Amazon.com
"For virtually every episode described in these pages," Oxford historian Martin Gilbert remarks, "a complete volume could be written." Cramming 19 years into just over 900 pages of text (the maps, photos, index, and bibliography easily stretch the full length over 1,000) is a daunting task, but Gilbert rises to the challenge with a panoramic effort, offering a genuinely global perspective that, coming after several looks back at the "American century," serves as an excellent reminder that there's a whole world beyond the borders of the United States.
The Second World War, as one might expect, holds a central position in the text, occupying the entire middle third and exerting a powerful hold over the events preceding and following it. The opening years, for example, contrast the efforts of many world leaders to maintain lasting peace despite the rise of Nazi Germany. The years after the war see Europe--and then the rest of the world--divided up between the two power blocs engaged in a new, "cold" war. Gilbert neatly compresses his theme of the defense of liberty, and the lessons learned in the fight against authoritarian regimes, by noting that "in 1938, Neville Chamberlain had spoken of Czechoslovakia as 'a far-away country of which we know nothing.' Truman said in 1950, 'Korea is a small country thousands of miles away, but what is happening there is important to every American.'"
Book Description
The world was still reeling from the ravages of the century's first Great War when a dramatic and inexorable chain of events set it afire once again. In the Second World War, forty-six million people would lost their lives, and deep and lasting upheavals would cast the world's social and political life into turmoil for decades to come.
Martin Gilbert's three-volume history of the century continues with an enthralling narrative that documents the attempts to preserve human values, to maintain the rule of law, and to uphold the rights and dignity of the individual. Gilbert shows how the conflicts of nations and the aspirations of their rulers served both to threaten humankind through war and civil war, in many regions of the globe, and to create a fairer and more fulfilling life for hundreds, even thousands, of millions of people. For more than four decades, the United States and the Soviet Union -- joint victors in the struggle against Germany and Japan--struggled to establish the primacy of their respective systems, while the specter of nuclear war threatened to become a terrible reality.
The world was still reeling from the ravages of the century's first Great War when a dramatic and inexorable chain of events set it afire once again. In the Second World War, forty-six million people would lost their lives, and deep and lasting upheavals would cast the world's social and political life into turmoil for decades to come.
Martin Gilbert's three-volume history of the century continues with an enthralling narrative that documents the attempts to preserve human values, to maintain the rule of law, and to uphold the rights and dignity of the individual. Gilbert shows how the conflicts of nations and the aspirations of their rulers served both to threaten humankind through war and civil war, in many regions of the globe, and to create a fairer and more fulfilling life for hundreds, even thousands, of millions of people.For more than four decades, the United States and the Soviet Union--joint victors in the struggle against Germany and Japan--struggled to establish the primacy of their respective systems, while the specter of nuclear war threatened to become a terrible reality.
Customer Reviews:
Gilbert zone.......2002-09-17
Have read the third volume of this series first and having glanced at the first one (both are as brilliant as any other 20th century history book), it appears to me that this period is the one Gilbert is really a master of. Also, comparing the presentation (which is chronogical), with other acclaimed books like Penguin History Of The 20th Century and Hobsbawm's 'A Short Century', I like this one much better. Its to his credit that inspite of presenting the events year-wise, the merit and positioning of his analysis of the broad sweep of events in not affected negatively. The narrative is easy to follow and one does not tend to get lost even if the book is picked up after a couple of days gap.
The most interesting feature of the book is the contemporary opinions of people, quotations, reports - they make the narrative come alive. I was finally able to really understand the rise of the Third Reich and the events which led to the war and (as an example) could relate it (in a way) to why the US insists Iraq be 'contained'. The complusions/motives of the actors on stage are very well explained with good insight into their personalities (with anecdotes and comments to back it up).
The book is more British-centered that the US, but that only makes it more refreshing.
For my money, he's the best writer if you want to understand the 20th Century. Next is the Penguin Book Of 20th Century history. Hobsbawms book provides good analyis but, I think, does not tell the story very well. The Oxford Book Of the 20th Century is a sham.
