City on a Hill

A History of American Exceptionalism

By: Abram C. Van Engen

Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt

In this illuminating book, Abram C. Van Engen shows how the phrase “city on a hill”, from a 1630 sermon by Massachusetts Bay governor John Winthrop, shaped the story of American exceptionalism in the 20th century.

By tracing the history of Winthrop’s speech, its changing status through time, and its use in modern politics, Van Engen asks us to reevaluate our national narratives. He tells the story of curators, librarians, collectors, archivists, antiquarians, and other often anonymous figures who emphasized the role of the Pilgrims and Puritans in American history, paving the way for the saving and sanctifying of a single sermon and its eventual transformation into an American tale. This sermon’s rags-to-riches rise reveals the way national stories take shape and shows us how they continue to influence competing visions of the country - the many different meanings of America that emerge from its literary past.

The book is published by Yale University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2020 Abram C. Van Engen (P)2021 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Engaging and substantive." (Wall Street Journal)

"An elegant piece of historical detective work." (David Frum, Atlantic)

"Engagingly written, insightfully argued, and offers fascinating, sometimes rollicking, tours through the ways Puritans have been characterized - and caricatured - over time." (Reviews in American History)