Introduction: American will

Part I. American visionaries

Individual liberty: the Anti-Federalists and the fight for a Bill of Rights

Defending American sovereignty: Napoleon, Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase

Boom: the first energy revolution and the rise of the American entrepreneur

Part II. America off-course

Preemptive surrender: Joe Kennedy and the perils of appeasement

In defense of Federalism: Ronald Reagan and the fight against Richard Nixon's welfare state

From Hillarycare to Obamacare: the left's quest for socialized medicine

Part III. Division and indecision

A party divided: the great Republican crack-up of 1912

The Truman afterthought: how indecision and recklessness almost lost the Cold War

Part IV. Questions of faith

Great awakenings: abolition and the hidden hand of God

Religion and the schools: how religious bigotry has punished American students

Conclusion: 2016: another turning point.