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Article: The American Dream: a Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- September 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BY JIM CULLEN OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2003, 214 PAGES, $25.00
Martin Luther King, Jr. was no the only American who had dream. Conceived through a collective dream of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," the U.S. is nation of oneirophiles. What connects its motley population and distinguishes it from every other society is not ethnicity, religion, or language, but a set of shared ideal and aspirations commonly referred to as the American Dream. No on can begin to understand this court try without coming to terms with this vision.
In this compact study, Jim Cullen limits his ambitions, as if mocking the grandiosity of his subject. The author ...