Renowned historian Glenn Adamson presents a groundbreaking study of how artisans created America. Examine any phase of the nation’s struggle to define itself, and artisans are there–from the silversmith Paul Revere and the revolutionary carpenters and blacksmiths who hurled tea into Boston Harbor, to today’s “maker movement.” Artisanship has often been a site of resistance for oppressed people, such as enslaved African Americans whose skilled labor might confer hard-won agency under bondage, or the Native American makers who adapted traditional arts into statements of modernity. As Adamson argues, these artisans’ stories speak to our collective striving toward a more perfect union.

Curbside pickup and shipping available through The Novel Neighbor: https://thenovelneighbor.indielite.org/book/9781635574586.

Presented in partnership by the St. Louis County Library, HEC Media, and Craft Alliance.