Book Description
"Without the Cold War, what's the point of being an American?" As if in answer to this poignant question from John Updike's Rabbit at Rest, Stephen Whitfield examines the impact of the Cold War--and its dramatic ending--on American culture in an updated version of his highly acclaimed study. In a new epilogue to this second edition, he extends his analysis from the McCarthyism of the 1950s, including its effects on the American and European intelligensia, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond.
Whitfield treats his subject matter with the eye of a historian, reminding the reader that the Cold War is now a thing of the past. His treatment underscores the importance of the Cold War to our national identity and forces the reader to ask, Where do we go from here? The question is especially crucial for the Cold War historian, Whitfield argues. His new epilogue is partly a guide for new historians to tackle the complexities of Cold War studies.
Customer Reviews:
Solid overview of US cultural history from 1946-1962.......2004-06-11
Whitfield's book serves as a succinct overview of American Cold War culture, which he defines as ending in the early 1960s (a questionable decision but one made by many scholars who employ the "Cold War Culture" rubric).
What sets apart this book from other entries in the literature is Whitfield's recognition of the importance of religion to Cold War America and his willingness to grapple with the Cold War's full range of moral implications (an element lacking in most academic studies of the domestic side of the Cold War, which tend to fixate endlessly on McCarthy, who is used to tar and discredit all variants of American anti-Communism). This is not to suggest that Whitfield is an apologist for McCarthy, not at all, but to commend Whitfield for understanding that, to paraphrase Arthur Koestler, the Cold War was the story of the United States fighting for a half-truth against a total lie.
Culture of Cold War -- Whitfield.......2001-07-14
Whitfield's book is extremely informative. The connections he makes are fascinating. The book made me want to go out to the library and Blockbuster and look at the popular books and movies he talks about for a second time in a fresh light.
Intelectually Challenging.......2001-02-17
This was rated a "3" by me because it was a little redundant as well as choppy. The book was great in the sense of intelecutal reading but lacked the story like atmosphere. I wouldn't recommend this book to be read for enjoyment, but it would be great if it were used as research on a paper. The chapters are broken up into sections 1,2,3,..etc, so once you have read one section the rest are really just other examples of what the author is trying to get across, easy to skim through for good facts and info. Good Luck!
Book Description
Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, George Washington--and many other Americans--refused to let the Revolution die. On Christmas night, as a howling nor'easter struck the Delaware Valley, he led his men across the river and attacked the exhausted Hessian garrison at Trenton, killing or capturing nearly a thousand men. A second battle of Trenton followed within days. The Americans held off a counterattack by Lord Cornwallis's best troops, then were almost trapped by the British force. Under cover of night, Washington's men stole behind the enemy and struck them again, defeating a brigade at Princeton. The British were badly shaken. In twelve weeks of winter fighting, their army suffered severe damage, their hold on New Jersey was broken, and their strategy was ruined. Fischer's richly textured narrative reveals the crucial role of contingency in these events. We see how the campaign unfolded in a sequence of difficult choices by many actors, from generals to civilians, on both sides. While British and German forces remained rigid and hierarchical, Americans evolved an open and flexible system that was fundamental to their success. The startling success of Washington and his compatriots not only saved the faltering American Revolution, but helped to give it new meaning.
Customer Reviews:
Where is a ghost writer when you need one?.......2007-08-21
I believe it was easier to cross the Delaware in winter than to get through this book. I just read 1776 by David McCullough, loved it, and was interested in reading more. Fischer is one of the dullest writers I've read. It is painfully obvious that being a successful academic and a successful writer are not necessarily connected.
Top-Notch history from a Top-Notch historian.......2007-06-24
This is probably about as well organized and detailed as any book on a single historical event can get. That it does so without loosing pace or drying out is commendable. While the title may lead one to believe that this book is only about the famous "midnight" crossing, the actual event serves as the centerpiece for the story with the painting by Emanuel Leutze as its starting point. In fact, "Washington's Crossing" deals as much with the events leading up to and afterwards as it does the actual crossing. It is also about more then just the famous crossing with which we are all familiar. Several other Delaware River crossings are detailed including the initial retreat from the ensuing British, the return from the battle of Trenton, and the advance back into New Jersey shortly thereafter. The book is also a detailed biography of George Washington's years just before and into the fist several months of the American Revolution. Appropriately enough this book is also, at times, about the Delaware River itself.
Davis Hackett Fischer deserves five stars on his writing style alone. This book flows like a well written story, which is appropriate in that history is human drama. The book starts with a description and history of the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware and then discusses the recent arguments over the painting's accuracy. It seems to have become the fashion lately to debunk this painting over various, some rather trivial details, such as time of day, type of boats used, and even how chunks of ice depicted in the painting, Fischer staunchly defends the painting based on what and who it represents, and most importantly the spirit that is represented. One appreciates Fisher's references throughout this book that American history is not something that needs an apology.
