Two friends—a Democrat and a Republican—travel across America "on a deeply personal journey through the heart of a divided nation . . . to find growth, hope and fundamental strength in their own lives" (Bob Woodward) and the country they love, in good times and bad. In the year before Donald Trump was elected president, Jordan Blashek, a Republican Marine, and Chris Haugh, a Democrat and son of a single mother from Berkeley, CA, formed an unlikely friendship. Jordan was fresh off his service in the Marines and feeling a bit out of place at Yale Law School. Chris was yearning for a sense of mission after leaving Washington D.C. Over the months, Jordan and Chris's friendship blossomed not in spite of, but because of, their political differences. So they decided to hit the road in search of reasons to strengthen their bond in an era of strife and partisanship. What follows is a three-year adventure story, across forty-four states and along 20,000 miles of road to find out exactly where the American experiment stands at the close of the second decade of the twenty-first century. In their search, Jordan and Chris go from the tear gas-soaked streets of a Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona to the Mexican highways running between Tijuana and Juarez. They witness the full scope of American life, from lobster trawlers and jazz clubs of Portland and New Orleans to the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma and the prisons of Detroit, where former addicts and inmates painstakingly put their lives back together. Union is a road narrative, a civics lesson, and an unforgettable window into one epic friendship. We ride along with Jordan and Chris for the whole journey, listening in on front-seat arguments and their conversations with Americans from coast to coast. We also peer outside the car to understand America's hot-button topics, including immigration, mass incarceration, and the military-civilian divide. And by the time Jordan and Chris kill the engine for the last time, they answer one of the most pressing questions of our time: How far apart are we really?

About the struggle to create a national myth for the United States, one that could hold its rival regional cultures together and forge, for the first time, an American nationhood. Tells the dramatic tale of how the story of America's national origins, identity, and purpose was intentionally created and fought over in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

A political anthology from the front lines of American poetics.

Age of Union is a compelling guide for igniting today's changemaker—those ready to take action for our planet and its inhabitants. We have seen growing divisions between people on either side of gender, religious, political and cultural borders for too long. Meanwhile, global health crises, environmental degradation, and human-accelerated climate change pose immense challenges to our future that we must now face quickly and cooperatively. Separation has to be confronted head-on. We can do this each and every day with meaningful, impactful acts of union. There is a greater need for unity than ever before. Dax Dasilva presents a guide to take simple measures to promote our collective well-being and union. Grounded in four pillars—leadership, culture, spirituality, and nature—the book advocates that the time for change is now and that our choices are the catalyst. We are all in this together, so let us move toward an Age of Union. May it strengthen your resolve to start building a kinder, greener and more livable world where everyone and everything can thrive. You are the changemaker. For more information visit www.ageofunion.com Reviews "A compassionate call for the cultural revolution needed to take care of each other and our planet." —Marika Anthony-Shaw, Founder & CEO of Plus1.org “Humans are finally evolving and are becoming more aware of the fact that saving the world is a priority for everyone today.’ —Carmen Busquets, WWF Council Member, Humanitarian and FashionTech Entrepreneur (Net-a-Porter, Moda Operandi, FarFetched, and BoF) “This book is a lens that helps focus on what really matters. We get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we forget how our actions affect our environment daily. This book is very relevant today, as it’s time for everyone to become leaders of change and inspire others to do the same. Dax Dasilva portrays that an Age of Union is here and empowers others to rise to the occasion.” —Ekaterina Sky, Wildlife Conservation Artist “Age of Union is the much needed call to action our world needs right now. Dax Dasilva speaks to the inherent leader in every one of us and provides a guide so that the future changemakers of tomorrow can get started today.” —Jonathan Kanevsky MD “The first of its kind, Age of Union brings readers along an intimate journey that perfectly balances spiritual, entrepreneurial, and environmental guidance, all of which got me wanting to take action now.” —Shira Laza, on-air personality and founder, What’s Trending "Now more then ever we need to be more connected and share ideas to collectively save the planet. This book is a great starting point and guide while trying to shift to this new paradigm”. —Seth Troxler, International DJ “Age of Union is a well rounded read for anyone who wants to explore the subject of growth, change and connectedness. Especially in times like these, it gives hope and helps to understand how we can make a difference by transforming our relationship with ourselves and the world around us.“ —Annette & Daniela Fedler, Sustainable Luxury Design Consultants & Eco Friendly Fashion Designers "In Age of Union, Dax Dasilva shares with us a manifesto for the guiding principles that makes him a true leader in the ecological transition and the social evolution for a kinder world that will take us to the next phase of humanity. Age of Union is a mirror to be held for us to become leaders in that transition as well." —Damian Siqueiros, MFA, Artist and Activist

