‘250 Great American Things’ Celebrates Nation’s Heritage
An anthology marking America's 250th birthday features alphabetized essays on American culture from diverse contributors including novelists, a former Nirvana bassist, and journalists.
250 Great American Things, published by County Highway’s Hard Cider Press, delivers an alphabetically organized compendium of American culture, as James Rosen reports in Washington Examiner. The volume ranges from literary classics to pop culture icons, assembled by County Highway, an outlet that bills itself as publishing America’s only newspaper produced by actual human beings.
County Highway has quietly emerged as a significant platform for diverse contributors spanning multiple disciplines beyond traditional journalism. The publication’s roster includes biologists, ranchers, herbalists, filmmakers, infantrymen, and economists alongside celebrated novelists Thomas McGuane and Richard Russo, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselić, and the late comedian Martin Mull. Veterans from prestigious outlets including the New Yorker and Paris Review have also contributed, along with David Samuels, the veteran journalist who cofounded and edits the publication.
The alphabetical structure beginning with subjects like A River Runs Through It, Abbie Hoffman, abolitionism, the Acme Corporation, and Afros creates what Rosen describes as an irresistible reading experience. The format allows readers to consume the work in short bursts, returning at will to any section without losing continuity or enjoyment, though it sacrifices traditional narrative flow.
Among the volume’s notable entries, humorist and author Ian Frazier revisits his classic New Yorker piece “Coyote v. Acme” in the section on the Acme Corporation. The essay, styled as a civil lawsuit filed by Wile E. Coyote against the manufacturer of defective contraptions used against Road Runner, achieved such popularity in the pre-internet era that readers made photocopies to share with friends. Frazier reveals the personal circumstances that inspired the piece and notes that a film adaptation, shelved after production nearly a decade ago, is scheduled for theatrical release this year.
The anthology concludes with 84-year-old Jonah Raskin, a former radical with ties to the Weather Underground who assisted fugitive Yippie Abbie Hoffman, presenting a history of the zipper. Invented by Chicago engineer Whitcomb L. Judson between 1843 and 1909, the entry closes with comedian George Burns’s observation on aging and memory.
However, the editorial choices reveal questionable priorities. Raskin’s 1,775-word entry on Hoffman, second only to the 1,838-word piece on the Frontier, raises concerns about balance. The volume dedicates extensive coverage to the historically marginal Chicago Seven prankster while omitting Muhammad Ali, whose global influence extended from sports to civil rights and whose tragic decline and resurrection at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics resonated worldwide.
The anthology also overlooks broadcaster Howard Cosell, another American original with international reach, and Roone Arledge, the ABC executive who brought Ali-Cosell and numerous sports and news innovations to mass audiences. Despite including an entry on The Honeymooners, these significant cultural figures receive no mention.
The volume represents County Highway’s broader publishing effort through Hard Cider Press and Panamerica, platforms that have championed irreverence in conveying substantive ideas while covering subjects from agriculture to off-grid living alongside political and spiritual matters.
With information from Washington Examiner