The first three chapters provide a thorough background on all of the major players, the American rebels, the British regulars, and the Hessian mercenaries. Fischer maintains a sense of objectivity in his accounts. Although the acts of rape, pillage, and violence towards the colonies are not ignored, The British and the Hessians are not merely described as the villains of the story just as the Colonials are not by default "good guys." This book is sympathetic to the American cause, but that does not prevent it from describing the people and nations as what they were. One example is General Cornwallis, who is frequently described the pompous and arrogant buffoon who lost the colonies. Fischer however devotes a fair amount of time to Cornwallis's standing in the British military and career as a whole. The depiction is that of an accomplished military career by all standards and that of a person with his own mind who was well respected by all ranks.
The rest of the book can be divided into three sections starting with the seemingly endless series of disasters that the continental army incurred after the British regulars arrived, including the fall of New York, the execution of Nathan Hale, and the loss of Fort Washington, probably the lowest point for George Washington during the entire revolution. The second, as the book's chronology makes its way towards November and December of 1776, deals with the places and events leading up to and including the Battle of Trenton. There is some good history in this section, particularly the river raiding parties out of Pennsylvania that routinely harassed the British encampments along the Delaware River's banks in New Jersey and numerous contributions they made to the attack on Trenton. This section also details Alexander Hamilton's artillery division, one of the few bright spots for Washington's young army. The final section deals with events following the Battle of Trenton, including post celebration war cabinets trying to decide what to do next, the subsequent trip back across the Delaware, and the Battle of Princeton. Again, there are some great gems of history to be found here. Most notably is Fischer's detailing of the lesser known, but probably more important events unofficially known as the Second Battle of Trenton in which Washington's forces held their ground at Assunpink Creek and turned back Cornwallis's larger and superior forces.
Fischer closes the book with a refreshing and necessary summary and conclusion. While the main body of the book completes in fewer than 400 pages, they are dense with information, which leave one feeling that they have actually completed a much longer book. Additionally, there are numerous appendices detailing all sorts of interesting facts and statistics and a section devoted to the Historiography of Washington's Crossing. This is a formidable book, but it is also a top-notch one that should delight fans of History, the American Revolution, and certainly of George Washington. Newcomers to history should probably work their way through a couple of easier books before tacking this one, but they should still consider putting this one on their shelves for future reading.
What can I say that hasn't been said.......2007-06-03
As an avid early American Historian, I place this book in my top three. This is must reading. The facts are told as they were, through the primary characters and you are there during the end of the mini ice age crossing the Delaware. Like MJ's last shot against Utah, if it didn't really happen, we would all just chalk it up to a Hollywood fairytale.
I read McCullough's 1776 after this and there is no comparison.
This book is so vivid and palpable that I felt obligated to go follow the trail of those early warriors. Amazing!
My other two favorites are Chernow's Hamilton and Gotham.
Excellent work .......2007-05-30
Fischer's Washington's Crossing is detailed account of the New Jersey campaign of 1776-1777, specifically focusing on the battles of Trenton and Princetion. Fischer does a great job of showing the differences between the leadership of Washington and Cornwallis and the effects that the battles of Trenton and Princeton had on the soldiers from both sides. While the book does get bogged down in too much detail in some points and not enough in others, this is a great book.
Excellent.......2007-03-20
This is a wonderful book. Now I want to read all of Mr. Fischer's work.
Book Description
Today we hold the Constitution in such high regard that we can hardly imagine how hotly contested was its adoption. In fact, many of the thirteen states saw fierce debate over the document, and ratification was by no means certain. Virginia, the largest and most influential state, approved the Constitution by the barest of margins, and only after an epic political battle between James Madison and Patrick Henry. Now Richard Labunski offers a dramatic account of a time when the entire American experiment hung in the balance, only to be saved by the most unlikely of heroes--the diminutive and exceedingly shy Madison. Here is a vividly written account of not one but several major political struggles which changed the course of American history. Labunski takes us inside the sweltering converted theater in Richmond, where for three grueling weeks, the soft-spoken Madison and the charismatic Patrick Henry fought over whether Virginia should ratify the Constitution. The stakes were enormous. If Virginia voted no, George Washington could not become president, New York might follow suit and reject the Constitution, and the young nation would be thrust into political chaos. But Madison won the day by a handful of votes, mollifying Anti-Federalist fears by promising to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. To do this, Madison would have to win a seat in the First Congress. Labunski shows how the vengeful Henry prevented Madison's appointment to the Senate and then used his political power to ensure that Madison would run against his good friend, Revolutionary War hero James Monroe, in a House district teeming with political enemies. Overcoming great odds, Madison won by a few hundred votes, allowing him to attend the First Congress and sponsor the Bill of Rights. Packed with colorful details about life in early America, this compelling and important narrative is the first serious book about Madison written in many years. It will return this under-appreciated patriot to his rightful place among the Founding Fathers and shed new light on a key turning point in our nation's history.
Customer Reviews:
Tedious recounting of events without much analysis or perspective.......2007-08-03
I hate saying bad things about other people's books because I know how much hard work goes into each one, though I have to advise the reader of this review to find another book if you're interested in the creation of the Bill of Rights. If it weren't for this book being on audio disc I would never have finished it. It's very boring and flat. The material is doubtlessly interesting, and I imagine that depending upon the author's take on the subject, this book could come out in many different, yet equally interesting, permutations.
