Anthony DePalma

Here

A Biography of the New American Continent

Public Affairs, May 2001

A completely original, passionately rendered portrait of the nations of North America and their complicated relationships with one another, by a New York Times journalist who has lived in all three countries. Anthony DePalma has been bureau chief for The New York Times in both Canada and Mexico. Here is his fascinating “biography of a continent:” an exploration into and meditation on the two very different nations that begin where America ends, and on the nature of our relationship with them. It is also a very personal account written by someone who has lived in all three countries and spent years trying to understand how we got to be who we are. How did our three nations-all nations of immigrants, sharing borders and intertwined histories-develop such different world views and senses of ourselves? How do we-accurately and inaccurately-perceive each other? Who are we now, separately and as a continent, and where are we going?DePalma considers these questions both as a journalist and through the lens of his own immigrant American family’s experiences, offering illuminating re-examinations of key historical events, vivid contemporary reportage, and thought-provoking, often moving stories of individuals, including those of his own relatives, along the way. “By way of this expedition beyond the ends of America,” says DePalma, “I came to understand better who I am and how I got to be here. I hope readers discover the same. “