In this groundbreaking book, Tristram Riley-Smith charts the cultural landscape of a conflicted America in the opening decade of the 21st Century and addresses two key questions: Why is it that a nation that is so clear about its destiny leaves the world confused about its direction of travel; and why is it that a people intent on the pursuit of happiness appears so unsettled? Delving beneath the chaotic surface of American society, Riley-Smith exposes the enduring fault-lines in the cultural bedrock. In doing so, he offers up a panoramic snapshot of American society, flash-lit by the thunderbolts of '9/11', Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 Credit Crash and the inauguration of President Obama. "The Cracked Bell" gets to the heart of what it means to live in Obama's America, addressing questions of identity and power, belief and value, liberty and law, innovation and tradition, commerce and consumption, nature and civilization, war and peace.
The Cracked Bell
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Riley-Smith takes us on a tour of the country, full of interesting pit-stops. --Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph
America matters to us all and why this book should be read. --Spectator
A hearty polemical feast. --Jonathan Wright, Tablet
America matters to us all and why this book should be read. --Spectator
A hearty polemical feast. --Jonathan Wright, Tablet
About the Author
Tristram Riley-Smith worked as a journalist before going up to Cambridge University, where he took a PhD in social anthropology. He spent three years working in the British Embassy in Washington DC. He has since lectured on the anthropology of art at the Smithsonian Institution and contributed to A Dictionary of Classical Reference in English Poetry, Travellers' Dictionary of Quotations and Macmillan's Encyclopaedia of Art. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is married with three sons.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By R. Hird
Format:Paperback
Some say if you want to understand America today, you need to understand 3 critical events; the revolution, the civil war and 9/11. In less than 300 pages Riley-Smith covers these events while also connecting a plethora of historical milestones on the way from Boston's tea party to Washington's Beergate, and from the expansion of territory heralded by the Louisiana Purchase to accusations of imperial ambitions in Iraq.
Throughout, nothing is more fundamental to the idea of America, or to the identity of Americans, than the concept of liberty. The author has captured the centrality of liberty in vivid terms in an engaging state of the nation review. From the pilgrims landing to Obama's election, he dissects the country across its political, legal, religious, socio-economic and cultural boundaries probing the nation to investigate where and why freedom has at once emancipated and enslaved the country.
There is no polemic here. The author's background as a social anthropologist shines through in his warmth of tone. While his approach is balanced it is obvious that he knows American well and cares deeply about it.
If you want to understand what America is like today and how it got there, you won't find a better starting point.
Throughout, nothing is more fundamental to the idea of America, or to the identity of Americans, than the concept of liberty. The author has captured the centrality of liberty in vivid terms in an engaging state of the nation review. From the pilgrims landing to Obama's election, he dissects the country across its political, legal, religious, socio-economic and cultural boundaries probing the nation to investigate where and why freedom has at once emancipated and enslaved the country.
There is no polemic here. The author's background as a social anthropologist shines through in his warmth of tone. While his approach is balanced it is obvious that he knows American well and cares deeply about it.
If you want to understand what America is like today and how it got there, you won't find a better starting point.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an important book.
There has never been a time when it has been more important for the rest of the world to understand the US. `The Cracked Bell' makes a major contribution to our appreciation of why America is as it is & behaves as it does.
Ideally placed by training & experience, Tristram Riley-Smith has written an informed, wide-ranging, well balanced & up-to-date account of the tensions & flaws in a society ill at ease with itself yet striving to match the ideals of the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution. Whilst he pulls no punches in exposing the underlying problems, by putting them into an historical context we are enabled to be more tolerant of what we may see as unacceptable injustices & practices. Despite Jimmy Carter's assertion that `....human rights created America' this is not a perfect, united nation. However, the book ends with a message of hope that the US can regain the respect of the world which is a necessary precursor to being accepted as its leader. Let us hope that by then it has learned how to do it!
Written in an engaging style, `The Cracked Bell' is a revealing, sensitive assessment of a complex society & demonstrates a deep understanding of the human elements which comprise it.
There has never been a time when it has been more important for the rest of the world to understand the US. `The Cracked Bell' makes a major contribution to our appreciation of why America is as it is & behaves as it does.
Ideally placed by training & experience, Tristram Riley-Smith has written an informed, wide-ranging, well balanced & up-to-date account of the tensions & flaws in a society ill at ease with itself yet striving to match the ideals of the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution. Whilst he pulls no punches in exposing the underlying problems, by putting them into an historical context we are enabled to be more tolerant of what we may see as unacceptable injustices & practices. Despite Jimmy Carter's assertion that `....human rights created America' this is not a perfect, united nation. However, the book ends with a message of hope that the US can regain the respect of the world which is a necessary precursor to being accepted as its leader. Let us hope that by then it has learned how to do it!