My strong criticism it that it is the book has no incisive analysis of the subject, nothing to make it read, no sense of perspective,...how this subject played out in the bigger scheme of things and over time. The epilogue was equally disappointing, offering the scantiest description of how the ideas contained in the Bill of Rights affected future generations. In fact, I was eagerly looking forward to reading the epilogue, it was the only thing keeping me going, and I was disappointed.
So, what we get is just a simply recounting of the events, without much to make the writing interesting. It really gets tedious and boring, sounding like a straight reading of an official transcript or diary especially when the author describes the proceedings of the Virginia Constitutional ratifying Convention and other similar events, which is what a lion's share of the book is.
Any suggestions??
Democracy in Action.......2007-06-17
"James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights" was a very enjoyable read, and one that I would definitely enjoy reading again. It is full of detail, but doesn't lack on readability either. Unlike some of the reviewers, I enjoyed the details of weather conditions and felt that this information was important to telling the struggle for the Bill of Rights as weather was a huge obstacle to travel in that time. I also was able to better picture what it would be like to sit in a hot, sultry, building with no ventilation (as when the windows had to be closed due to the noisy streets) and spend hours discussing how much power the constitution would grant the federal government or if it indeed would greatly infringe on individual liberties.
Lets go out on a limb, and say that James Madison probably wouldn't make it in politics today. He was 5'4", shy, soft spoken, and portrayed by the author as extremely timid when speaking in front of a large group. He also "flip-flopped" on his stance on the Bill of Rights, which at that time seemed to be democracy working (Today he would probably be eaten alive); Madison seems to not only believe passionately about the importance of a strong federal government, but evolves to believe just as passionately about the protection of the people's individual rights (Thus- A Bill of Rights). OK, it could be argued that he had to compromise and promise support of a Bill of Rights to get elected, but the author seems to feel that Madison truly believed in their importance. The story of Madison is very interesting and even for his time he seems to be somewhat of an underdog whose passion, intellect, and love for his country allowed him to prevail over his short-comings. His election to the House is nothing but fascinating as once again the cards were stacked against him (Thanks to Patrick Henry who gerrymandered his district so that he would likely lose).
The story of Virginia's constitutional congress was every bit as fascinating, and it can be said that human nature and the psychology of politics had many similarities then as it does now. Many people had passionately different philosophical views of what government should and shouldn't be. As could be argued today, both sides had some good points. It was interesting how fear seemed to perpetuate both sides passion. The Anti-Federalists being fearful of a monarchal type of government invading on individual liberty, and the Federalists fearful that individual states wouldn't have economic power or the ability to defend themselves. The author portrays the high-stakes decision of Virginia ratifying the constitution without a Bill of Rights. He points out that if this hadn't happened, George Washington wouldn't have even been eligible to serve in the new government. Anyways, the story of our founders verbally battling it out in a theater in Shocco-Bottom in Richmond is also well portrayed. For anyone interested in American history and politics, I would recommend this book as a must read.
A fascinating piece of history.......2007-06-16
The Bill of Rights was always just there at the end of the Constitution -- a list of unalienable rights to be interpreted, argued over and used to browbeat opponents in political discussions. I, for one, never gave much thought to how those 10 constitutional amendments came to exist within four years of the ratification of the Constitution in 1788.
Now that I know what a narrow thing ratification of the Constitution was (Virginia and New York sought to make adoption conditional upon the adoption of amendments; North Carolina and Rhode Island refused to ratify until the Bill of Rights passed Congress) and how difficult the adoption of amendments so soon after ratification, I'll certainly never take them for granted again. Anti-federalist opposition to the Constitution, particularly without a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties, was very strong in Virginia, led as it was by the able orator Patrick Henry, who dominated the Virginia Legislature during the late 1780s.
On one point the book is clear: the amendments would not have been proposed and adopted without the guidance of James Madison, first as a member of the Virginia Constitutional Ratifying Convention and then as a member of the US House of Representatives. The story of his battle is a fascinating one, from the first use of gerrymandering to prevent him from being elected to the US House (this was Patrick Henry's idea and it didn't work), to the final triumph in 1791 when Virginia finally ratified the amendments.
If you thought dirty politics was born in the current era, think again. I was struck by how much political maneuvering, both explicit and behind the scenes, existed at a time most Americans think of in mythological terms. Our cherished heroes were politicians all, attempting to satisfy local demands while at the same time doing justice to the larger, longer term issues. They didn't always succeed, but this time they did, thanks to Madison's persistence.
I strongly recommend this book for the light it sheds on a period in US history that is rarely discussed. However, I have only given the unabridged audio edition of this book 4 stars because I thought the narrator read too fast. I found I had to listen to many passages two and three times follow them completely. It's one thing to read fiction at a fast clip, and another when you attempt to speed through historical narrative.
A little more than necessary.......2007-03-09
When listening to books on cd or I-Pod, particularly when non-fiction, I try to make sure I get unabridged versions so I don't feel slighted. With this cd, I could have used a little slighting.
