The Dutch scholar Rob Kroes argues that American culture is ''modular,'' continually fragmenting, disassembling, and reassembling itself--and in the process creating something new. In a series of topical essays that show why he is one of Europe's leading authorities on American culture, Kroes probes trends in American advertising, the image of the Vietnam war in American films, the implications of American vernacular culture as represented in rap music, and other topics.''A special book. Written by one of Europe's leading authorities on American culture, this is bound to be a landmark in American studies as practiced in both Europe and the United States.''--Robert Rydell, author of All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American International Expositions ''Extraordinarily interesting and provocative, filled with insights into the nature of the American cultural experience as seen from Europe. . . . Kroes's book exemplifies some of the best work being done by European scholars on America.''--Richard Pells, author of American Culture Abroad: The European Experience since 1945 ''A bright, aggressive book, neatly organized and engagingly written, about an important and controversial phenomenon.''--Richard Kuisel, author of Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization
