A New York Times Best Seller
Enough with the dead white men! Forget what you learned in school! Ever
since Columbus--who was probably a converted Jew--"discovered" the New
World, the powerful and privileged have usurped American history. The
true story of the United States lies not with the founding fathers or
robber barons, but with the country's most overlooked and marginalized
peoples: the workers, immigrants, housewives, and slaves who built
America from the ground up and made this country what it is today.
In A Most Imperfect Union, cultural critic Ilan Stavans and
award-winning cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz present a vibrant alternative
history of America, giving full voice to the country's unsung but
exceptional people. From African royals to accused witches, from Puerto
Rican radicals to Arab immigrants, Stavans and Alcaraz use sardonic
humor and irreverent illustrations to introduce some of the most
fascinating characters in American history--and to recount travesties
and triumphs that mainstream accounts all too often ignore. What emerges
is a colorful group portrait of these United States, one that champions
America's progress while also acknowledging its missteps.
Sweeping and cinematic, stretching from the nation's prehistory to the
post-9/11 era, A Most Imperfect Union is a joyous, outrageous
celebration of the complex, sometimes unruly individuals and forces that
have shaped our ever-changing land.
