A controversial history of the United States told through blood.
Nothing captivates us like blood. It commands our attention and commands us to act when it is spilled openly. In its own way, American public life has long been stained with blood, from the Civil War to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Kennedy to the AIDS crisis.American Blood revisits pivotal events in US history to reveal blood as an essential element, and to show how its troubling manifestations have profoundly shaped our culture and politics. Focusing on Jackie Kennedy's blood-stained suit, or the bags of medical plasma that unknowingly carried the deadly HIV virus, we see that blood - as both symbol and substance - has the power to issue warnings, justify revenge, declare victimhood or martyrdom, express identity and belonging, and so on.a lot.
Matthew Dennis offers a new interpretation of our past, asserting that blood not only stained the nation's history, but helped guide it. Blood has proven its ability to deliver crucial messages with unique authority and power, and in this moment of escalating political violence, Dennis urges us to listen to its implications.
