The Men Who United the States - Paperback

by Simon Winchester (Author)

Simon Winchester, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Atlantic and The Professor and the Madman, delivers his first book about America: a fascinating popular history that illuminates the men who toiled fearlessly to discover, connect, and bond the citizenry and geography of the U.S.A. from its beginnings.

How did America become "one nation, indivisible"? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Winchester follows in the footsteps of America's most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators, such as Lewis and Clark and the leaders of the Great Surveys; the builders of the first transcontinental telegraph and the powerful civil engineer behind the Interstate Highway System. He treks vast swaths of territory, from Pittsburgh to Portland, Rochester to San Francisco, Seattle to Anchorage, introducing the fascinating people who played a pivotal role in creating today's United States.

Throughout, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree. Featuring 32 illustrations throughout the text, The Men Who United the States is a fresh look at the way in which the most powerful nation on earth came together.

Winchester structures this sweeping U.S. history around five classical elements that forged the nation:

• The American Frontier: Trace the path of Lewis and Clark and other essential explorers as they navigate the rivers and forests of a continent waiting to be known.
• Mapping the West: Discover the stories of the Great Surveys and the geologists who mapped the nation's vast resources, laying the groundwork for settlement and expansion.
• America's Canals and Rivers: Follow the creation of crucial waterways like the Erie Canal that connected the nation's heartland to its coasts, revolutionizing trade and travel.
• The Transcontinental Railroad: Experience the monumental effort to bind the country with steel, from the visionaries who planned the routes to the builders of the transcontinental railroad and the Interstate Highway System.
• A History of Technology: Meet the innovators behind the transcontinental telegraph, the telephone, and the modern internet--the metal wires and invisible signals that truly made America "one nation, indivisible".

Front Jacket

For more than two centuries, E pluribus unum--"Out of many, one"--has been featured on America's official government seals and stamped on its currency. But how did America become "one nation, indivisible"? Simon Winchester addresses these questions, bringing together the breathtaking achievements of those American pioneers who helped, with their multitudes of callings, to forge and unify the new nation, and who toiled fearlessly to discover, connect, and bond the citizens and the geography of the United States from its very beginnings. At once intimate and deeply inspiring, this sweeping narrative details how these daring men from three centuries, some famous, some forgotten, left their everlasting mark on America's natural landscapes through courage, ingenuity and hard work.

The Men Who United the States is an unforgettable journey of unprecedented scope across time and open spaces, providing a new lens through which to view American history, led by one of the most gifted writers in the English language.

--The Economist

Back Jacket

For more than two centuries, E pluribus unum--"Out of many, one"--has been featured on America's official government seals and stamped on its currency. But how did America become "one nation, indivisible"? Simon Winchester addresses these questions, bringing together the breathtaking achievements of those American pioneers who helped, with their multitudes of callings, to forge and unify the new nation, and who toiled fearlessly to discover, connect, and bond the citizens and the geography of the United States from its very beginnings. At once intimate and deeply inspiring, this sweeping narrative details how these daring men from three centuries, some famous, some forgotten, left their everlasting mark on America's natural landscapes through courage, ingenuity and hard work.

The Men Who United the States is an unforgettable journey of unprecedented scope across time and open spaces, providing a new lens through which to view American history, led by one of the most gifted writers in the English language.