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

The Mayflower and before -- Becoming Americans -- A "democrataical phrenzy": America in the age of revolution -- Making a nation -- By the dawn's early light: forging a national identity -- We're in the money: the age of invention -- Names -- "Manifest destiny": taming the West -- The melting pot: immigration in America -- When the going was good: travel in America -- What's cooking? Eating in America -- Democratizing luxury: shopping in America -- Manners and other matters -- The hard sell: advertising in America -- The movies -- The pursuit of pleasure: sport and play -- Of bombs and bunkum: politics and war -- Sex and other distractions -- From Kitty Hawk to the jumbo jet -- Welcome to the Space Age: the 1950s and beyond -- American English today.