One reason for the greatness of this book could be that it does not tell you any more or any less than you would need to know in order to grasp why things happened the way they did in this tumultous period. The series is in 3 huge volumes, unlike the other books mentioned above, and gives the author enough scope to write to his hearts content (how fortunate that this was just right for me!).
What else? Well, its really difficult to read at night coz the size makes it difficult to hold - dare I suggest splitting the current 3 into 6 volumes!
Second Book of a Great Series.......2001-12-10
There are many good reviews here so I'll keep it short. If you're looking something that covers the period in a general way with lots of relevant details thrown in then get this book. It's very readable for a history book that covers so much area and the chronological setup is very effective at giving you the sense of the times. I read this series from book 1 to 3 and recommend that as it gives you the best flow and all the events build on one another. I think some people are overly critical here. For what this book is and was meant to be it's a very worthwhile read.
Not inspired writing.......2001-04-11
Since this book is full of history I enjoyed it but it is not inspired writing. Sometimes it seemed plodding. Much of the account of World War II consisted in a continuing catalog of German atrocities and losses in air raids. I cannot say Gilbert has a good sense of proportion. Some insignificant things get mentioned (McDonald's gets a sentence) and important things are omitted (U.S. politics is the subject of the merest nods). Even the birth of Israel is directly mentioned only in telling that the U.S. recognized it minutes after it was proclaimed. I was glad to finish this book, and I am not sure it'll be worth while to read Volume III. There is a bibliography (heavy on books published in England) but no footnotes or source notes.
Gilbert's Masterful 2nd Volume of His 20th Century History!.......2000-10-22
British historian and academic Sir Martin Gilbert (knighted by the Queen in 1995) has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most authoritative academics on the subject of the twentieth century, and has written perhaps more prolifically than anyone else on various aspects of this remarkable epoch. Indeed, he has written such a torrent of different books on everything ranging from a multiple volume biography of Sir Winston Churchill to histories of World War One, World War two, that a complete accounting of his efforts would require more space than is available for the review. Thus it should come as no surprise that he has written a three-volume overview of the twentieth century itself. What is so surprising is how engaging, entertaining, and accessible each of the three volumes is to the reader.
In the second volume Gilbert masterfully guides us through the events that mesmerized and profoundly affected the whole world, from the Depression of the 1930s to the efforts of various world leaders to construct a workable peace in the face of the mounting hostility from a Nazified Germany. Of course, the drift into the Second World War and the conduct of that massive conduct is the centerpiece of the book, and in the effort Gilbert illustrates just how well he can provide an interesting, provocative, and intelligible overview of such a mind-boggling war involving so many people in so many far flung places throughout the world. This really is history that has been shorn of all its externalities, stripped to its bare essentials, clipped free of all its celebrities, all its petty nonsense, and its hoopla, to concentrate only on that which is central, consequential, and the core of the stuff of history. In Gilbert's capable hands we come to better appreciate just how momentous the torrent of worldwide changes were, sweeping away all that went before them. This is a book that engages the reader in the spectacle of the transformation of our world from everything autocratic, traditional and rigidly controlled to all that became so characteristic of the century thereafter; democratic, irrational, murderous, and wildly chaotic. With an amazing and delightful eye for absorbing detail, Gilbert threads his way through the particular personalities, events and issues as they arise chronologically.
This is the one accurate criticism I have read about which may be directed at the book. He does stick fairly much to a faithful chronological narrative. Yet, given the plethora of events, issues, personalities and changes occurring throughout the world, any other organization would suffer from other problems such as maintaining context for the reader, so one can appreciate all that faced a particular leader in a given situation. Understanding how the multitudes of actors, issues, and countries are involved and intertwined lends itself to better comprehension, at least in this reviewer's mind. After all, it is mind-boggling to understand in the last hundred years the western world transformed itself in almost every dimension imaginable; technological, scientific, social, economic, and philosophical. To attempt to do justice to this wide panoply of revolutionary change requires a certain perspective and rigorous discipline to do so, especially in the 3,000 or so pages allotted to the overall work.
