ISBN: 9780190692575
Editorial: Oxford University Press, USA
Año de edición: 2020
N° Paginas: 384
Tipo de pasta: Pasta dura
Descripción: In The Sum of Our Dreams, Louis P. Masur offers a sweeping yet compact history of America from its beginnings to the current moment. For general readers seeking an accessible, single-volume account, one that challenges but does not overwhelm, and which distills and connects the major events and figures in the country's past in a single narrative, here is that book. Evoking Barack Obama's belief that America remains the "sum of its dreams," Masur locates the origin of those dreams-of freedom, equality, and opportunity-and traces their progress chronologically, illuminating the nation's struggle over time to articulate and fulfill their promise. Moving from the Colonial Era, to the Revolutionary Period, the Early Republic, and through the Civil War, Masur turns his attention to Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Age, World War One, the Great Depression, World War Two, the Cold War, Civil Rights, Vietnam, and Watergate, and then laying out clearly and concisely what underlies the divisiveness that has characterized American civic life over the last forty years-and now more than ever. Above all, however, Masur lets the story of American tell itself. Inspired by James Baldwin's observation that "American history is longer, larger, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it," he expands our notion of that history while identifying its individual threads. The Sum of Our Dreams will be the new go-to single volume for anyone wanting a foundational understanding of the nation's past, and its present. Críticas General readers will find Masur's book interesting, but its greatest value may be in its use as an undergraduate textbook, whose 11 well-written chapters, prologue, epilogue, and 36 well-chosen images (all well worth unpacking) make it easily accessible. -- B. F. Le Beau, CHOICELouis Masur has written the concise, informed, and fluid history of the United States that the nation, indeed, the world, has needed for decades. Persuasive about the big things, Masur still invites argument, on the principle that history is argument without end. Learned yet unpretentious, his bookis essential is every sense, an indispensable account of the fundamentals in our past. --Sean WilentzWith an ambitious project like a single volume history of the United States, sweep and scope is a given. But precision, wit and wisdom are what makes Louis Masur's The Sum of our Dreams really stand out. From the foundation of our founding to the tumult of our still-young century, Masur illuminatesour common history and its recurring themes, providing an invaluable resource and a great read. --John Avlon, CNN Senior Analyst and author of Washington's FarewellA robust retelling of the American story, aptly suited to our time. Louis Masur neatly captures the contradictions at the heart of the American experience, and does so with the confidence and panache of the experienced teacher and insightful historian he is. --H. W. Brands, University of Texas, AustinIn our bitterly divided 21st-century republic, it is easy to forget that the United States of America has always been a messy, wildly partisan, and deeply violent experiment. It never wasn't. That is the central message of Louis Masur's marvelous tour through American history. He reminds us of howhard our road has been, while proclaiming his frank admiration for our dreams and our democracy. As we plunge into the 2020 election season, I can't imagine a more relevant book. Bravo. --S. C. Gwynne, author of the New York Times Bestsellers Rebel Yell, and Empire of the Summer MoonA parade of colorful characters, memorable quotations, stunning moments, painful ironies, and fleeting victories fill these pages, as do the dreams-met and unmet-of the country's various striving populations. Engaging, accessible, and broadly informative, The Sum of Our Dreams seamlessly connectsand contextualizes hundreds of key historical figures, events, an
- Idioma: Inglés
- Autor: Masur, Distinguished Professor of American Studies
- Editorial: Oxford University Press, USA
- N° Paginas: 384
- Tipo de pasta: Pasta dura
- Envío: Desde EE.UU.
