Behold, America provides what its author, Sarah Churchwell, describes as a “genealogy” of two expressions – “the American Dream” and “America First” – which figured prominently in the American ­presidential election of 2016. Donald Trump campaigned (and still campaigns) by invoking a putative American Eden that he yearns for his country to return to. It is a vision built on slogans rather than facts, and Behold, America explores how these two underpinning catchphrases have more complicated histories than Trump would ever acknowledge, since they undermine his post-lapsarian view of former American greatness.