The narrative herein works its way fatefully through the events leading up to and including the Second World War, and allowing for a better understanding of the world that emerged from the cauldron of that conflict, guiding us through the tragedy of this most unnecessary of wars, and shows us how the various national interests and ideologies involved not only during the war but in its aftermath set the stage for what follows. One is struck by how masterfully Gilbert threads his way through this most essential lesson of history; i.e., how the past and what it holds profoundly sets the stage and writes the script for all that follows. From London to Berlin, from Moscow to Washington, from Singapore to Paris, we follow the story of our own century as it unfolds, and the act of finishing this particular volume only whets one's appetite for the next volume, which picks up the thread of the story of this century in the early 1950s in the midst of the world's adjustment to the new political stand-off between the United States and the Soviet Union. Enjoy!
Historical overview written the old-fashioned way.......2000-09-01
Martin Gilbert -- that's Sir Martin to us Yanks -- is to 20th century history like Isaac Asimov is to everything else. He's a machine, churning nearly 60 history books on Winston Churchill, the Holocaust, Jewish history and the two World Wars among other subjects. Without a trace of ego or any talent for self-promotion, hands down, he earned the title of the hardest working man in the history biz.
With apologies to James Brown, and the reader as well, Gilbert's brand new bag is this little opus called, "A History of the Twentieth Century," slated to come out in three volumes. The first volume covered one-third of the century, and its sequel covers the years 1933 to 1951.
This is quaint, old-fashioned history, the kind that drive New Historians batty. Gilbert breaks down the century into years and writes a chapter on each year. He's not interested in looking back and drawing inferences and interpretations. He's not even interested in pointing out trends or advancing any particular political agenda. This is history in the here and now, as immediate as the day's newspaper. The result is a book you can open to any page, and be instantly captivated by the story.
Not surprisingly, Hitler and World War II dominates this book, opening as it does with the rise of the ex-German Army corporal, consolidating power after only three months in office, and ending with the executions of his officers for war crimes. Also present in a large measure is Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union, and their catalog of cruelties take up most of the book.
Those of us who've quite had our fill of WWII history did not look forward to the prospect of looking back. I've read the books, seen the documentaries, watched the History Channel (motto: All Hitler All the Time), visited some of the places and even gamed the battles and campaigns from tactical to strategic. Could this really tell me something I haven't learned?
As it turns out, it does. Gilbert's genius in writing history is in constructing a fascinating chain of stories. His narrative flow is interrupted only when he turns to an extract from a contemporary account, or by brief footnotes in which Gilbert drops the authorial mask to relate a personal anecdote or reveals a pertinent fact that wouldn't otherwise fit into the chronological narrative. His "here and now" technique means you can dip into the book at any place and find some interesting nugget of history.
The result is something like an extended mini-series, with the narrative shuttling among the main characters and locations, with brief subplots that may or may not be equally important. The 1947 chapter, for example, opens with Gen. George C. Marshall reporting from China that neither the Communists nor the Kuomintang want a negotiated settlement or a coalition government. Following that is a one-page summary of the struggle over the rest of the year then an eyewitness account of life during the winter in a Manchurian city under Kuomintang control. After that is a series of brief stories, many taking less than a page. Various countries execute German officers for war crimes, German prisoners-of-war are repatriated back to the fatherland, Britain and France sign a mutual-aid pact against Germany, the coffins of 6,248 American war dead are returned home and given a memorial service in Central Park, attended by four hundred thousand people, more peace treaties signed, not-so-free elections held in Poland, the Truman Doctrine was issued in which anti-Communist aid was given to Greece and Turkey, the Marshall Plan formulated, the next stage in the decline of the British Empire formulated with the independence of Burma as led by Aung San, who was later assassinated. In a footnote, Gilbert mentions that San's daughter, Suu Kyi, was two years old. She would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest by the military government.
All this in about 10 pages. And so goes the rest of the book, over 927 pages, 38 pages of maps, and an extensive bibliography and index.