James Madison was indeed important for passing the Bill of Rights. It couldn't have been more amazing since Madison originally believed that a bill of rights was not needed: since Congress was not granted the powers to infringe on basic it rights, so the argument went, there was no need for a bill to protect those rights. Alas, he changed. And this point should serve as a reminder for how difficult it is to rely on supposedly original principles in the Constitution. (Rakove, in Original Meanings, makes that point best.)
The book looks at three or so important points: the Constitutional Convention, the Virginia Constitutional ratification convention, and the First Congress's effort at passing the amendments that would form the Bill of Rights. The first part, the miracle in Philly, has been covered so much elsewhere that yet another treatment wasn't really so necessary. The Virginia ratification convention was fine, but the arguments were very much the same. The First Congress section was the most interesting. Tidbit of interest: Madison wanted the amendments to appear in the main body of the text. Imagine that! What we now know famously as the first ten amendments could have been scatter shot throughout the original document. Shortsightedness on that point by Madison, though he was forward thinking in most other regards.
Labunski did a fine job and it is perfect for those unfamiliar with the Philly stuff. Otherwise it is still fine.
Lots of struggle, not much of what it was over.......2007-01-10
First of all, I do want to say that author Richard Labunski did a fine job detailing the trials and travails of the road to the first Congress travelled by James Madison, one of our most indispensable Founders. Labunski reminds us that history was, while in the making, not nearly as foregone as it seems this far removed. Madison could have lost his election to the First session of the House of Representatives after the new government was formed causing the Constitution to perhaps lose the addition of the Bill of Rights and that would have been calamitous, indeed.
I enjoyed the story of Madison's road as told by Labunski. Madison has been one of those founders who's position as a great Founder has been rocky. Up one decade and down another. Sometimes he has been considered a far lesser light than he deserves to be considered. Currently, he seems to be up which is fortunate. I think he should remain there. He is by far one of the most brilliant Founders we had and it is good that Labunski treats Madison with the respect he deserves.
Here is where I feel the book was lacking, though. Why was the Bill of Rights so important? What were the philosophies, the influences, the reasons the amendments were fought over? Labunski does not take much time to delve further under the surface to ferret out those reasons. He briefly mentions things here and there as the book moves along those lines, but I think his book would have been more complete with a bit more of it.
I found myself wondering what all the fuss was over far too much while reading the book and feel Labunski shorted the reader a fuller explanation.
Still, I give the book a pretty good rating. It is a good tale that is not often told (which is why I think he should have gone deeper, by the way).
It come recommended by me, anyway.
Book Description
Each chapter in this unique compilation, designed to be informative and thought-provoking, offers an examination of incidents from the pre-colonial period through the Civil War, important to the development of the American Nation. It features a mix of primary and secondary source materials on approximately 30 selected "moments" in American history. Designed for use in introductory courses in American history, the incidents it covers were chosen both for their historical significance and to present a wide variety of human endeavors. Given the range of topics presented, there should be subjects of special interest to every student, regardless of major.
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2006-01-17
Jim R. McClellan has done students a great service in publishing 100s of primary sources and secondary sources of certain events in Americas past. In this volume is many documents at the time the events occurred giving the reader the chance to come to his own conclusion about what happened. Also there are excerpts from what historians have said about the event since the time the event occured, in doing this the reader will see how historians have changed many of their interpretations of Americas past.
Book Description
The first major history of the Crash in over a decade, Rainbow's End tells the story of the stock market collapse in a colorful, swift-moving narrative that blends a vivid portrait of the 1920s with an intensely gripping account of Wall Street's greatest catastrophe. The book offers a vibrant picture of a world full of plungers, powerful bankers, corporate titans, millionaire brokers, and buoyantly optimistic stock market bulls. We meet Sunshine Charley Mitchell, head of the National City Bank, powerful financiers Jack Morgan and Jacob Schiff, Wall Street manipulators such as the legendary Jesse Livermore, and the lavish-living Billy Durant, founder of General Motors. As Klein follows the careers of these men, he shows us how the financial house of cards gradually grew taller, as the irrational exuberance of an earlier age gripped America and convinced us that the market would continue to rise forever. Then, in October 1929, came a "perfect storm"-like convergence of factors that shook Wall Street to its foundations. We relive Black Thursday, when police lined Wall Street, brokers grew hysterical, customers "bellowed like lunatics," and the ticker tape fell hours behind. This is followed by the even worse Bloody Tuesday, when an irrational desire to sell at any price gripped the market and even blue chip stocks plummeted precariously. This compelling history of the Crash--the first to follow the market closely for the two years leading up to the disaster--illuminates a major turning point in our history.
Customer Reviews:
Starts stong, loses pace. A weak entry for the Pivotal Moment Series........2006-12-05
Rainbow's End, by Maury Klein could have been a good book. In fact, it should have been a great historical read about America during the Roaring Twenties, leading up to and precipitating the Crash and the Depression. But Klein falls far short and disappoints with this entry into the "Pivotal Moments in American History" published by the Oxford University Press. This volume seemingly couldn't decide whether to be decidedly research based or, as with others in this series, to be a narrative form "that can be read for pleasure and instruction by anyone with an interest in its subject", according to it editors, David Hackett Fischer and James M. McPherson.
