The Beer Can by the Highway: Essays on What's American about America

John A. Kouwenhoven

JHU Press, 1988 - History - 255 pages

First published in 1961, The Beer Can by the Highway takes a provocative, wide-ranging look at America's ever-changing physical and intellectual landscapes, from advertising and jazz to Manhattan's skyline and the prairies of the Midwest. The Johns Hopkins edition features a foreword by Ralph Ellison, who praises the work as "one that springs from deep within that rich segment of the American grain which gave us the likes of Emerson and Whitman, Horatio Greenough and Constance Rourke—yes, and Mark Twain."

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - Devil_llama - LibraryThing

This should have been interesting, but failed. The author was filled with the pretentiousness of the working class, looking down on everyone and everything. In addition, he is a boring writer.

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - quantum_flapdoodle - LibraryThing

This should have been interesting, but failed. The author was filled with the pretentiousness of the working class, looking down on everyone and everything. In addition, he is a boring writer.

Contents

• FOREWORD by Ralph Ellison: 9
• The Dispraising of America: 21
• Whats American about America મૈં: 75
• Liberal Crafts and Illiberal Arts: 87
• Farewell Architecture: 105
• What Is American in Architecture: 137
• Up Tails All: 163
• Soft Sell Hard Sell Padded Sell: 185
• The Beer Can by the Highway: 215
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: 243

About the author

John A. Kouwenhoven (1909-1990) taught English at Barnard College for many years. His books include The Columbia Historical Portrait of New York, Made in America, and Half a Truth Is Better than None.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Beer Can by the Highway: Essays on What's American about America
• Author: John A. Kouwenhoven
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: JHU Press, 1988
• ISBN: 0801836530, 9780801836534
• Length: 255 pages
• Subjects: History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies); History / United States / General; Language Arts & Disciplines / Writing / Nonfiction (incl. Memoirs); Literary Collections / Essays; Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection; Nature / Essays; Science / Environmental Science; Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social; Social Science / Popular Culture; Travel / Essays & Travelogues