As I mentioned before, some historians look down at this basic attempt at recalling the past. In his review of the first volume, historian John Charmley in the London Daily Telegraph called this, "`titbits' history, useful for Trivial Pursuit, but not much else."
But there are many ways to learn the history of our times, our past, our heritage, and Gilbert employs the method by which we all learn it: by a direct telling of the facts as they occurred. It is fundamental to our learning, because it allows us to sort through the facts and derive meaning from them. Gilbert leaves it to others to provide their interpretation of what's important and what's not, and there is certainly no lack of historians elbowing their way onto the stage to do just that. But the process has to start somewhere, and Gilbert provides a readable, entertaining and sometimes terrifying and heartfelt guide. One sees no reason to ask it to do anything more than that.
Customer Reviews:
Harding to Pearl Harbor - quite an era.......2006-07-09
Anxious Decades is a volume in the Norton Twentieth Century America Series that addresses the decades of the twenties and the thirties. Michael E. Parrish has taken on the challenging task of giving us a consice volume addressing all of the societal, political, and economic trends that occured during these vastly different decades.
The 1920's, known as the "roaring twenties" were indeed years of Prosperity and good times - the era of the flappers, the rising stock markets, the rebirth of the KKK, and rising hemlines. Parrish devotes the first half of his tome to these years. He does an admirable job of describing the societal changes that America encountered during the decade, and a good job of describing the economic progression through between the end of the Wilson administration and the great crash of 1929. He does not address the political scene quite as much as the other two, but that can be easily blamed on the administrations that were in force during the years - Harding & "Silent Cal" Coolidge, who once famously quipped that the business of America is business.
The second half of the volume focuses on the years between the Stock Market crash and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I found this portion of the book to be much more enjoyable than the first (probably because I am very interested in the era of Roosevelt). I feel that Parrish does an outstanding job in describing the economic devasation felt by Americans of most classes (except, of course, some of the super rich), and how that translated into the social ills that befell the nation in the 1930's. He also delves much more into the political realm in this portion of his work, since Roosevelt's new deal directly impacted so many Americans during these years. His chapter on the Intellectuals and the Depression was most fascinating, and a valuable addition to my knowledge about this class of people during these years.
Overall, Parrish has provided us with a pretty good volume describing these years; he does not go into great detail for most individual items, since this is really a work that is supposed to be a high level overview of these two crucial decades in American History.
A good book for a history major.......2006-05-17
Parrish does a solid job of covering the years leading up to the Great Depression including the Presidencies of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. He also notes the 1920s and the growing income differences between the wealthy and the growing number of poor in the nation.
He focuses a lot of the text on FDR and the New Deal and does an admirable job on at least highlighting some of the main points of the New Deal and the successes and failures of some of the programs.
It's a good book for a history class or to just learn more about the years leading up to the Great Depression and FDR's attempts at dragging America out of the economic disaster of the 1930s.
balanced view.......2002-02-25
...Parrish's focus on individuals is the book's strength. Parrish is a true synthesis historian. For example, Parrish had a balanced approached of synthesizing the traditional views of the Great Depression with more non-traditional issues. He discussed the traditional topics of poverty, lost fortunes, and food lines. Yet he also had sections of neglected topics like the disruption on family life, the popularity of sex in the film industry, and how many had positive views of the Great Depression. He concluded: "The Great Depression drove some Americans apart and simultaneously brought others together in a common cause. For some the Depression confirmed the rottenness of capitalism and the need for revolution. For others it would be the best of times, when people reached out to help others, and when the government took the side of the underdog to battle injustice."
balanced view.......2002-02-25
Parrish's focus on individuals is the book's strength. Parrish is a true synthesis historian. For example, Parrish had a balanced approached of synthesizing the traditional views of the Great Depression with more non-traditional issues. He discussed the traditional topics of poverty, lost fortunes, and food lines. Yet he also had sections of neglected topics like the disruption on family life, the popularity of sex in the film industry, and how many had positive views of the Great Depression. He concluded: "The Great Depression drove some Americans apart and simultaneously brought others together in a common cause. For some the Depression confirmed the rottenness of capitalism and the need for revolution. For others it would be the best of times, when people reached out to help others, and when the government took the side of the underdog to battle injustice."
