The American Bible
How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation

The New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy and God Is Not One presents a provocative crash course in the great “American scriptures”—those texts that have both divided and defined our understanding of what it is to be American. Stephen Prothero, a go-to expert on religion and media for none other than Stephen Colbert, gives readers an exciting and user-friendly introduction to American cultural history in The American Bible. Highlighting the touchstones of our collective cultural legacy, from the Bill of Rights to the Gettysburg Address, from Moby Dick to The Catcher in the Rye, from “Yankee Doodle” to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and beyond, Prothero’s stirring and provocative handbook peels back the curtain on the inner workings of what makes America tick.