Have a Nice Day: The Iraq war released a violent wave of anti-American sentiment across Europe that is only now starting to recede with the promise of a new president and a new era. In Have a Nice Day, Justin Webb, the BBC’s North America editor, attempts to look beyond Iraq and its political fallout to the foundations of anti-Americanism.

Webb’s focus is on American ideals and values, and the myth of America as the “soft-pawed corruptor”, whose culture has infiltrated the world’s psyche. He examines links between the country’s geography and mindset, its attitude to sex and its obsession with Hallowe’en.

This is not a dry sociological account but a passionate defence of a way of life, and Webb does occasionally slip into the language of the zealot. He says, for instance, that “America is what happens when humans take their chances, seize the moment, go for it”. But what he is good at is shedding light on our ambivalent and often contradictory relationship with American power and culture.

In Defence of America: The case for the defence made by Bronwen Maddox in her new polemic is rooted in the present political situation and the global balance of power. Drawing on knowledge and research acquired as chief foreign commentator for The Times, Maddox, an American living in Britain, addresses the perceived crimes of arrogance and high-handedness committed by the USA since the cold war.

While not defending the conception and execution of the Iraq war, the flouting of international law or the illegal detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, she attempts to provide the decisions made by the Bush administration with a context that makes them, if not excusable, then understandable.

Her overriding point is that, despite America’s recent “mistakes”, its mission of spreading and defending democracy continues to play a crucial role in global security and that the West would be much worse off without it. Though slightly on the brief side, In Defence of America is a deeply researched and lucid attempt to reassess America’s position in the world.

Have a Nice Day - Behind the Clichés: Giving America Another Chance by Justin Webb

Short Books £14.99 pp240

Available at the Sunday Times BooksFirst price of £13.49 (inc p&p) on 0870 165 8585 or here

In Defence of America

Duckworth £12.99 pp192

Available at the Sunday Times BooksFirst price of £11.69 (inc p&p) on 0870 165 8585 or here

Times Recommends

• And the Hippos were Boiled in their Tanks by William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac
• Sci-fi: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and The Quiet War by Paul McAuley