How can the West rediscover its authentic spirit? Exploring the period from 1899 to 1945 – from the end of the US frontier and the writing of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to the conclusion of World War II and the dropping of the atom bomb – Luigi Morelli traces the events that led the United States to become the world’s dominating imperial force. America, he demonstrates, is deeply connected to Britain, Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly Russia. Yet despite their tragic collective histories, there is hope for the future – if only America can claim its true task.

Searching for the Spirit of the West challenges many of the falsehoods that pass for mainstream history. Utilizing a wealth of documented evidence from the research of overlooked historians, economists, social and spiritual thinkers, the author takes a symptomatic view of the past, revealing hidden, longer-term trends. This approach offers a new understanding of events such as the rise of Nazism, the Great Depression, the new Deal, and even the roles of banking and clandestine ‘brotherhoods’ in world history. Morelli also appraises The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in parallel with America’s cultural achievements. Through imagination, L. Frank Baum’s contemporary fairy-tale enables us to intuit the true mission of the West and its potential contribution to world culture, now and in the future.

LUIGI MORELLI graduated with a Masters in environmental sciences in 1981. He has a passion for social change from a cultural perspective, which brought him to live and work in intentional communities serving people with special needs (Camphill International, L’Arche International), or co-housing communities.

In his American historical writings he blends the historical-scientific with the imaginative approach of myths, legends and biographies. His other writings concern cultural renewal from a historical perspective and its present impacts on natural science, psychology, social science and literature. His books can be found at www.millenniumculmination.net