These truths: a history of the United States

Part one: The idea (1492-1799). The nature of the past ; The rulers and the ruled ; Of wars and revolutions ; The constitution of a nation

Part two: The people (1800-1865). A democracy of numbers ; The soul and the machine ; Of ships and shipwrecks ; The face of battle

Part three: The state (1866-1945). Of citizens, persons, and people ; Efficiency and the masses ; A constitution of the air ; The brutality of modernity

Part four: The machine (1946-2016). A world of knowledge ; Rights and wrongs ; Battle lines ; America, disrupted

Epilogue: The question addressed.