4 ms·

The fact that the US is separated from a huge chunk of the world by the oceans is tremendously important. But pretty much all nations and cultures have spread

The fact that the US is separated from a huge chunk of the world by the oceans is tremendously important. But pretty much all nations and cultures have spread by one group dominating other groups and taking their land. That's a given. What happens after the land is taken and the nation established is more important, which is what this book seems to address. The US has huge material advantages over other nations, but it has also fostered a powerful innovative culture that is just as important to it's success.

vacri 9y ago
> is just as important to it's success. Yes, but this is why I said the things I mentioned were 'pretty major additions', not 'the only reasons'. The Louisiana Purchase is routinely ignored in things like this, for example - with no Purchase, there's no Mexican-American war, no Texas or California, no Great Plains, no Mississippi trade, and France as a (friendly) neighbour.