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Bestselling historian Peter Moore traces how Enlightenment ideas were exported from Britain and put into practice in America where they became the most successful export of all time the American Dream

Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness is the bestknown phrase from the Declaration of Independence one of the most important documents of the eighteenth century and the whole Enlightenment Age Written by Thomas Jefferson it is frequently evoked today as a shorthand for that idea we call the American Dream But this is a line with a surprising history Rather than being uniquely American the vision it encapsulates of a free and happy world owes a great deal to British thinkers too

Centred on the life of Benjamin Franklin featuring figures like the cultural giant Samuel Johnson the groundbreaking historian Catharine Macaulay the firebrand politician John Wilkes and revolutionary activist Thomas Paine this book looks at the generation that preceded the Declaration in 1776 It takes us back to a vital moment in the foundation of the West a time full of intent confidence and ideas It tells a whole new story about the birth of the United States of America and some of the key principles by which we live to this very day

A trove of grippingcharacters Wonderfully absorbing and stimulating SARAH BAKEWELL author of AT THE EXISTENTIALIST CAFE

2023 Peter Moore P2023 Penguin Audio