Keller: It is a terrific analysis of contemporary American culture, put into the context of American history. InThe Real American Dream one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. Originating in the William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization at Harvard, this slim volume has the characteristics of the civilization about which its author reflects: it is large with desire and disheveled in its pursuit. In The Real American Dream one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. Delbanco writes that the history of hope in America is a history "of diminution." Picked up The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope at Half Price Books awhile ago as I had heard good things about it. In The Real American Dream. A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope. A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope. The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope | Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities and Director of the American Studies Program at Columbia University, Andrew Delbanco examines the evolution of the American Dream--the idea that anyone may rise above his or her station, regardless of birth. In The Real American Dream one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. Though they are very different books, I noticed that all four cite Andrew Delbanco’s, The Real American Dream: a Mediation on Hope. The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope ReviewThis The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope book is not really ordinary book, you have it then the world is in your hands. The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope Andrew Delbanco, Author Harvard University Press $19.95 (143p) ISBN 978-0-674-74925-2 More By and About This Author The real American dream is the hope of satisfying “the unquenchable human need to feel connected to something larger than the insular self.” This book is a meditation on how Americans have tried to satisfy that longing over the centuries. one of the nation's premier literary scholars searches out the symbols and stories by which Americans have reached for something beyond worldly desire. It turned out to be an interesting short work on the larger trends of American history – from Faith in God to Faith in Democracy to Faith In Self. Dreaming the Real American Dream, Delbanco's 'Meditation on Hope' By Virgil Renzulli. It distills the spiritual history of the United States into three short chapters: "God," "Nation," and "Self." The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope is a jewel of a book by Andrew Delbanco. In his book, published recently by Harvard University Press, Andrew Delbanco writes, "Human beings need to organize the inchoate sensations amid which we pass our days—pain, desire, pleasure, fear—into a story. Reflections on American conceptions of happiness and hope—and of how they have grown weak. Why is that book so formative to your thinking? A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope. A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope.