

Thanks for visiting. This website provides an overview and introduction to my work as a U.S. cultural historian. My major works include Born in the USA: Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition (HarperCollins, 1997), The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation (Oxford University Press, 2003), and Sensing the Past: Hollywood Stars and Historical Visions (Oxford, 2013). My essays and reviews have been published in the Washington Post, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and the American Historical Review, among other periodicals. I published three books in 2021: From Memory to History: Television Versions of the Twentieth Century, Martin Scorsese and the American Dream, and my first novel, Best Class You Never Had. My next book, 1980: American Culture in Transition, will be published in the Fall of 2022. For more information, see the other pages at this site or visit my author page on Amazon.com. –JC