The book's prologue "The Summer of Fun, 1929" is clearly its highlight, certainly a dubious distinction. "In the summer of 1929 much of America was on an artificial high. It was a high born not of drugs but of an illusion that the prosperity and the good times then being enjoyed were made of new miracle ingredients that would last forever." Klein paints a vivid portrait of life in America in his early pages but sadly does not follow along in that form.
Throughout the book the reader cannot help but think that this is more of a reporter giving much more detail than needed, literally day by day of the Dow and the New York Times Index, often in the absolute and without percentages so one gets a relative idea of what was going on. Additionally, and quite strangely, Klein doesn't weave into his writing the many causes of the Crash and also poorly differentiates between the Crash and the Depression. One gets the idea that if he were to take out long and seemingly unrelated passages such as one on Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and much of the above mentioned ticker tape readings he would have had ample room to discuss not only the causes and effects of the Crash but also would have been able to maintain the narrative style in the beginning of Rainbow's End.
To Klein's credit he does a very good job with the Coolidge and Hoover administrations and in his discussions on the nascent stages of the Federal Reserve. He also drives home the point of a much smaller federal government role in the years prior to FDR and its lack of ability to "rescue" a calamitous market and the resultant depressed economy, "Federal purchase of goods and services totaled about 1.3 percent of GNP and federal construction a tiny 2 percent, hardly enough to serve as a prime stimulant".
Perhaps the saddest part of this writing is that, in its current form, much could be done to improve it. Little to no additional research is needed. Just a rewrite and more color and less droning on and on about redundant economic and market statistics. This book, in its research and obvious talents of its author, fails to make an interesting topic captivating to the reader. Clearly a laggard in this fabulous series.
One of the best books to learn about the market and enjoy it too!.......2006-02-20
I have to admit I am a bit biased since I am interested in the Stock Market and especially the present market's similarity to that of the time referred to in the book. But, it's a lot more than that! It is very well written and though it probably is written for those 11th grade and higher, it is easy to read. It is loaded with real-life history. My wife has already completed it and I am part done. We plan on having our oldest four children read it. The prologue on the 1929 summer seemed to place you right there--even though I never visited New York City itself. My wife mentioned it made the stock market easy to understand especially margins and short selling. I think she also mentioned puts and calls, which is the one area of the stock market I would like more practice with. If you are into history or want to really learn about the market, this is the best place to start. Highly recommended!
Tom from Michigan
Good, but not good enough.......2003-06-27
Klein's retelling of the story of the stock market crash of 1929 is just too little and much too late. Other books, notably Only Yesterday by F.L. Allen for anecdotal material and The Great Crash of 1929 by J. K. Galbraith for analysis, go over the same material and do a better job. Klein's book does have some strong points: wonderful vignettes of some of the people, big and small, who were caught up in the crash; a good analysis of why Herbert Hoover, "the great engineer," couldn't engineer his way out of this one; some interesting anecdotal material I haven't seen anywher else. But all of that could have been done in less than half the space. Nice try, but no cigar.
A colossal event seen through individual's eyes.......2003-05-18
Maury Klein, in his book Rainbow's End: The crash of 1929, has given us a blend of a newer style of historiography with the traditional sense of examining historical events. He has given us a look at the Stock Market Crash of 1929 through the eyes of the people that participated, rather than looking at it strictly from an economic or political historical viewpoint.
Klein starts his book with a description of American society in the 1920's and explains to us why the society of excess and speculation led to the crash moreso than a failing of the general American economy. By dotting the landscape with characters, some familiar and some unfamiliar, Klein gives us a good portrayal of the times.
There is, unfortunately, only a short section of the book that actually deals with the events of the crash itself. This section focuses the days between Black Thursday and Bloody Tuesday, which culminated in a horrific period of losses in the market.
Klein does a good job of staying on task during the sections of the book in explaining the economic factors and the behind-the-scenes actions that took place during these few hectic days. He does not, however, explain the immediate social ramifications (such as the fact that people who lost everything gave up on life) as well as might be expected; he gives this facet of the crash only peripheral coverage.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a socio-economic history of America during this 1920's. It does a very good job of covering this topic. However, if one is looking for details just on the crash itself and those few terrible days on Wall Street, that reader would be well served to find another book to read.
Wha' Happ'n?.......2002-08-24
"No era ever vanished so suddenly, so completely, as the
twenties." -- -- David Dempsey, _New York Times_, Feb 15, 1970
This is a quick run-through of the Crash, with a little pop-sociology about America in the Twenties. It's eerie, reading quotes from bankers, politicians, and brokers from the months before the Crash, about how the market had become so modernized and shockproof that panics were now impossible. Sounds familiar...
New York Times financial columnist Alexander Noyes is a primary source in this book. It is fascinating, watching these titanic events being filtered daily through this not-stupid man's pen. We've heard more than 70 years of second-guessing about the Crash by now, so it is interesting seeing how it was taken point-blank by analysts at the time.