Written in an engaging style, `The Cracked Bell' is a revealing, sensitive assessment of a complex society & demonstrates a deep understanding of the human elements which comprise it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By P. Brooks
Format:Paperback
Dr Riley-Smith, an anthropologist who clearly loves his subject matter - and genus Americanus is particular - writes with brio and wit about the tribal distinctions that fissure the supposedly homogenous "E pluribus unum" fabric of American society. He explores the ethnic distinctions that are increasingly apparent but also identifies and classifies the religious, socio-economic and other gradations in US society.
His use of symbolism and metaphor - starting with the Cracked Bell itself - is worthy of mention in "The Golden Bough" and brilliantly underpins his theme. The term "mosaic" is particularly adroit, since it captures the idea of something which, when seen at a glance or from a distance is all of a piece, but when looked at near is in fact made up of myriad fragments.
For someone who spends too much time thinking about how the European Union functions (as I do), Dr Riley-Smith's assertion that US society is fragmenting is fascinating - and sad. Critics of the EU identify its famous lack of coherence as a flaw in its fundamental political structure. An old joke has it that if the EU applied to join itself it would have to turn itself down as insufficiently democratic: Eurosceptics argue that the lack of a discernible European "demos" means that we are left only with "kratos" - dictatorship. Certainly that is how many groups in EU society feel. Reassuring to know that we in Europe are not alone - NOT!
His use of symbolism and metaphor - starting with the Cracked Bell itself - is worthy of mention in "The Golden Bough" and brilliantly underpins his theme. The term "mosaic" is particularly adroit, since it captures the idea of something which, when seen at a glance or from a distance is all of a piece, but when looked at near is in fact made up of myriad fragments.
For someone who spends too much time thinking about how the European Union functions (as I do), Dr Riley-Smith's assertion that US society is fragmenting is fascinating - and sad. Critics of the EU identify its famous lack of coherence as a flaw in its fundamental political structure. An old joke has it that if the EU applied to join itself it would have to turn itself down as insufficiently democratic: Eurosceptics argue that the lack of a discernible European "demos" means that we are left only with "kratos" - dictatorship. Certainly that is how many groups in EU society feel. Reassuring to know that we in Europe are not alone - NOT!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Generalising about any society immediately invites challenge, so generalising about a society as dynamic and variegated as Obama's USA sounds almost foolhardy. I found Tristram Riley-Smith''s anthropologist's eye and ear pitch perfect in exposing the history and assumptions beneath the paradoxes confronting visitors to the US. A rewarding and remarkably insightful read.
By Summerside
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed and learned from this excellent, wide-ranging and perceptive study of America in the 21st century: a great perspective on the power that the US still has.
Format:Paperback
What a class act. This book manages to combine deeply serious analysis of the state of the US nation with extreme readability . I was gripped and read it over a weekend. It cleverly combines chapters which can be read as stand alone accounts with a the creation of an ever clearer picture of our most influential ally. As a child of an American mother whose family had ridden the rollercoaster ride which was the lot of those who settled the Mid-West, I thought that I would be familiar with most of the content of this book but it was a real education. It is a kaleidoscope of practical observation , thorough research and good humoured intelligence. An absolute must for anybody wanting a real insight into the American dream/nightmareand a pleasure to read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
A book to avoid
As someone interested in the the culture and social make up of the the United States, I bought this book after reading its review in the Economist. Read more
Published 15 months ago by BWL
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you love America, Read this wonderful book
The Cracked Bell is a magnificent and riveting book filled with interesting anecdote, finely observed detail, a tremendous amount of peripheral scholarship, and most importantly,... Read more
Published on 9 May 2010 by R Marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars
America influences us all. We should understand what makes it tick
I am not an anthropologist and I didn't have a particular need or desire to understand how or why America is what it is, but I was intrigued by the question of "Is the 'American... Read more
Published on 23 April 2010 by T. Morley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes to the Cracked Bell
The pleasure in Riley-Smith's book lies first and foremost in the fact he's an anthropologist - if you think you know America, forget it, the customs of some remote Polynesian... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2010 by O. M. R. Pemberton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Liberty at Large
In attempting to reconcile so many paradoxes in America's make up, this books hits the mark time and time again. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2010 by Mr. Edmund Rowleywilliams
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