The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War

by Carl M. Cannon

Book Overview

The Founders wrote in 1776 that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are unalienable American rights. In The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War, Carl M. Cannon shows how this single phrase is one of almost unbelievable historical power. It was this rich rhetorical vein that New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and President George W. Bush tapped into after 9/11 when they urged Americans to go to ballgames, to shop, to do things that...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742525910
• ISBN13: 9780742525917
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Dense but enjoyable reading

There is a lot of information in this book, but Mr. Cannon makes it entertaining and memorable. Introduction is particularly good.

A truly enjoyable, meandering history

The Publishers Weekly review that is posted above criticizes the book for not truly exploring the meanings behind Jefferson's famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence that lists among the rights of all people the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." To be fair to Cannon, he does explore that and both explicitly and implicitly tells the reader that the genius of the phrase is that it is so hard to define. It can be used by people from all over the political landscape to define their goals and they are all using it correctly (I think he does this rather brilliantly in the chapter concerning anti-war protesters vs. George W. Bush.) The Publishers Weekly review correctly points out that Cannon's focus is, at times, lacking. However, the text is still informative and well-written. I would compare it to a pleasant conversation that strays a bit from its original focus but eventually does return. Cannon pulls quotes from a great multitude of sources and he correctly, in my mind, expounds on his thesis that one of the Great Themes of the American experience is expanding the concept of the "pursuit of happiness" and making it apply to more and more people within our own society and also throughout the world. His view that this is one of the goals of the invasion of Iraq is so consistent with Bush's own statements and my own observations that it shocked me to read it in print. Why was I shocked? I was shocked because this was the first time I read it in print - he is the first journalist I've seen to analyze it in this way and I feel that he is one of the few who actually has an intellectual grasp of what Bush's goals are in Iraq (be they successfully reached or not and Cannon really does not address the correctness or not of the war in Iraq - he is merely looking into motivations). His quotes from leaders of nations that were once part of the Soviet Bloc and are now part of the Coalition of the Willing in Iraq are so concise and insightful that I was struck dounbfounded in many ways. On a pet peeve note, Cannon has lots of endnotes - many with excellent additional commentary. I wish his publisher had seen fit to make them footnotes so that I would not have had to keep two bookmarks in the book and continually have to flip back and forth.

Don't just buy one, buy a few and hand them out!

Cannon's book reads like a poetic novel yet is chalked full of insight and reflection on our political American landscape. While examining the transformation of our unalienable rights, brought to light by Thomas Jefferson, from 1789 to present, Cannon has uncovered what it truly means to be an American in this day and age when we have reason to question our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness not just on the shores of the United States but as a global society. Each chapter contains an essay that lends itself beautifully to the book at large. This is a must read for an aspiring historian or political scientist and will make a great stocking stuffer!