America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A critical, unflinching cultural history and fierce beacon of hope for a better future, America Redux is a necessary and galvanizing read.
What are the stories we tell ourselves about America?
How do they shape our sense of history,
cloud our perceptions,
inspire us?
America Redux explores the themes that create our shared sense of American identity and interrogates the myths we’ve been telling ourselves for centuries. With iconic American catchphrases as chapter titles, these twenty-one visual stories illuminate the astonishing, unexpected, sometimes darker sides of history that reverberate in our society to this very day—from the role of celebrity in immigration policy to the influence of one small group of white women on education to the effects of “progress” on housing and the environment to the inspiring force of collective action and mutual aid across decades and among diverse groups.
Fully illustrated with collaged archival photographs, maps, documents, graphic elements, and handwritten text, this book is a dazzling, immersive experience that jumps around in time and will make you view history in a whole different light.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this pictorial stunner, debut creator Aberg-Riger demonstrates the U.S.'s continually expanding history via nonlinear chronology that covers ground between the late 18th century and the 21st century. In a beginning preface, the author writes that "this book is... an attempt at a new way of seeing history." Seeking to personify this assertion, Aberg-Riger uses vibrant, mixed-media graphic collages combining maps, vintage magazine ads, and old photographs to present a kaleidoscopic visual accounting. An early section—"A Nation of Immigrants"—discusses the celebrity power of actor Lillian Russell, and how she used her status to rally against immigrants, resulting in the 1921 Emergency Quota Act, which instated an annual restriction on the number of immigrants admitted into the U.S. A later chapter, "Down on the Farm," details stories about California workers fighting for the rights of Filipino laborers. By focusing on time as "a continual, ever-evolving relationship" rather than an immutable linear progression, Aberg-Riger examines how each individual story tackles issues surrounding identity in politics, allowing readers to make connections and interrogate how seemingly isolated societal struggles intersect with one another. This work enthralls from start to finish, culminating in a triumphant victory that tackles censorship and revisionist history. Ages 14–up.
