How the modern world was made

'The vital role of war ... a virtuoso global study of how nations were formed and constitutions written upends the familiar narrative at every turn'

Miles Taylor reviews The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen by Linda Colley at The Guardian.

"Few documents are venerated as much as the American constitution. Until recently, one million people a year filed past the original copy on display in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in Washington DC. Yet, as Linda Colley’s brilliant new book shows, viewing constitutions as national tablets of stone tells us more about their contemporary charisma than the complex histories from which they were wrought. ...
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"Fresh insights are suggested for pivotal moments, such as the Philadelphia convention that agreed the first American constitution in 1787 in great secrecy, only to find it emblazoned across the newspapers as soon as it was ready. ..."

See American State Papers in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 43, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 40.