own country. (xi)