In Maury Klein's account, the Crash is nobody's fault. Like Stanislaw Lec once said, every snowflake in an avanlanche pleads not guilty. Big brokers ostentatiously placed big orders, hoping to spur rallies. Consortia of financiers struggled to maintain public confidence in the market. President Herbert Hoover-who as a humanitarian first and failed President second was Jimmy Carter in reverse-tried to get Big Business together in a game plan to retrieve the situation. But in a free market, there is no one pulling levers and hauling cables controlling things. There was no one to stop the free market from going into freefall.
Throughout the book are amusing little vignettes, like the man who sat smiling in his broker's office throughout Black Monday. His termagant wife wouldn't be able to nag him about the neighbors doing better in the market than him anymore...
Book Description
The decades before the Civil War saw the first secular efforts in history to remake society through reform. Reformers launched unprecedented campaigns reform criminals and prostitutes, to educate the deaf and the blind, guarantee women's rights, and abolish slavery. Our modern systems of free public schools, prisons, and hospitals for the mentally ill are all legacies of this era. Moralists and Modernizers tells the fascinating story of America's first age of reform -- combining incisive portraits of leading reformers and movements with perceptive analysis of religion, politics, and society.
Arguing that the reform impulse grew out of the era's peculiar mix of fear and hope, Steven Mintz shows that reform arose not only from fears of social disorder, family fragmentation, and widening class divisions, but also from a millennialist sense of possibility rooted in new religious and philosophical ideas. He then examines three distinct responses to pre-Civil War America's pressing social problems. Moral reform sought to create a Christian moral order using moral suasion. Social reform combatted poverty, crime, and ignorance through new institutions offering non-authoritarian forms of social control. Radical reform sought to regenerate American society by eliminating fundamental sources of inequality such as slavery and racial and sexual discrimination. In an epilogue, Mintz fits antebellum reform into the larger context of America's liberal tradition.
Mintz concludes that America's pre-Civil War reformers were at once moral critics and cultural modernizers. As exponents of a distinctly modern set of values, reformers attacked outmoded customs, smoothed the transition from a preindustrial to an industrial order, and devised modern bureaucratic systems of criminal justice, public education, and social welfare. The first comprehensive account antebellum reform to appear in twenty years, Moralists and Modernizers is a rich and rewarding work of synthesis and interpretation which draws upon the most recent historical research.
"This book charts a middle ground between those who regard reform as a form of class-based social control and those who stress reformers' benevolent intentions. It emphasizes the duality of antebellum reform, which blended impulses toward social and moral uplift with impulses to impose new codes of personal conduct, shape character, and construct new institutions of social control." -- from Moralists and Modernizers
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating Meditation on Antebellum Reform Movements.......2001-08-20
Stephen Mintz's book is probably the most balanced study of America's antebellum reformers to ever appear. Previously, historians have castigated antebellum reformers as being perfectionists, social controllers, or just plain busybodies . Stephen Mintz's monograph strikes a balance of what reformers accomplished in a sea of human misery that was created by the Market Revolution. His chapter "The Specter of Social Breakdown" evocatively recreates America in the throes of societal breakdown.That chapter we can find the motives of social reformers in America. Mintz writes the " The Specter of Social Breakdown" because this is how Victorian Americans envisioned, in their own minds, what was happening to American society. Victorians were genuinely shocked by the evils that "The Market Revolution" had caused in America. Gangs, crime, drunkeness, prostitution, poverty, violence, and other social evils were shaking America to the core.Stephen Mintz's heavy reliance on secondary resources him to retrace the motives of reformers. Traditional methods of social control were collapsing under the weight of the Market Revolution and new modern measures were needed to take care of people. Before the Market Revolution America was a country where hierarchical society was dissolving after the Revolution. As a result, many people became more vulnerable to sudden economic depression and no where to turn for help. Furthermore, many people who were unable to take care of themselves found institutions of safe refuge. People like Dorthea Dix and others dealt with the mentally ill, the blind, and the poor. Other reform movements like the anti-slavery are also found in this era of reform. Stephen Mintz also details the personal biographies of leading reformers in America. Anyone wanting to understand the leading figures of reform should committ to memory just about every person named in the book. Finally, Mintz strikes a balance in the book when he shows that reformers did do some real good in easing America into the incipient stages of industrial capitalism. Unfortunately, as Mintz notes, that reformers had shortcomings that they could not rise above. This book is probably the best possible synthesis that has appeared on the topic of antebellum reform. Though a short book, readers would be well advised to read each chapter with care or miss key ideas and misunderstand others.This book is a fine introduction to a complicated topic and does make a real contribution in examining the motives of reformers and the real need for reform in America. It is certain that antebellum reformers have a mixed reputation but we should look further than older interpretations and debates.
