America Through Foreign Eyes

Do Americans care what foreigners think about the United States? This book makes the case that they should. In these pages, Jorge Casta�eda writes from his unique vantage point as a former Foreign Minister of Mexico who has lived, studied, and worked in America. He offers an impressionistic,
analytical, and intuitive review of his experience in the country over the last half-century, and shows how foreigners can provide perspective on the United States' true nature. Casta�eda brings a different viewpoint to issues ranging from purported American exceptionalism, uniformity, race and
religion, culture, immigration, and the death penalty.

Visitors and analysts, from Dickens to Naipaul, have generally asked the right questions and described America's most salient features and mysteries. But, they have not always followed through with answers and explanations. Casta�eda draws from his work with American civil society and government
authorities to provide both insight and context. Americans have long seen their country as "exceptional," standing outside of history, but by comparing its contemporary politics and culture with those of other countries, Casta�eda shows how increasing nationalism and nostalgia are actually making
the US more like other countries.

Casta�eda admits that most Americans have never cared much about what a foreigner thinks about their country, but the dynamic is shifting. The outside world means more to the US than ever before, and Americans should care about what foreigners think since they are now so sensitive to what foreigners
do. Since Trump's election in 2016, American politics increasingly resemble those of Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia, such that pining for a lost and glorious past is as American as it is British, Mexican, Chinese, or Italian. Now, the questions that serious, knowledgeable, and sympathetic
foreigners address to Americans may be the ones Americans ask--or should ask--for themselves.

"Foreigners have been writing about the United States ever since its foundation. Now it is my turn. But please don't hold this against me: the United States itself is at fault. Like a great many people on earth, I've long been fascinated by this remarkable phenomenon which calls itself America. My fate -or perhaps good fortune- has been that of a foreigner who for half a century lived the American experience-as a child, as a student, as an author, as a recurrent visitor and as a university professor. Being Mexican places me in a special category: having lost half its territory to the United States in the 19th century, having found itself caught up in the maelstrom of America's current identity crisis, Mexico can never ignore what happens north of the border. Further, while serving as Mexico's Foreign Minister from 2000 to 2003, I had the privilege of peeping inside the machinery of power that makes this great nation tick. That said, this book is not written from a Mexican perspective but rather from that of a sympathetic foreign critic who has seen the United States from both inside and outside. And its hope is to contribute something to how Americans view themselves and are viewed by the world. Before embarking on this journey, I naturally looked back at some of my forebears, earlier foreigners who were drawn to visit or live in the United States and who then went on to offer their version of America to their home readers. Some like the French traveler Alexis de Tocqueville, author of the early 19th century classic, Democracy in America, felt European nations had much to learn from the American democratic experiment. Others like Charles Dickens left dismayed by what he considered to be the country's singular obsession with money. But they are just two of dozens who have tried-and continue to try- to find a magic key that unlocks the complexities and contradictions of American society. Indeed, it is as if the United States seeks to challenge foreign writers to explain it, confident they will fail. And in taking it on, these outsiders have variously experienced frustration, hope, anger, excitement, disappointment and enlightenment- but never indifference"--

"Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico Jorge Casta�eda has written a brilliant, moving, and utterly frank portrait of the USA in the world-with genuine respect, affection, and a critical but fair eye on our nation's foibles as well. A masterpiece that belongs on every diplomat's bookshelf."
--Admiral James Stavridis, Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

"A brave and penetrating book full of deep insights into the self-proclaimed exceptionalism of (North) Americans, written by Mexico's most thoughtful critic (and defender). It's all here: race and religion; diversity and humor; the hypocrisy of drug and immigration policies; the middle class,
education, and inequality; as well as amazing economic success, capped by a deliberately built democratic dysfunctionality. " --John H. Coatsworth, Provost, Columbia University

"Astute... A largely detached observer offers a series of digestible, timely assessments of the U.S."--Kirkus

"In this personal, analytical, and intuitive consideration of the United States, Casta�eda argues that the special isolated position of America is changing - and with that change comes a necessary attention to the rest of the world... America through Foreign Eyes seems a poignant read for 2020, as
the election burns on, but one that will also last beyond this year."--Los Angeles Review of Books

"[Jorge G. Casta�eda] critically dissects what's gone wrong from the perspective of a well-informed and often admiring outsider. As has often been true, the eyes of an outsider prove more lucid than those of natives... [An] important read [with] impeccable timing."
--Washington Post