This collection of essays presents views from both the left and right on American national identity, aiming to rethink the relevance of size and scale to the American experiment in self-government. They are critical of centralized government and interpreting the Constitution according to nationalist rather than compact theories. Specific topics include the Vermont succession movement, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its implications for the US government, how self-government and small polities have gone together for thousands of years, and engendering public debate and discussion about the size of the United States of America. The contributors include libertarian economics professors, constitutional lawyers, former soviet economists, philosophers and media-scholars. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)