If You've Seen One, You've Seen the Mall: Europeans and American Mass Culture

Among all the other books on American culture that were written by Americans, If You've One, by a Dutch scholar, is my favorite one. In contrast to many current studies of America, which concentrate on ethnic groups or gender issues, Kroes examines US culture as a whole. A term that Kroes uses over and over again is "quinessentially American," which he tries to define. He offers some great insight, and more importantly, a perspective that can be very useful. Even though it is written for European audiences, I would recommend this book to Americans as well.