In this book, America's top scholars explore the nation's quintessential values, systems, institutions, challenges and dilemmas, providing a fascinating primer to the most powerful nation in the worldThe stakes in understanding America could not be higher. For better or worse, America is the 800-pound gorilla in every room in the world. When it has an itch, the world scratches. When it gets a cold, the world sneezes. Its actions - and its failures to act - often send ripples around the globe. It is a model for some societies to emulate. For others, to avoid. But what is America today? How did it get that way? And what will it be in the years to come?For any nation to be deeply divided, witlessly vulgar, religiously orthodox, militarily aggressive and ungenerous to those in need, while maintaining a political stability, economic prosperity and a standard of living that is the envy of the world, it must indeed be unusual. In this essential book, twenty of America's leading scholars take on the weight task of sizing up this mighty nation in a way that we can all comprehend. Far more than simple history, they outline the current state of American institutions - from the legal system to marriage to the military to the war on drugs - and anticipate where they are heading in the future.