Ronald Wright's "What is America?"

This is an excellent history/analysis of what makes the US "tick". It looks at the seamy underside of fanaticism and cultural delusion to show the factors that have made the US behave the way it has. It is full of interesting bits of history. He is especially strong on native American history (a remnant of his previous book "Stolen Continents". This is a "must read" book. You can't have a real "education" or understanding about America without reading this book.

Here's a bit that I've suspected, but which is documented in this book:

In mid-2004 when George Bush's re-electoral prospects were looking dim, the White House and the Justice Department actually discussed postponing the general election because of the "terrorist threat." Such a thing has never been done in the history of the United States -- even in world wars.