Americans and Others

"Americans and Others" by Agnes Repplier is a series of essays offering a thoughtful look at American society and culture in the early 1900s. It explores ideas about what it means to be American, from customs and etiquette to wealth and how it impacts people. The book starts by questioning the idea of whether Americans are less polite than they used to be, particularly when compared to earlier generations. Repplier thinks about how society has changed, taking into account the views of critics, and compares past ways of life to the present day, specifically in the wake of the Civil War, while questioning the notion of civility in a fast-changing country.