Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Bestselling historian Peter Moore traces how Enlightenment ideas were exported from Britain and put into practice in America - where they became the most successful export of all time, the American Dream

'Absorbing... fascinating... eloquent' THE TIMES
'Engaging and thoroughly reader-friendly' TELEGRAPH
'Wonderfully absorbing and stimulating' SARAH BAKEWELL

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is frequently evoked today as shorthand for the American Dream. But this is a line with a surprising history. Rather than being uniquely American, the vision it encapsulates – of a free and happy world – owes a great deal to British thinkers too.

Centred on the life of Benjamin Franklin, featuring figures like the cultural giant Samuel Johnson, the groundbreaking historian Catharine Macaulay, the firebrand politician and revolutionary activist Thomas Paine, this book looks at the generation that preceded the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It takes us back to a vital moment in the foundation of the West and tells a whole new story about the birth of the United States of America – and some of the key principles by which we live to this day.


'Deft insights and in clear prose' ALAN TAYLOR
'A gripping account' STELLA TILLYARD
'Rollicking...compulsive readability' WASHINGTON POST
'A great read' LADY HALE