We've let the meaning of America be reduced to guesswork. It might not be too late. Our democratic republic is failing, and it shouldn't be a surprise. We can't fly a plane without training; we can't practice medicine without attending medical school. And yet we expect the American people to wield the full power of their citizenship, the product of the most revolutionary governmental thinking in human history, without any education. We no longer teach...

Foster explains how each of these twenty-five works has shaped our very existence as readers, students, teachers, and Americans. He shows how they captured an American moment, and how they influenced our perception of nationhood and citizenship.