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Star-Spangled Crown

Original price $17.95
Original price $17.95 - Original price $17.95
Original price $17.95
Current price $16.95
$16.95 - $16.95
Current price $16.95
Publisher: Tumblar House
Publication Date:
Format: Paperback
Pages: 228
Availability: In Stock
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For 240 years, most Americans have identified our country with its government as the embodiment of “Freedom” and the nation itself. Take away the Constitution, Congress, and presidential elections, and not only liberty but the United States themselves would vanish.

Or would they? We have a government that imposes social change from above at breakneck speed, while each presidential election seems to offer even more pathetic choices than the one before. Many are scratching their heads and wondering – not just “where are we going?” but “how did we get here?” Is our governmental system itself – the leading symbol of the American way of life – heading for a meltdown? And if it is, what – if anything – shall be left of our country?

Star-Spangled Crown is a book that comes to us from over a century in the future. That feared meltdown has already occurred – but these United States survived the loss of the presidency. Erected on the ruins of our current regime, a Monarchy has emerged; contrary to all of our 21st century notions, it is a thoroughly American institution. How it functions – as and where all governments, including our present one must function – is the subject of the book.

Star-Spangled Crown is not a call for radical change. It is an invitation for serious thought about the realities of civil life that we as a people have spent more than two centuries ignoring or avoiding at our ultimate peril. What values shall our society express? Who makes those decisions? By what right do they do so? What is America really – or, as our 22nd century author might say, what are the United States? Star-Spangled Crown offers one set of answers from a possible future – but above all, it calls on you to ask the questions in the present.

Read the First Chapter Now

Extended Bibliography

Charles A. Coulombe:

Charles A. Coulombe is one of North America’s most respected and sought-after commentators on culture, religion, history, and politics. A specialist in the history and government of the Catholic Church, Coulombe’s influence and expertise extend far beyond matters religious. He has written on topics ranging from the history of rum to haunted houses to a history of the United States.

Mr. Coulombe is a social and political commentator of note. In 2005 he provided narration and commentary for ABC News during the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the subsequent election and installation of Pope Benedict XVI. A former journalist, Mr. Coulombe served as a film reviewer and Contributing Editor of the National Catholic Register, during which time he received the Christian Law Institute's Christ King Journalism Award. Coulombe's work has appeared in over than 20 journals, including regular columns in Fidelity (Australia), PRAG (London), Monarchy Canada, and Creole Magazine (Louisiana). He has also been a frequent contributor to such publications as Success, Catholic Twin Circle, Gnosis, FATE, and the New Oxford Review.

As an informed and passionate speaker on a wide variety of religious, social, political, historical, and literary topics, Mr. Coulombe has appeared on lecture circuits throughout the North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1992 he lectured at Oxford University and the following year embarked on a lecture tour of Ireland and Great Britain, returning to Oxford and Cambridge in 1995. Coulombe has also delivered lectures at the University of Southern California on the history of Rock & Roll and at Cleveland's John Carroll University on the history of medieval monarchy. In February 2011, he was invited to take part in a debate on the abolition of the monarchy before the prestigious Oxford Union.

Customer Reviews

Based on 42 reviews
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D
Davis Blank
I Think I Hear...

Is it bad that I hear Charles giggling to himself as he writes about the shootout in the White House?

At any rate, this was quite a wonderful fictional non-fiction. The spine of the book is a fictional tale of a future American monarch. The non-fictional aspect is the indepth historical analysis of relations to the monarch, such as monarch & land, monarch & military. Mr. Coulombe extends it then forward and shows how the future monarch resolves our many intractable problems.

Greatest of all was the speech given in which the new monarch masterfully weaves a tale spinning the cultural fabric of America into as having always been monarchical. George Washington, for example, is no longer revered for leading a revolt, but for rejecting a crown he knew belonged to the monarch's ancestors.

Well worth the read. Truly one of a kind.

T
Tom
A fun read, yet one that gets you thinking

Star Spangled Crown is one of those books where you read one chapter at a time, put it down for a bit, and turn over the content you just consumed in your mind. Although it is a work of fiction that certainly has an entertainment aspect to it, it is an excellent "primer" book to read or give to a friend who is interested in the intricacies of a monarchical government. Charles knocks this one out of the park.

M
Matthew Olson
Coulombe does it again!

This work builds on "Puritan's Empire" and synthesizes the author's thought better than any other. Coulombe reminds us that 1492, not 1776, is America's founding year. At long last, we are granted a monarch who is able to bring harmony to our disparate traditions. He is respectful of our freedoms but calls us to greater heights. The Bill of Rights is kept, but bad Supreme Court decisions are overruled and states (notably, Utah) are allowed their own religions again. A balance is kept among powers: the King appoints governors and some mayors, senators are elected by the state legislatures and can appeal directly to His Majesty, and the Congress must approve expenditures beyond those covered by the Crown Lands. This is well detailed. While Coulombe qualifies this all with an admission that he is not an economist and cannot predict the practicality of it, this work remains a remarkable inspiration.

C
Colin Singleton
Good blend of history and speculative fiction

This is a great little read! The only thing I wanted more of was some of the personal history of the Royal Family, and some more character emotional development. I understand the book is less a work of literature and more a treatise, but I think readers who are exploring monarchy want not only to fall in love with the system, but the monarchs themselves.

I look forward to any new endeavors!

W
Waylon Duncan
One of a Kind

This book excels at the thing the Monarchist movement needs most right now - education. These days, when most people find the prospect of a monarchy that has any real relevance to contemporary society impossible to even begin to imagine, Mr. Coulombe paints a picture, or rather shows us a vision of what a real modern monarch could like, and abolishes the myth that the sine qua non of freedom lies in the power to elect your executive. Coulombe's patriotic monarchism gives us a compelling image of a King very much at home in the land of baseball and apple pie, who does not look out of place crowned with regal majesty beneath the splendor of the stars and stripes. A must-read for anyone wondering what is (or ought to be) going on in a monarchist's head when he professes to love his country but not its form of government.

V
VincentF
A must-read

All who love history and are concerned about where the United States is going should read Star Spangled Crown.

S
Sandra Ingles
Good Follow On

The Star Spangled Crown is an excellent read and a good follow on to Puritan's Empire. I never realized how a monarchy could possibly solve our country's problems until I read this book.

J
Jacob Larance
Too short and too good

This book puts flesh on monarchist arguments. There's an engaging story thrown in with possible ways a monarch could rule in this country. I wish I could have explored much deeper into this world, hopefully Charles will expand on Star-Spangled Crown: A Simple Guide to the American Monarchy.

D
Daniel Roberts
An Hypothetical Monarchy

Coulombe, in this brief monograph written as a history come to us from a century into the future, does a wonderful survey of what the American monarchy would look like and how it would transform into one. Being a monarchist, one thing that is often a challenge is how does one simply transform a democracy into a monarchy? The reality is that democracies don't transform into a monarchy over night. They collapse into one. This is the first chapter of his book. The rest is mostly detail about the function of the monarchy and how the monarchy laid out its claims for legitimacy. It is an hypothetical survey for any one curious about the functions of a monarchy, the role of the monarch, and how a U.S. republic could potentially collapse into a monarchy.

A
Anita Moore
Not True, But Should Be

Would that a Catholic King would take over this country! It would be nice for this country to be under a man who fears eternal damnation for misruling. I like Charles’ ideas of how a Catholic King would operate in America. I’m all for it.