1. A poetics of the American idea: A new hero of thought in a new narrative -- In search of the real America: Bernard Malamud -- 2. Ideology and culture: American way: from the colonial era to Louis Brandeis, Sidney Hillman, and the liberal consensus -- A convert to America: sex, self, and ideology in Abraham Cahan -- 3. Ghetto: shelter and prison: A portrait of the artist as a young Luther: Henry Roth -- "Blut-und-eisen": Anzia Yezierska and the new self-made woman -- Jew as underground man: Philip Roth -- 4. Book of America: Song of him-self: Norman Mailer -- A true radical history: E.L. Doctorow -- Postscript: toward a new consensus.