America is at a pivotal crossroads. The soul of our nation is at stake and in peril. A new public narrative is needed to unite Americans around common values and to counter the increasing discord and acrimony in our politics and culture. The process of healing and creating a more perfect union in our nation must start now. The moral vision of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Beloved Community, which animated and galvanized the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, provides a hopeful way forward. In A More Perfect Union, Adam Russell Taylor, president of Sojourners, reimagines a contemporary version of the Beloved Community that will inspire and unite Americans across generations, geographic and class divides, racial and gender differences, faith traditions, and ideological leanings. In the Beloved Community, neither privilege nor punishment is tied to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or economic status, and everyone is able to realize their full potential and thrive. Building the Beloved Community requires living out a series of commitments, such as true equality, radical welcome, transformational interdependence, E Pluribus Unum ("out of many, one"), environmental stewardship, nonviolence, and economic equity. By building the Beloved Community we unify the country around a shared moral vision that transcends ideology and partisanship, tapping into our most sacred civic and religious values, enabling our nation to live up to its best ideals and realize a more perfect union.

The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner’s penetrating analysis of the crisis of democracy during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. In Liberty and Union, David Herbert Donald persuasively examines one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. With the same wit, eloquence, and willingness to question received wisdom that define his acclaimed biographies of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Sumner, Donald suggests that it was the commonalities between North and South—and not their differences—that led to the earth-shattering conflict that was the Civil War and defined the chaotic years that followed. Exploring the political, social, and economic impact of the war, emancipation, Reconstruction, and westward expansion, Donald combines history and philosophy, offering a bold and thought-provoking analysis that goes far in explaining the nation we live in today. Riveting, illuminating, and provocative, Liberty and Union sheds a brilliant light on a half-century of US history and addresses a perennial problem of democratic societies all over the world: how to reconcile majority rule and minority rights.

A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS FINALIST. “Powerful and stirring, like a 2020 Jewish version of The Catcher in the Rye.” —Good Morning America A Recommended Book from: The New York Times * Good Morning America * Entertainment Weekly * Electric Literature * The New York Post * Alma * The Millions * Book Riot A commanding debut and a poignant coming-of-age story about a devout Jewish high school student whose plunge into the secularized world threatens everything he knows of himself. Ari Eden’s life has always been governed by strict rules. In ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn, his days are dedicated to intense study and religious rituals, and adolescence feels profoundly lonely. So when his family announces that they are moving to a glitzy Miami suburb, Ari seizes his unexpected chance for reinvention. Enrolling in an opulent Jewish academy, Ari is stunned by his peers’ dizzying wealth, ambition, and shameless pursuit of life’s pleasures. When the academy’s golden boy, Noah, takes Ari under his wing, Ari finds himself entangled in the school’s most exclusive and wayward group. These friends are magnetic and defiant—especially Evan, the brooding genius of the bunch, still living in the shadow of his mother’s death. Influenced by their charismatic rabbi, the group begins testing their religion in unconventional ways. Soon Ari and his friends are pushing moral boundaries and careening toward a perilous future—one in which the traditions of their faith are repurposed to mysterious, tragic ends. Mesmerizing and playful, heartrending and darkly romantic, The Orchard probes the conflicting forces that determine who we become: the heady relationships of youth, the allure of greatness, the doctrines we inherit, and our concealed desires.

From the nineteenth-century textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, to the triumph of unions in the twentieth century and their waning influence today, the contest between labor and capital for the American bounty has shaped our national experience. In this stirring new history, Philip Dray shows us the vital accomplishments of organized labor and illuminates its central role in our social, political, economic, and cultural evolution. His epic, character-driven narrative not only restores to our collective memory the indelible story of American labor, it also demonstrates the importance of the fight for fairness and economic democracy, and why that effort remains so urgent today.