Schama, born in Britain, has lived in the U.S. for decades and is currently a professor of art history at Columbia. This work serves as a companion to the two-part BBC series of the same name. Schama describes the contemporary U.S. as a seriously divided society, plagued by immigration, differences over the Iraq War, the role of religion, and the proper use of our natural resources. Yet this is an optimistic work that asserts the inherent strengths of American optimism and commitment to democratic ideals. As the subtitle suggests, Schama writes more about our past than the future. He provides haunting images of a variety of sites (West Point, Arlington National Cemetery) to illustrate how wars have shaped American identity. He demonstrates the passions evoked by the debate over immigration policy through a series of vignettes that consider the question of a national identity. On religion, Schama examines the unique role of the African American church and suggests that Democrats have broken the apparent Republican monopoly over religious issues. Schama uses well his gift for storytelling.