Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity,

Nationalism is a difficult phenomenon to define. On the one hand, one could argue that Nationalism is a movement. On the other hand, one could make a good argument for Nationalism being a state of mind that is an amalgam of national identity, consciousness, and collectivities. Greenfeld undertakes a five-country study that extends a colossal five hundred years. This historically leaning book of sociology does a good job of adding to the already crowded conversation on Nationalism. The theme of Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity is simple yet not simplistic, contends that England was the groundbreaker; it used existing infrastructure in the process of changing itself. The Americans were good followers. France, Germany, and Russia followed the same beaten path, modifying nationalism as they went along. As a point of method, Nationalism in this book is based on empirical data in four languages and a plethora of sources: legal documents; period dictionaries; memoirs; correspondence; literary works; theological, political, and philosophical writings; biographies; statistics; and histories.

Professor Greenfeld has compiled an exhaustively researched series of "case studies" of the genesis of nationalist sentiment (England, France, Russia, Germany, and the United States). She puts forth very convincing arguments that (1) nationalism began in England, and spread to the European continent, (2) the self-loathing of segments of certain societies led to a transformation of their values, resulting in nationalism, and (3) that nationalism lay the basis for modernity. My only complaint, if it can be called that, is that she does not more extensively examine American nationalism. I highly, highly recommend this book for any student of nationalism.