As a psychologist and an innovator of experimental psychology, Hugo Munsterberg was a powerful influence on thinking in both the medical and social arenas at the turn of the 20th century, developing practical applications of psychology to industry, medicine, education, the arts, and criminal investigation. The Americans was written for German readers "to interpret systematically the democratic ideals of America" as a companion work to his American Traits (also available from Cosimo Classics), a scientifically minded appreciation of all things American written for an American audience from the perspective of a German immigrant. This English-language translation, published in 1904, presents Munsterberg"s psychological analysis of "the philosophy of Americanism," an intriguing examination of the deeper impulses of American life as it stood at the beginning of the 20th century. From the unique character traits that were driving the robust American economy in the pre-World War I...