Tom Keene

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE A new and eye-opening interpretation of the meaning of the frontier, from early westward expansion to Trump’s border wall. Ever since this nation’s inception, the idea of an open and ever-expanding frontier has been central to American identity. Symbolizing a future of endless promise, it was the foundation of the United States’ belief in itself as an exceptional nation – democratic, individualistic, forward-looking. Today, though, America hasa new symbol: the border wall. In The End of the Myth, acclaimed historian Greg Grandin explores the meaning of the frontier throughout the full sweep of U.S. history – from the American Revolution to the War of 1898, the New Deal to the election of 2016. For centuries, he shows, America’s constant expansion – fighting wars and opening markets – served as a “gate of escape,” helping to deflect domestic political and economic conflicts outward. But this deflection meant that the country’s problems, from racism to inequality, were never confronted directly. And now, the combined catastrophe of the 2008 financial meltdown and our unwinnable wars in the Middle East have slammed this gate shut, bringing political passions that had long been directed elsewhere back home. It is this new reality, Grandin says, that explains the rise of reactionary populism and racist nationalism, the extreme anger and polarization that catapulted Trump to the presidency. The border wall may or may not be built, but it will survive as a rallying point, an allegorical tombstone marking the end of American exceptionalism.

Since the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the future of capitalism remains a hotly debated subject. Tracing the path of the American and global economy over the twentieth century, Political Economy of Tomorrow shows that the most significant problems of the economic system arise not from capitalism's weaknesses, but its strengths. Picking up where journalist and presidential adviser Charles Conant left off over a century ago, renowned foreign exchange strategist and professor Marc Chandler (Making Sense of the Dollar) squares off against conventional understanding of international economics by suggesting that the challenge modern economies face is not scarcity, but surplus. Exploring the past and considering the present, Chandler makes big ideas accessible as he examines the economic and social conditions that helped modern capitalism thrive and deal with surplus. By showing how changing social relationships construct a new motor for our economic engine and a new accommodation to the surplus, Political Economy of Tomorrow offers compelling arguments for what lies ahead for society in advanced capitalist countries.