The Shape of Things to Come: Prophecy and the American Voice by Griel Marcus, the celebrated author of Lipstick Traces, Mystery Train, and Invisible Republic, is a stunning new book on America and the cultural tributaries that carry its past, present, and future.

America is a nation whose sense of righteousness goes hand in hand with paranoia. Greil Marcus explores the influence of culture and politics on the American psyche - and the idealism, horror, eloquence and violence integral to its founding narratives.