This brief, student-friendly introduction to the study of semiotics uses examples from 25 iconic locations in the United States. From Coney Island to Las Vegas, the World Trade Center to the Grand Canyon, Berger shows how semiotics offers a different lens in understanding locations taken for granted in American culture. He recasts Disneyland according to Freud, channels the Mall of America through Baudrilliard, and sees Mount Rushmore through the lens of Gramsci. A seasoned author of student texts, Berger offers an entertaining, non-threatening way to teach theory to undergraduates and that will fit ideally in classes on cultural studies, American studies, social theory, and tourism.

Chapter 1 Icons and Semiotics: An Introduction; Chapter 2 Perspectives on American Society and Culture; Chapter 3 Disneyland; Chapter 4 The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles; Chapter 5 The St. Louis Gateway Arch; Chapter 6 Fenway Park; Chapter 7 The Mall of America; Chapter 8 The Grand Canyon; Chapter 9 The Golden Gate Bridge; Chapter 10 The Las Vegas Strip; Chapter 11 Waikiki Beach; Chapter 12 The Space Needle; Chapter 13 The Statue of Liberty; Chapter 14 Coney Island; Chapter 15 Alcatraz Prison; Chapter 16 The Cowboys Stadium in Dallas; Chapter 17 Mount Rushmore; Chapter 18 Gold Rush Country, Columbia, California; Chapter 19 Madison Avenue; Chapter 20 The Alamo; Chapter 21 Graceland; Chapter 22 The Hoover Dam; Chapter 23 Grauman's Chinese Theater; Chapter 24 The French Quarter; Chapter 25 Santa Fe, New Mexico; Chapter 26 The San Francisco Chinatown; Chapter 27 The World Trade Center;