continued.......2002-02-25
Parrish did an admirable job of balancing traditional topics and
non-traditional topics. For example, in chapter one and two he focused upon two influential white males, President Harding and Henry Ford. Yet in chapter 7 he talked about the struggles by women for equality in the workplace and politics. He had extensive comments on poor farmers and other laborers in chapter four. Part two in his book sways mainly to legislations and influential white politicians in the 1930's. While revisionists may argue that he failed to include more stories on influential women and minorities, one may argue that Parrish exposed the lack of important women and minorities in the 1930's.
Book Description
The twentieth century began in an age of horse-drawn travel, and before it ended mankind was routinely journeying by air and had taken photographs on the surface of Mars. It was a century of vast human and ecological destruction, but also one of national exuberance, cultural diversity, and phenomenal scientific progress.
Martin Gilbert's three-volume history of the twentieth century begins with a masterful narrative covering the critical thirty-three years which began this remarkable span of time: from the dawn of aviation through a great war that left six million soldiers dead and four vast empires destroyed, to the inauguration of Roosevelt as U.S. President and Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, and the beginning of Stalin's show trials in the Soviet Union. Moving with ease from continent to continent, conveying the years of struggle, upheaval and achievement on every front, the author also tells the stories of ordinary men and women who were integral parts of the events which sometimes benefited them, and often victimized them. Here begins the definitive chronicle of our century, by one of the foremost historians our century has produced.
Customer Reviews:
A Sorry Effort.......2003-10-21
This is a lousy 800 page book that could have been a superb 500 page book. The author clearly is in love with the sound of his own voice and writes as if he were speaking to his students at Oxford. This does not work very well in print. The book is full of run-on sentences and tortured grammar of a kind that would net a sophomore at a middling American college a C- on an English paper. Decent editing just to eliminate verbosity would cut this tome down by a third. Gilbert's perspective is excessively Anglo-centric -- his main source seems to have been microfiche of headlines from the London Times for the years covered. And his strict year-by-year structure means that important themes are diced up and impossible to follow. Interestingly, the one time he breaks from this structure to write thematically -- his coverage of World War I -- the book works quite well. Sadly, these few chapters are not enough to justify the pain imposed by the rest of this doorstop.
Author in Need of an Editor part two.......2003-10-07
You would think that someone who was knighted by the Queen and was an English subject to boot would know exactly how long Queen Victoria reigned for....on the first page of year 1901 he writes that she had reigned for "sixty-one years"...though 1837-1901 does not exactly add up to sixty one years.
I really couldn't get past the glaring errors...this is a real shame or sham when there are so many great historians out there who could be publishing and can't because people like Martin Gilbert are pumping out these editorial nightmares.
Great intro to the start of the 20th century.......2001-12-10
When I checked this book out at the library the student worker asked what is was about. I said "The history of the 20th century, it's the first of three volumes" and she goes "American History?". I say "No World". She says"It's that small?". I think a lot of people miss the fact that obviously this is not an in depth history of every event and it never was meant to be that. The reason why this series is worthwhile is that it gives you a real overall sense of what was going on year by year. And because of that format it really brings you through the century with the events in context with one another. The reason it focuses so much on the wars and conflicts are that those are what shaped the century! At the end of the chapters he briefly mentions stuff like disasters and inventions which helps to add some overall context without distracting from the main ongoing events. It is very detailed for what it is (a general history) and the many excerpts from speeches, books, and letters really make it much more personal and readable. This isn't a topic that's easy to do well and I can't imagine it being done much better.
