Published in 1920, this collection of essays and lectures features Santayana's impressions of American national character. He discusses topics, such as morality, academia, materialism, idealism, and liberty – as well as people, such as William James and Josiah Royce. "There is much forgetfulness," he writes in his preface, "much callow disrespect for what is past or alien; but there is a fund of vigour, goodness, and hope..."