God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World
"Well-written and wide-ranging."-Washington Post Book WorldBest Nonfiction of 2008“Persuasively optimistic . . . he knows more theology and church than do most public intellectuals, and more Anglo-American history than do many of the more theologically learned; this makes for an interesting combination.”-American Heritage“Entertaining . . .”-The Economist“Walter Mead’s new book is both delightful and outrageous: delightful in his mischievous, well-chosen use of poems, pamphlets, and political speeches to illustrate his arguments; and outrageous in the proper sense of the word–for it will outrage lots of readers: American know-nothings who assume life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness only began in 1776; liberal Brits who will be furious at the idea that they are the true and only forebears of our neocons’ obsession with changing the world and making a profit from it; and foreigners everywhere, especially in French-speaking and Arabic-speaking countries, who will have their worst historical myth confirmed, that the Anglo-Saxons have been intent on dominating world affairs for at least the past four centuries and have no plans to give up the habit now.”-Paul Kennedy“Ingenious . . . Mead enlivens the text with numerous amusing and illustrative anecdotes, artful literary allusions and helpful invocations of great historians and philosophers. A remarkable piece of historical analysis bound to provoke discussion and argument in foreign-policy circles.”-Kirkus“Walter Russell Mead has done it again. With his distinctive sweep and penetration, America's premier archeologist of ideas and their consequences unearths the cultural roots of large political movements and developments. Readers of this scintillating volume will see the modern world afresh.”-George F. Will"Walter Russell Mead has written yet another fascinating, thought-provoking book about America's global role. Mead weaves together history, theology, economics and politics to tell the story of the rise of the English speaking peoples and the world that they made. Churchill would have approved."-Fareed Zakaria“Well-written and very wide-ranging . . .God and Golddemands a serious rethinking of how we study and write modern history.”-Washington Post“God and Goldis distinctive not just . . . because of its delightful wit, but also because it adds new depth to the familiar . . . Mead manages to be both trenchant and charming at the same time . . . brilliant.”- Adam I. P. Smith,Times Literary Supplement