This is the worst of the 3 volumes.......2001-08-24
I've read the last two volumes first. Now I'm reading this first one and it is awful. Where's the history on the United States or inventions or milestones. All Martin Gilbert talks about here is war overseas. He leaves one small paragraph a chapter for the US and any trivial information. I'm skipping through it faster then any book I've read. Thank god I read the 2 good ones first. I would think there's more history to those years then just the Balkans and Russia.
Much to be said for this book.......2000-10-19
This book's viewpoint is that of a British Jew, and he spends lots of time on British colonial history, and of course on the first World War. Some of the stuff on the less momentous years was new to me. There are some errors, e.g., on page 788: "...a prolonged drought spreading westward from the Pacific Coast..."! The 1927 account refers to Henry L. Stimson as an ex-Secretary of State, rather than an ex-Secretary of War. (Stimson did not become Secretary of State till 1929.) FDR is said to have been inaugurated March 3, 1933! There is limited attention to social trends, literature, and such. I think a more analytic approach would have been more useful and attention-holding. Much of the 33 and 1/3 years covered is dismal and sad, but we can't blame Gilbert for that. I feel sure I will read Volume II, I am sure.
Book Description
In 1941 Time magazine publisher Henry Luce spoke of the 'American Century', anticipating that the values of the United States would spread around the world. Twentieth-Century America provides a comprehensive analysis of the changes and continuities in the US political system from 1900 to 2000, a period of unprecedented growth and power in US history, though one that was also punctuated by crises and division. Part One focuses on the Progressive Order, which emerged with the progressive movement at the beginning of the century, and lasted until the Wall Street Crash and the subsequent depression destroyed its political foundations. Part Two begins in 1933 when President Franklin Roosevelt inaugurated the New Deal. The 'big government' liberalism of the New Deal Order survived until the late 1960s, when it was undermined by dissension over Vietnam and racial turmoil. In Part Three the Divided Order the focus is on the last third of the century when the US political system was characterized by confusion and fragmentation, partly because the White House and Congress were usually occupied by rival parties. Class, gender and race were important formative influences on the course of US history, and proper attention is paid to the role of American workers, immigrants, women, African Americans and other minorities in this penetrating study of recent US history.
Average customer rating:
|
Sacrifice and National Belonging in Twentieth-Century Germany (Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures)
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Germany
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Third Reich
| Germany
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Historiography
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Social History
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Cultural
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1585442070 |
Book Description
In this first social and cultural history of Japan's construction of Manchuria, Louise Young offers an incisive examination of the nature of Japanese imperialism. Focusing on the domestic impact of Japan's activities in Northeast China between 1931 and 1945, Young considers "metropolitan effects" of empire building: how people at home imagined and experienced the empire they called Manchukuo.
Contrary to the conventional assumption that a few army officers and bureaucrats were responsible for Japan's overseas expansion, Young finds that a variety of organizations helped to mobilize popular support for Manchukuo--the mass media, the academy, chambers of commerce, women's organizations, youth groups, and agricultural cooperatives--leading to broad-based support among diverse groups of Japanese. As the empire was being built in China, Young shows, an imagined Manchukuo was emerging at home, constructed of visions of a defensive lifeline, a developing economy, and a settler's paradise.
Customer Reviews:
Essential reading on pre-Pacific War Japan........1999-08-26
This book is essential reading for any serious student of the Japanese Empire, as well as anyone interested in the history of colonialism or Chinese-Japanese relations. Young shows that Japan's occupation of Manchuria and the subsequent transformation into Manchukuo may have been initially driven by the Imperial Army, but became an effort supported by various other political and economic agencies. She also describes how a perceived Japanese mission of improving fellow Asian nations may have been sincere, but was ultimately destructive. TOTAL EMPIRE is best read in conjunction with THE ABACUS AND THE SWORD, about Japan's colonial relationship with Korea. Military historians will find Young's book weak on details of the military administration, but that doesn't seriously detract from the social and cultural historical value of the work.
Book Description
A penetrating study of the decade that swept America into the modern age and changed it forever.
