Thomas Jefferson envisioned the United States as a great empire of liberty. In this single-volume history of the United States, David Reynolds takes Jeffersons phrase as a key to the American saga. He examines how the anti-empire of 1776 became the greatest superpower the world has seen and asks difficult questions about the cost of American greatness, from slavery to the War on Terror. Written with verve, insight, and humor, America, Empire of Liberty is a magisterial depiction of America in all its grandeur and contradictions.