Pulitzer Prize General Non Fiction Winner
O Strange New World
by Howard Mumford Jones
Summary
An examination of the formative years of American culture, tracing how European ideas were adapted and transformed by the reality of the New World. It explores the tension between Old World tradition and New World landscape.
”
Historical Context & Significance
Jones challenged the "frontier" myth, arguing that American identity was a complex "translation" of European Renaissance and Enlightenment ideals rather than a purely native invention.