Review of The Soul of America

Jon Meacham

Looking for the book?
We have the summary! Get the key insights in just 10 minutes.

Rating

The rating – what does it mean?

At getAbstract, we summarize books* that help people understand the world and make it better. Whatever we select for our library has to excel in one or the other of these two core criteria:

Enlightening – You’ll learn things that will inform and improve your decisions.

Helpful – You’ll take-away practical advice that will help you get better at what you do.

We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Our rating helps you sort the titles on your reading list from adequate (5) to brilliant (10). Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. Here's what the ratings mean:

5 –Solid. A helpful and/or enlightening book, inspite of its obvious shortcomings. For instance, it may be offer decent advice in some areas but be repetitive or unremarkable in others. 6 – Notable. A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. is particularly well structured. 7 – Good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that combines two or more noteworthy strengths, e.g. contains uncommonly novel ideas and presents them in an engaging manner. 8 – Very good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style. 9 – Superb. A helpful and/or enlightening book that is extremely well rounded, has many strengths and no shortcomings worth mentioning. 10 – Brilliant. A helpful and/or enlightening book that, in addition to meeting the highest standards in all pertinent aspects, stands out even among the best. Often an instant classic and must-read for everyone. While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. Therefore, we use a set of 20 qualities to characterize each book by its strengths:

Applicable – You’ll get advice that can be directly applied in the workplace or in everyday situations.
Analytical – You’ll understand the inner workings of the subject matter.
Background – You’ll get contextual knowledge as a frame for informed action or analysis.
Bold – You’ll find arguments that may break with predominant views.
Comprehensive – You’ll find every aspect of the subject matter covered.
Concrete Examples – You’ll get practical advice illustrated with examples of real-world applications or anecdotes.
Eloquent – You’ll enjoy a masterfully written or presented text.
Engaging – You’ll read or watch this all the way through the end.
Eye opening – You’ll be offered highly surprising insights.
For beginners – You’ll find this to be a good primer if you’re a learner with little or no prior experience/knowledge.
For experts – You’ll get the higher-level knowledge/instructions you need as an expert.
Hot Topic – You’ll find yourself in the middle of a highly debated issue.
Innovative – You can expect some truly fresh ideas and insights on brand-new products or trends.
Insider’s take – You’ll have the privilege of learning from someone who knows her or his topic inside-out.
Inspiring – You’ll want to put into practice what you’ve read immediately.
Overview – You’ll get a broad treatment of the subject matter, mentioning all its major aspects.
Scientific – You’ll get facts and figures grounded in scientific research.
Visionary – You’ll get a glimpse of the future and what it might mean for you.
Well structured – You’ll find this to be particularly well organized to support its reception or application.

*getAbstract is summarizing much more than books. We look at every kind of content that may matter to our audience: books, but also articles, reports, videos and podcasts. What we say here about books applies to all formats we cover.

Qualities

Review

Historian Jon Meacham looks at America’s Trump-era politics of rage and resentment and sees a straight line to the past. In this study of American domestic strife, Meacham argues that the nation has often fallen into dark times; yet it has always reemerged, thanks in large part to the heroic actions of its presidents. He sees Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson as titanic figures who appealed to what Lincoln called Americans’ “better angels.” None of the men were completely idealistic, Meacham reports. Even Lincoln was willing to tolerate slavery, for a time. The measure of a hero, Meacham argues, is not perfection but a willingness to fight for what’s right. This compelling overview of American political history reframes familiar events in a new way.

About the Author

Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose subjects have included Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt. He is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University.

The “Politics of Fear”

American politics, Meacham holds, is a constant battle between fear and hope. Fear is emotional and irrational; it seeks to cast blame. Hope is optimistic and unifying. Throughout American history, racism, nativism, isolationism and populism have prevailed numerous times. During these periods, populists stoke fear, finding racial groups or religious sects to scapegoat. The 2016 election of Donald Trump, in Meacham’s view, marks a return to such “politics of fear.” When, for example, a woman died while counter-protesting a group of neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, Trump responded to the events by insisting there had been “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” This line of rhetoric; the author writes, appealed to white nationalists such as David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Troubled as Meacham is by Trump’s comments, he views as even more fearsome the general mood of bitterness and resentment that has settled over the American electorate. Today, he observes, the United States is in a period of economic malaise and social upheaval: circumstances which set the stage for extremism. Yet, history shows, such dark times don’t last forever. Americans find a way to get back in touch with what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature,” and to embrace hope over fear. As a result, American democracy has, repeatedly, reemerged intact and more robust than before. The American president plays a crucial role in times of angst and worry. A president acts as a powerful role model for the rest of the nation. In the past, Meacham writes, presidents have endeavored to exert a calming influence, to show grace in times of stress. Trump, however, he sees as an exception; unlike his predecessors, he voices no calls for unity or tolerance.

Read on