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Title: Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 by James T. Patterson ISBN: 0-19-511797-2 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.18 (17 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A well-balanced overview of America's most troubled era
Comment: James Patterson has assembled the most comprehensive survey of contemporary American history. With the Cold War as the backdrop, he guides the reader through a tumultuous period that took in two wars and the Civil Rights movement. He amply describes the nature of these conflicts and the impact they had on American society. The leading figures are brought into focus, as well as the crucial events of the periods such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. He weaves in a wide variety of cultural issues such as religion, noting how it has influenced successive administrations. He ends the period with the downfall of Nixon, who appears throughout the book from his involvement in the House anti-American investigations, to his vice-presidency under Eisenhower to his subsequent presidency. It is a well-rounded account and a wonderful addition to the Oxford History of the United States.
What was most interesting to me was the powerful influence religion had on our society and the conflicts that arose during the Civil Rights movement and the Age of Aquarius. Patterson noted that Americans remained the most devoted church-goers throughout the troublesome 60's. The church became the rallying point of the Civil Rights movement, and also served as the bastion of white supremacy. Such contradictions made for volatile conflicts as each side felt it had the moral upper hand. The seemingly all-pervasive drug culture may have captured the public's imagination, but by and large America remained a nation of social conservatives.
Patterson provides good overviews of the Korean and Vietnam wars, tying them into the ideology of the Cold War. He shows the seamless pattern that ran through these conflicts, as well as other conflicts in which the US found itself embroiled in during its effort to defeat communism. The costly battles left millions of Asians dead and no clear victories, tarnishing the reputation we had achieved after WWII as the champion of democracy. He illustrates how each president from Truman to Nixon tried to avoid these conflicts, but somehow could never shake the "Losing China syndrome."
It is a well-documented book covering a tremendous amount of ground. Patterson steers clear of polemics, opting for a well-balanced assessment of the era. Naturally when one takes on such a broad subject, certain discrepencies do arise, but there are no glaring errors, and the book has a narrative grace that leads the reader effortlessly through the tumultuous events.
Rating: 5
Summary: Magnificent contemporary history
Comment: This magnificent Oxford History of the United States volume joins earlier OUP volumes, James McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" and David Kennedy's "Freedom From Fear," as exemplary history.These reflect the uncommon standard of excellence that personified their editor, C. Vann Woodward.
Professor Patterson,the author of diverse, acclaimed books on this period, draws on an impressive panoply of sources from which he has crafted a judicious assessment of the period from Truman through Nixon.
I find that he strikes the proper timbre in examining this critical period of great American responsibilities and major domestic and international challenges.
One great strength is his sensitivity to economic and social shifts. Another strength is Patterson's keen insights into the personalities of Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, and Carter, with Ford mentioned in passing.
In 790 pages of narrative, some of my favorite examples of quirky history must be excluded. I particularly regret exclusion of the Ford-Kissinger Mayaquez fiasco, in which 41 marines lost their lives rescuing 38 "hostage"crew members who had been released before the rescue operation commenced.
One problem in writing contemporary history is that new, essential source materials are continually being made available. In a subsequent edition i would hope that Professor Patterson might incorporate insights from:
Fred Emery's "Watergate: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon," together with the excellent 3-video "Watergate" shown on The Discovery Channel;
John Lewis Gaddis's "We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History;" and
Jeremy Isaacs' & Taylor Downing's "Cold War: an Illustrated History, 1945-1991," which is a companion book to the superb, 24-episode CNN Cold War series.
Rating: 4
Summary: Just a Student
Comment: I had to read this book for my economics class. I had to choose it, it was actually one of the most informal books I've ever read. I don't read much, but this encouraged me to read more. Patterson explained it well. I say it explained most of all America's downfalls. Everything that went wrong with our poor decision making. What I thought was very eye catching is in trhe end he make a positive statement. I'm not saying everything was negative in the book, not at all, but it makes you think. I will have to read more of Oxford History Volumes.
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Title: Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 by David M. Kennedy ISBN: 0195144031 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 by Robert Middlekauff ISBN: 0195035755 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1985 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson ISBN: 019516895X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics by Bruce J. Schulman ISBN: 030681126X Publisher: Da Capo Press Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Sleepwalking Through History: America in the Reagan Years by Haynes Johnson ISBN: 0393324346 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 16 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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