Share
American Monster: How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity
Paul Semonin (Author)
·
Nyu Press
· Hardcover
American Monster: How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity - Paul Semonin
Choose the list to add your product or create one New List
✓ Product added successfully to the Wishlist.
Go to My Wishlists
Origin: U.S.A.
(Import costs included in the price)
It will be shipped from our warehouse between
Wednesday, July 03 and
Monday, July 15.
You will receive it anywhere in United Kingdom between 1 and 3 business days after shipment.
Choose the list to add your product or create one New List
✓ Product added successfully to the Wishlist.
Go to My Wishlists
Origin: Chile
(Import costs included in the price)
It will be shipped from our warehouse between
Friday, July 05 and
Tuesday, July 16.
You will receive it anywhere in United Kingdom between 1 and 3 business days after shipment.
Synopsis "American Monster: How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity"
In 1801, the first complete mastodon skeleton was excavated in the Hudson River Valley, marking the climax of a century-long debate in America and Europe over the identity of a mysterious creature known as the American Incognitum. Long before the dinosaurs were discovered and the notion of geological time acquired currency, many citizens of the new republic believed this mythical beast to be a ferocious carnivore, capable of crushing deer and elk in its "monstrous grinders." During the American Revolution, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson avidly collected its bones; for the founding fathers, its massive jaws symbolized the violence of the natural world and the emerging nation's own dreams of conquest. Paul Semonin's lively history of this icon of American nationalism focuses on the link between patriotism and prehistoric nature. From the first fist-sized tooth found in 1705, which Puritan clergyman claimed was evidence of human giants, to the scientific racialism associated with the discovery of extinct species, Semonin traces the evangelical beliefs, Enlightenment thought, and Indian myths which led the founding fathers to view this prehistoric monster as a symbol of nationhood. Semonin also sees the mystery of the mastodon in early America as a cautionary tale about the first flowering of our narcissistic fascination with a prehistoric nature ruled by ferocious carnivores. As such, American Monster offers fresh insights into the genesis of the ongoing fascination with dinosaurs.
- 0% (0)
- 0% (0)
- 0% (0)
- 0% (0)
- 0% (0)
All books in our catalog are Original.
The book is written in English.
The binding of this edition is Hardcover.
✓ Producto agregado correctamente al carro, Ir a Pagar.
