In this ground-breaking, panoramic work of American cultural history, the author examines a central paradox of our national identity: How did "the land of the future" acquire a past? And to what extent has our collective memory of that past - as embodied in our traditions - been distorted, or even manufactured? Ranging from John Adams to Ronald Reagan, from the origins of Independence Day celebrations to the controversies surrounding the Vietnam War Memorial, from the Daughters of the American Revolution to immigrant associations, and filled with inclusive analyses of such phenomena as Americana and its collectors, "historic" villages and Disneyland, Mystic Chords of Memory is a brilliant, immensely readable, and enormously important book.--