Freedom Just Around the Corner

"This unusual book . . . may have a major impact on how we Americans understand ourselves. . . . Fast paced and full of shrewd judgements." —Gordon S. Wood, New York Times Book Review, front page

This powerful reinterpretation of United States history is remarkable not only for its scholarship and historical breadth, but also in its assertion that the success of the country depends in a large part on the unique American character, which has shaped so many historic events.


In the first of a projected three-volume series, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Walter A. McDougall argues that the creation of the United States is the central event in the last four hundred years of world history. Freedom Just Around the Corner masterfully chronicles the earliest years of this nation, revealing that the genius behind the success of the United States is not based on the works and ideas of one person, but rather on the complex, irrepressible American spirit.


"So origina . . . that you can read any five pages of this book and feel you are encountering America through fresh eyes." –Washington Post Book World

"The chapter on the framing of the Constitution should be required reading . . . Walter McDougall is a historian with a masterful grasp of his subject." —Claude Crowley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Briskly written, deeply researched, fact-filled and satisfyingly wide in its coverage." —Publishers Weekly

"An imaginative, evenhanded, and masterful history that shows the freedoms—and high costs—of our hustling nation. . . . [A]n important contribution not only to its field, but to all Americans." —Bookmarks magazine


"McDougall has produced the first volume of a trilogy that promises to be the finest history of America in print." —Weekly Standard