The Free World

Shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2022

Longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Nonfiction

The Cold War was not just a contest of power. It was also about ideas, in the broadest sense – economic and political, artistic and personal. In The Free World, the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize–winning scholar and critic Louis Menand tells the compelling story of American culture in the pivotal years from the end of World War II to the Vietnam War, highlighting the rich and dynamic flow of ideas across the Atlantic.

The Free World deftly navigates the transformation of Western culture during the post-war period, capturing the shift from a Cold War mentality imbued with elitism and an anti-totalitarian skepticism of passion and ideology to a new sensibility characterised by experimentation and the rise of popular culture icons like the Beatles. It explores how the ideal of ‘freedom’ was applied to diverse causes ranging from anti-communism and civil rights to radical acts of self-expression through art, literature, music, and even crime.

The narrative vividly portrays significant figures and movements that shaped this dynamic era. Readers are taken inside the intellectual hubs of Hannah Arendt’s Manhattan and the Paris of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, delving into the post-war vogue for French existentialism, structuralism, and post-structuralism. Menand examines how these European intellectuals profoundly influenced American art and thought, contributing to the flourishing cultural landscape of the United States.

Menand's insightful narrative is enriched with wit and depth, which will be familiar to readers of The Metaphysical Club. He provides a masterly account of both prominent personalities and lesser-known yet crucial figures who collectively influenced and shaped the post-war world of art and thought. With unprecedented verve and range, The Free World reveals how America’s once-neglected culture became globally respected and adored, making it an indispensable read for anyone interested in the cultural history of the twentieth century.