Fascinating Meditation on Antebellum Reform Movements.......2001-08-20
Stephen Mintz's book is probably the most balanced study of America's antebellum reformers to ever appear. Previously, historians have castigated antebellum reformers as being perfectionists, social controllers, or just plain busybodies . Stephen Mintz's monograph strikes a balance of what reformers accomplished in a sea of human misery that was created by the Market Revolution. His chapter "The Specter of Social Breakdown" evocatively recreates America in the throes of societal breakdown.That chapter we can find the motives of social reformers in America. Mintz writes the " The Specter of Social Breakdown" because this is how Victorian Americans envisioned, in their own minds, what was happening to American society. Victorians were genuinely shocked by the evils that "The Market Revolution" had caused in America. Gangs, crime, drunkeness, prostitution, poverty, violence, and other social evils were shaking America to the core.Stephen Mintz's heavy reliance on secondary resources him to retrace the motives of reformers. Traditional methods of social control were collapsing under the weight of the Market Revolution and new modern measures were needed to take care of people. Before the Market Revolution America was a country where hierarchical society was dissolving after the Revolution. As a result, many people became more vulnerable to sudden economic depression and no where to turn for help. Furthermore, many people who were unable to take care of themselves found institutions of safe refuge. People like Dorthea Dix and others dealt with the mentally ill, the blind, and the poor. Other reform movements like the anti-slavery are also found in this era of reform. Stephen Mintz also details the personal biographies of leading reformers in America. Anyone wanting to understand the leading figures of reform should committ to memory just about every person named in the book. Finally, Mintz strikes a balance in the book when he shows that reformers did do some real good in easing America into the incipient stages of industrial capitalism. Unfortunately, as Mintz notes, that reformers had shortcomings that they could not rise above. This book is probably the best possible synthesis that has appeared on the topic of antebellum reform. Though a short book readers would be well advised to read each chapter with care or miss key ideas and misunderstand others.
Fascinating Meditation on Antebellum Reform Movements.......2001-08-20
Stephen Mintz's book is probably the most balanced study of America's antebellum reformers. Previously, historians have castigated antebellum reformers as being social perfectionists, social controllers, or other negative comments. Stephen Mintz's monograph strikes a balance of what reformers accomplished in a sea of human misery that was created by the Market Revolution. His chapter "The Specter of Social Breakdown" evocatively recreates America in the throes of societal breakdown. Traditional methods of social control were collapsing under the weight of the Market Revolution and new ones had to be found. Furthermore, many people who were unable to take care of themselves found institutions of safe refuge. People like Dorthea Dix and others dealt with the mentally ill, the blind, and the poor. Other reform movements like the anti-slavery are also found in this era of reform. Stephen Mintz also details the personal biographies of leading reformers in America. Anyone wanting to understand the leading figures of reform should committ to memory just about every person named in the book. Finally, Mintz strikes a balance in the book when he shows that reformers did do some real good in easing America into the incipient stages of industrial capitalism. Unfortunately, as Mintz notes, that reformers had shortcomings that they could not rise above. This book is probably the best possible synthesis that has appeared on the topic of antebellum reform. Though a short book readers would be well advised to read each chapter with care or miss key ideas and misunderstand others.
Introduction to antebellum reform.......2000-07-16
Mintz's work is the most recent attempt to summarize antebellum reform. Shorter than the other two attempts (Alice Felt Tyler's outdated classic FREEDOM'S FERMENT and Ronald Walter's AMERICAN REFORMERS), he emphasizes the ironies of reform: the religious roots yet secular forms, the conservative self-image yet radical tendencies, the anti-institutional bias yet creation of enduring institutions. He seeks to find middle ground between historians who have highlighted the reformers' fear and desire for social control and those historians who stressed the reformers' hope and benevolent intentions. At its heart, he sees (most of) the antebellum reformers as true heirs of the American liberal tradition, by which he means the attempt to ameliorate harsher aspects of capitalism through collective and government action. (For a scholar who disagrees, at least for some of the reformers, see Leo Hirrel's CHILDREN OF WRATH.) Mintz succeeds in creating a readable and informative synthesis of the historiography in which the reformers are viewed sympathetically as worthy of our respect, however flawed they might have been. Yet, for all his consensus-building, some readers may find this book unsatisfactory in that too many questions are only treated superficially: What really motivated the reformers? How successful were they? What can they teach us today? That's okay. These questions are really topics for different kinds of books. An important purpose of a broad survey text like this is to prompt some readers to explore the topic in more depth, and I believe that Mintz has succeeded in this purpose. I recommend this work as a solid introduction to antebellum reform.
Not bad for a book I had to read........2000-06-14
Steven Mintzs' Moralists and Modernizers is about three resopnses to pre- Civil War social problems in America: moral reform, social reform and radical reform. This book is about the reforms that abolished slavery, guaranteed womens rights, free public schools, educating the deaf and blind, sexual discrimination and many others. This book is about breaking up corruption, the social breakdown, doing good, virtue and liberation. This first reform in the U.S. has shaped how the U.S. is today. For a book that I had to read in college U.S. history is was not as boring as I thought it was going to be and it was quite insightful.
Customer Reviews:
Slight but beautiful.......2007-01-24
This book is lovely, but it is worth pointing out that it revisits characters that Levi has written in about in his previous memoirs, and is much more satisfying as an appendix than a freestanding work. The chapters on Cesare and Lorenzo gain a great deal of depth if one has already read If This Is a Man and The Truce, where the two are major characters. (These two books have unfortunately been re-titled in America, with complete inaccuracy and for mysterious reasons, Survival in Auschwitz and The Reawakening.)
