Author(s): Greil Marcus

History and Politics

In "The Shape of Things to Come", Greil Marcus untangles the story of America's covenant with itself - and the idealism, horror, eloquence and violence integral to its founding narratives. In a thrilling account that moves back and forth between culture and politics, and with deep dives into the work of a few artists, who strikingly dramatize the challenge America poses to each of its citizens - Herman Melville and Raymond Chandler, Philip Roth and David Lynch, Bill Pullman and Sheryl Lee, David Thomas of Pere Ubu and Allen Ginsberg - Marcus captures a story that is constantly being remade and retold. First published 2006.