The Story Behind Around the World in (More Than) 80 Days by Larry Alex Taunton

A battle rages for the heart and soul of America. For one group, the idea of “American Exceptionalism” is dead. Some never tire of lecturing us about how out-of-step America is with the rest of the world and how she needs to get with it. Worse, America, they say, is bad for the world. Her freedom and prosperity are merely historical accidents.

Of course, this narrative presupposes there are better places in the world to live. Are there? Were Alec Baldwin to leave the country permanently as he once promised, where would he go?

As a writer who travels all over the world, I see a lot: extremes of wealth and poverty; brutal regimes and those that seem impotent to maintain a rule of law; persecuted minorities and monocultures; feted


miserable masses and the happy poor—all of this and more.

As the debate over America broke forth into our streets with the defeat of Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the inauguration of Republican Donald Trump in 2016, it occurred to me that most Americans have never been abroad. Indeed, 64 percent have never been to another country. So, when The New York Times declares as they did in 2019 headline, “Please Stop Telling Me America Is Great,” how is one to judge the truth of such a statement?

My book Around the World in (More Than) 80 Days: Discovering What Makes America Great and Why We Must Fight to Save It was my answer to this problem. Don’t have a passport? Can’t get time off? Lack the resources to travel around the world? I’ll do it for you! My book takes the reader on a virtual global expedition, of sorts, touring them through those countries with which America is most often compared and not just a few others.

I take you to some 26 countries to see how America stacks up and to explore the question of national greatness: Is it an accident of history or do nations determine their own fate?  Is it all about national wealth and healthcare?  Is religion a positive or a negative factor? Along the way, he experiences many adventures and offers us greater perspective on the ultimate question:

Is America truly great when measured against the rest of the world or do we join the lynch mob gathering at the feet of the Statue of Liberty and punish her for her sins?

About the Book

The belief in “American Exceptionalism” is under attack, declares Larry Alex Taunton, an award-winning author, columnist, and cultural commentator. “A battle rages for the heart and soul of America.”

For Taunton, the question comes down to: Is there a better place to live than America?

To explore the idea of “national greatness,” Taunton went on a global odyssey, visiting some 26 countries. He records his discoveries in his new book, AROUND THE WORLD IN (MORE THAN) 80 DAYS: DISCOVERING WHAT MAKES AMERICA GREAT AND WHY WE MUST FIGHT TO SAVE IT.

If all of this sounds like a slog over some serious philosophic and political terrain, it is, but Taunton’s wry humor leavens the loaf.

In a chapter on Sweden, for example, the author hears, on a boat tour of Stockholm, a litany of Swedish accomplishments from his guides: “America? We discovered that. Skype? We invented it. The flat screen? You’re welcome. IKEA? You guessed it.”

Taunton’s mix of socio-political observations and cheeky wit in AROUND THE WORLD IN (MORE THAN) 80 DAYS opens the book up to a large and diverse group of readers.

The online publication The Federalist says of Taunton’s work: “The social elites want evangelicals to be as dumb as they suspect they are. But when a person comes along who proves that tale false, which Taunton clearly does…they simply don’t know what to do.”

In advance praise for AROUND THE WORLD IN (MORE THAN) 80 DAYS, Paul Reid, co-author with William Manchester, of THE LAST LION: WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL: DEFENDER OF THE REALM, 1940-1965 observes:

Larry Taunton—historian, columnist, and a man of abiding Christian faith—traveled (often at great risk to himself) to twenty-six nations in order to hold a mirror up to the United States of America and ask: Is America Good and is America Great? Mark Twain did much the same more than a century ago. Twain’s and Taunton’s conclusions are identical: There is no place—literally No Place—like home. “Around the World in (More Than) 80 Days is fabulous.”  It’s going on my shelf next to “The Innocents Abroad.”

AROUND THE WORLD IN (MORE THAN) 80 DAYS is a book for all seasons.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2GCuGGY

 Barnes & Noble https://bit.ly/33Fs4Ri

Simon and Schuster https://bit.ly/3nu9UtG

About the Author


Larry Alex Taunton is an American author, columnist, and cultural commentator. A frequent television and radio guest, he has appeared on CNN, CNN International, Fox News, Al Jazeera America, and BBC. You can find his columns on issues of faith and culture in The Atlantic, USA Today, CNN.com, and The Blaze. Taunton has been quoted by Rush Limbaugh, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, TIME, Vanity Fair, and NPR, among others. He is the author of "The Grace Effect" and "The Faith of Christopher Hitchens."

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