“This book focuses on the work of William James and the relationship between the development of pragmatism and its historical, cultural, and political roots in 19th-century America. Deborah Whitehead reads pragmatism through the intersecting themes of narrative, gender, nation, politics, and religion.”

“Skillfully places James's work in cultural and historical context, richly exploring how pragmatism functioned and continues to function as a mode of American cultural rhetoric as the U.S. struggles to understand itself in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
 — Shannon Sullivan, author of Good White People: The Problem with Middle-Class White Anti-Racism

“Continues and adds to a rich conversation among American philosophers concerning the origins of pragmatism and its possibilities for the future.”
 — William Gavin, University of Southern Maine