Shining Tree of Life : The New Yorker
Article about the Shakers
Boston Review — David M. Kennedy: A Question of Character
In the early 19th century, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, to this day still the person who made the most ambitious and probably astute characterization of Americans, called us both natural joiners and yet fiercely individualistic . . . .are those both still fundamental parts of who we are? Is the American character disappearing or are we ever more solidifying it? And who will articulate it in such a way that most of us will nod in recognition?