Woden Teachout has written a very informative, readable history of the changing meaning of the American flag, taking us from its origins in the seas, assisting sailors to discern between friend and foe, up through modern times and Obama's election victory, which “remade American patriotism” (216), reclaiming the flag as a symbol representing the whole of the American people.

Many readers will be familiar with the genesis of the title: capture the flag is a game which American children grow up playing: each side hides a flag on its home territory, and the object of the game is to steal the other side's flag. The title thus connotes the battle between different sides to claim ownership of the flag. Not surprisingly, the main premise of the book is that there is a strong relationship between this desire to “own the flag” and sentiments of patriotism. It is here that the two sides, as it were, appear in Teachout's narrative. Historically, she tells us, there have been two different kinds of patriotism: humanitarian – which “emphasizes key values [of] liberty, egalitarianism and respect for the individual” – and nationalist – which “conflates a country's ideals with its politics.” Teachout illustrates the way in which these different approaches, which “do not stand on ends of a spectrum, but on different axes entirely” (218), have played out in the history of the US.

One weakness of the book is its conclusion, where Teachout argues that neither form of patriotism is better than the other; they both have strengths and weaknesses. However, she seems at pains to identify weaknesses of humanitarian patriotism, ultimately stating “too much humanitarianism, and sense of community diffuses into the ether” (221), a rather strange allegation for which she offers no evidence. One has the sense that her heart is not in the criticism. Teachout came to this research through her own experience of bringing an American flag to an anti-war protest, and she clearly laments the beating that the flag has taken by those who do not love their country enough to fight against evils which are conducted in its name. She openly, and rightly, criticizes the loss of civil liberties implemented under the guise of “patriotism,” as represented by the USA Patriot Act at home and Abu Ghraib abroad. She would do better to stand by these convictions. The history of dissent in the US, she says, is tied to “uncontested common values” (222). Which values might those be? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? In terms of life and liberty, one only has to consider abortion rights, gun control, or gay marriage to reconsider whether or not these core values are imbued with a common understanding, much less an uncontested belief, across the populace. And as for “pursuit of happiness”, well that's another Pandora's box altogether! Teachout sets great store by patriotism, concluding in the final sentences of the book that it has the unique ability “to create a shared political culture of liberty and justice” (223). Saying it does not make it so, and the evidence to date suggests a less hopeful picture.

Nonetheless, this is an important book which makes a valuable contribution to the relatively slim literature on American patriotism and national symbols. It is not only carefully researched, but also a great read, introducing us to a fascinating cast of characters which each age has thrown up in the fight for the flag. There are familiar stories, like Obama; standard myths which are corrected (Betsy Ross and Francis Scott Key get the axe); and then there are those that many will not know, the likes of Mark Hanna, with his “cash register conscience” (118) and the election of 1896, and the “brilliant, ruthless orator” (45) Lewis Levin, who, “more than any other man … was responsible for bringing the American flag into the hands and the lives of ordinary people and for giving it powerful anti-immigrant connotations” (45). This is history at its best, great tales with larger-than-life people and protests, offering us an important perspective on one of the most explosive issues of our own times.

The United States is unique in the way in which its citizens revere its flag, and are willing to fight not only perceived enemies beyond its borders, but each other, to defend, violently if need be, what they believe the flag stands for. If you have ever wondered how things got this way, this fascinating account of the twists and turns in the fate of Old Glory is the book for you.