Also, unlike The Periodic Table, which is also a collection of stories (and I think one of the best books of the 20th century), Moments of Reprieve is not designed to be a unified work of art. The stories were written under a variety of impulses, and most are individually brilliant and moving, but they do not gain strength from being around each other. The last chapter ("The Story of a Coin") about Rumkowski, even appears again -- with no changes as far as I could tell -- in The Drowned and the Saved, Levi's last completed book.
For anyone wanting to discover Levi's writing, I would suggest beginning with The Periodic Table, If This is a Man, and The Truce. Also wonderful are his single novel (If Not Now, When?) and his poetry. This collection, while not essential, serves as a worthy addition to his greatest work. It is also a testament to his artistry, because it shows how much he consciously left out of If This is a Man and The Truce -- stories that a lesser writer would have scrambled to include -- to create the unified, devastating impression of those two books.
Eventually, though, after reading those other great books, you will end up here, because I know of no one who has read them sincerely that has not wanted to spend more time in the company of this smart, funny, wise, and radiantly decent person.
Once again a wonderful experience........2005-09-15
I enjoy being older and having time to pursue the books I would like to read rather than have to read. I only discovered Primo Levi by seeing his name mentioned in reference to another author. And to think I might have missed this man's talent out of pure ignorance. What a shame there aren't many more of his works available, cut off by his depression and taking his life. Book quality excellent. Content of Levi's story exquisite.
humanizes Holocaust victims.......2004-08-24
This little memoir humanizes Levi's Auschwitz acquaintances, presenting them not merely as victims sitting around waiting to be gassed, but as lively, interesting people engaged in the full-time business of getting enough food to survive.
discover this book!!!.......2004-08-07
it was recommended by a good friend of mine to read a certain book by this author. i couldn't get my hands on the book recommended, but i decided to try this one at random. i was not disappointed. i thought this book was excellent. it is full of short stories about several people who levi remembers from his time in auschwitz. it is not a heavy book about the holocaust, it is a collection of interesting stories about people who briefly touched his life in some way. his voice and his style are unique, and his stories are thoughtful and intriguing. i feel like i've seen a glimpse of his personality and the personalities of the characters he has written about. i have since read the sixth day; quite a stretch from this one, but just as beautiful. i highly recommend both.
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The Vietnam War (Defining Moments)
Tom Pendergast
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
ASIN: 0780809548 |
Book Description
Hours after the collapse of the Twin Towers, the idea that the September 11 attacks had “changed everything” permeated American popular and political discussion. In the period since then, the events of September 11 have been used to justify profound changes in U.S. public policy and foreign relations. Bringing together leading scholars of history, law, literature, and Islam, September 11 in History asks whether the attacks and their aftermath truly marked a transition in U.S. and world history or whether they are best understood in the context of pre-existing historical trajectories.
From a variety of perspectives, the contributors to this collection scrutinize claims about September 11, in terms of both their historical validity and their consequences. Essays range from an analysis of terms like “ground zero,” “homeland,” and “the axis of evil” to an argument that the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay has become a site for acting out a repressed imperial history. Examining the effect of the attacks on Islamic self-identity, one contributor argues that Osama bin Laden enacted an interpretation of Islam on September 11 and asserts that progressive Muslims must respond to it. Other essays focus on the deployment of Orientalist tropes in categorizations of those who “look Middle Eastern,” the blurring of domestic and international law evident in a number of legal developments including the use of military tribunals to prosecute suspected terrorists, and the justifications for and consequences of American unilateralism. This collection ultimately reveals that everything did not change on September 11, 2001, but that some foundations of democratic legitimacy have been significantly eroded by claims that it did.
Contributors
Khaled Abou el Fadl
Mary L. Dudziak
Christopher L. Eisgruber
Laurence R. Helfer
Sherman A. Jackson
Amy B. Kaplan
Elaine Tyler May
Lawrence G. Sager
Ruti G. Teitel
Leti Volpp
Marilyn B. Young
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The Colonial Moment in Africa: Essays on the Movement of Minds and Materials, 1900-1940
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521386748 |
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This book includes the first five, thematic, chapters from the Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 7. They deal with Africa south of the Sahara, during a period in which economic and cultural changes greatly enlarged the horizons of Africans, even though colonial rule seemed set to last for a very long time. The contributors break much new ground in exploring a variety of topics which transcend colonial frontiers: the impact of Africa on the thought of the colonial powers; impulses to economic growth, and new frameworks directing the movement of people, goods and money; the rapid expansion of world religions and their interaction with indigenous beliefs and colonial regimes; the circulation of ideas among Africans, and the growth of new social identities, as reflected in the press, literature, art and music. Each chapter is accompanied by a bibliography updated for this edition.
Books:
- The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties
- The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader
- The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth
- The Killer Angels
- The Last Full Measure
- The Last Great Frenchman: A Life of General De Gaulle
- The March: A Novel
- The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader
- The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics
- The Soviet Mind: Russian Culture Under Communism
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