Includes bibliographical references (p. 385-394) and index.

Introduction (p.ix) -- The Mayflower and before (p.1) -- Becoming Americans (p.13) -- A "democratical phrenzy" : America in the age of revolution (p.30) -- Making a nation (p.48) -- By the dawn's early light : forging a national identity (p.64) -- We're in the money : the age of invention (p.82) -- Names (p.100) -- "Manifest destiny" : taming the West (p.119) -- The melting pot : immigration in America (p.134) -- When the going was good : travel in America (p.156) -- What's cooking? : eating in America (p.180) -- Democratizing luxury : shopping in America (p.206) -- Manners and other matters (p.219) -- The hard sell : advertising in America (p.235) -- The movies (p.248) -- The pursuit of pleasure : sport and play (p.263) -- Of bombs and bunkum : politics and war (p.287) -- Sex and other distractions (p.304) -- From Kitty Hawk to the jumbo jet (p.324) -- Welcome to the space age : the 1950s and beyond (p.334) -- American English today (p.352) -- Notes on sources (p.365) -- Select bibliography (p.385) -- Index (p.395).