Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History
You see it everywhere: on bumper stickers, tee shirts, lapel pins, in shop windows, and in front of nearly every school or government building. Yet while the American flag is ubiquitous, as a symbol it is both heavily freighted and misunderstood.\ Now an acclaimed European professor of American history brings a fresh perspective to the American flag, exploring its political, social, and cultural significance across the broad swath of its history. Mining a rich vein of materials from history,...
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\ Library JournalFrom our July 4th celebrations to the iconic images from 9/11, the American flag is an all-pervasive, definitive symbol of American national identity. In this dynamic work, originally published in Italy in 2003, Testi (U.S. history, Univ. of Pisa) provides readers with an engaging and fresh perspective that can only be provided by an outsider standing above the fray. Whether discussing the evolution of flag etiquette or its relationship to the U.S. Constitution, Testi deftly explores the shifting cultural meanings of the American symbol, from 1776 through the growth of the American empire to the contentious debates occurring today. He lucidly contends that through all eras of American history, groups as ideologically divergent as the Ku Klux Klan and the civil rights activists of the 1960s have labored to "capture the flag" to stand for their own causes. VERDICT In Mazhar's (Warnborough Coll., Dublin) excellent translation, the brilliance of Testi's insights comes across well. This slim volume will certainly appeal to American studies scholars as well as to general readers of American cultural history.—Brian Odom, Pelham P.L., AL\ \