This is the first book to offer a comprehensive look at American life in the 1920s as framed by the aspirations, scandals, and attitudes of the Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover presidencies. In fascinating detail, Goldberg examines how Victorian values were transformed into the freewheeling lifestyle of the Jazz Age and explores the effects of such far-reaching issues as isolationism vs. internationalism, massive immigration, labor-management relations, and the prevalence of big business.
Even as he pierces the era's claim to being a time of "wonderful nonsense," Goldberg balances its giddy fads and foibles with a stinging critique of darker and/or significant social issues. From the rise of the Ku Klux Klan to black protests to the Scopes "Monkey Trial," from bootlegging and Prohibition to the Red Scare, Goldberg shows how the temper of the 1920s shaped the nation's future. Finally, he poses provocative questions about how mistakes might have been avoided and what consequences ensued.
Customer Reviews:
America in the Twenties.......2004-02-22
America in the Twenties is an interesting and enjoyable book about the 1920's. I highly recommend it to anyone interested about this time period.
America in the Twenties.......2004-02-22
America in the Twenties is one of the best history books I have ever read dealing with the 1920's. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this period.
America in the Twenties.......2004-01-28
America in the Twenties is an interesting and scholarly account of the 1920's. It's very enjoyable to read, as well as being very informative.
Book Description
This essential guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal provides a wealth of information, analysis, biographical profiles, primary documents and current resources that will help students to understand this pivotal era in American history. The author, an expert on this age of U.S. history and politics, brings to life the traumatic period that began in 1929 and ended only with America's entrance into World War II in 1941. He carefully explains the causes of the Depression, the actions taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt to lift America out of its economic morass, and the economic, political, social, and cultural aspects of the age. Following a chronology of events, a narrative overview examines the events of the Great Depression and the New Deal. Other topical essays address the causes and cure of the Depression, America's struggle against the Depression, the effect of the Depression on American politics, changes in society and culture during the Depression decade, and an evaluation of the New Deal from a contemporary perspective. Twenty-seven biographical profiles of key figures of the era, the text of ten important primary documents, a glossary of frequently cited terms, and an annotated bibliography of print and nonprint materials for student use complete the work. This work is an essential source for the most current thinking and resources on the Great Depression and the New Deal.
Book Description
By examining the uneven fate of manufacturing industries during the 1930s, Michael Bernstein presents a powerful new interpretation of the Great Depression. The depth and persistence of the slump, he argues, cannot be explained by cyclical theories alone, but by the conjunction of a crisis in financial markets with a long-run transformation in the kinds of goods and services required by firms and households. By focusing on evidence from specific industries, Professor Bernstein provides a more detailed picture of what happened to the American economy in the thirties that was so different from previous downturns.
Book Description
America at the beginning of 1917 was a nation mobilizing for war. It was also a nation potentially capable of developing the world's first mass consumption economy. Institutionally and ideologically it was a nation without the institutions capable of ensuring that the new sources of authority would be used to further the ends of liberal democracy and national progress. This highly regarded volume reexamines America's historical development during the years from 1917 to 1933, focusing in particular on wartime mobilization and action as well as the rise and collapse of the world's first mass consumption economy. Hawley also explores the continued search for a modern managerial order geared to the realization of liberal ideals during this period.
Books:
- Advanced Social Psychology
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- American Ground Zero: The Secret Nuclear War
- American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day
- An Indian Summer: The 1957 Milwaukee Braves, Champions of Baseball
- Auschwitz and After: Race, Culture, and the Jewish Question in France
- Ben Carson
- Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Financial Modeling with Crystal Ball and Excel
- Whale Done! : The Power of Positive Relationships
- Scrimshaw: The Whaler's Legacy
- The God Delusion
- The New Media Reader
- When Red Is Black
- Tropical Rain Forest
- Twelve Essential Laws for Becoming Indispensable
- Tell Me What You See
- Taming Technology: You Can Control the Beast
A History of the Twentieth Century: Volume 3, 1952-1999
A History of the Twentieth Century: Volume 1, 1900-1933
A Coffin for Dimitrios
The Second World War: A Complete History
The First World War, Second Edition: A Complete History
