Bellow was America's writer, and in this superb collection of nonfiction essays he demonstated his vigilance of and loyalty to his country over a span of 45 years. From his earliest piece, a war report from Spain written for the Partisan Review (1948), to his Novel Prize lecture (1976), to a Forbes article entitled "There Is Simply Too Much To Think About," Bellow was consumed by the idea of America--so great, so accomplished, so magical--destroying its soul.