Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 by James T. Patterson (English)

Description: FREE SHIPPING UK WIDE Grand Expectations by James T. Patterson James T. Patterson skilfully weaves together political, social, cultural, and economic history to present a fascinating survey of postwar America. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Beginning in 1945, America rocketed through a quarter-century of extraordinary economic growth, experiencing an amazing boom that soared to unimaginable heights in the 1960s. At one point, in the late 1940s, American workers produced 57 percent of the planets steel, 62 percent of the oil, 80 percent of the automobiles. The U.S. then had three-fourths of the worlds gold supplies. English Prime Minister Edward Heath later said that the United States in the post-Warera enjoyed "the greatest prosperity the world has ever known." It was a boom that produced a national euphoria, a buoyant time of grand expectations and an unprecedented faith in our government, inour leaders, and in the American dream--an optimistic spirit which would be shaken by events in the 60s and 70s, and particularly by the Vietnam War.Now, in Grand Expectations, James T. Patterson has written a highly readable and balanced work that weaves the major political, cultural, and economic events of the period into a superb portrait of America from 1945 through Watergate. Here is an era teeming with memorable events--from the bloody campaigns in Koreaand the bitterness surrounding McCarthyism to the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, to the Vietnam War, Watergate, and Nixons resignation. Patterson excels at portraying the amazing growthafter World War II--the great building boom epitomized by Levittown (the largest such development in history) and the baby boom (which exploded literally nine months after V-J Day)--as well as the resultant buoyancy of spirit reflected in everything from streamlined toasters, to big, flashy cars, to the soaring, butterfly roof of TWAs airline terminal in New York. And he shows how this upbeat, can-do mood spurred grander and grander expectations as the era progressed.Ofcourse, not all Americans shared in this economic growth, and an important thread running through the book is an informed and gripping depiction of the civil rights movement--from the electrifying Brownv. Board of Education decision, to the violent confrontations in Little Rock, Birmingham, and Selma, to the landmark civil rights acts of 1964 and 1965. Patterson also shows how the Vietnam War--which provoked LBJs growing credibility gap, vast defense spending that dangerously unsettled the economy, and increasingly angry protests--and a growing rights revolution (including demands by women, Hispanics, the poor, Native Americans, and gays) triggered a backlash that widened hiddenrifts in our society, rifts that divided along racial, class, and generational lines. And by Nixons resignation, we find a national mood in stark contrast to the grand expectations of ten years earlier, one inwhich faith in our leaders and in the attainability of the American dream was greatly shaken.The Oxford History of the United StatesThe Oxford History of the United States is the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times bestseller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The Atlantic Monthly has praised it as "the most distinguished series inAmerican historical scholarship," a series that "synthesizes a generations worth of historical inquiry and knowledge into one literally state-of-the-art book." Conceived under the general editorship of C. Vann Woodward and RichardHofstadter, and now under the editorship of David M. Kennedy, this renowned series blends social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly written narrative. Notes A general survey of the post-War era in the United States, covering the years from W.W.II to the end of the Vietnam War. 48 halftones. Author Biography James T. Patterson is Ford Foundation Professor of History at Brown University. Review "A tour de force from the last murmurings of the New Deal through the last mutterings over Watergate."--The Wall Street Journal"Mr. Pattersons overall achievement is compelling."--The Economist"A spirited, sprawling narrative of American life."--The New York Times Book Review"One can hardly imagine a better overview of American life during the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights, and the debacle of Vietnam."--The Washington Post Book World"A magisterial history....A fair, judicious, and yet decisive synthesis."--Atlantic Monthly"Scholars will embrace Grand Expectations for copious footnotes that establish its credentials; readers will glide past those distractions for a trip through postwar American in which change occurred not incrementally but cataclysmically....Pattersons work whispers behind its chronicle of events, This is the way it was; this is how it happened."--Richmond Times-Dispatch"Exceedingly well written narrative. A big book that reads well and explains much. I will assign it in my next class."--Peter Piccillo, Rhode Island College"James Patterson has provided a tour dhorizon which unusually is also a tour de force....Grand Expectations is an exceptional achievement. There can be little doubt that the volume will become the standard single text on the period....An epic venture."--The Times Higher Education Supplement"If adopted as the standard college text on this period, Grand Expectations will be bound to affect the reputations of the postwar Presidents. John F. Kennedy...will suffer most, as students innocent of the Kennedy charisma come of age knowing little more of thim that what Petterson tells them.... A fair, judicious, and yet decisive synthesis."--The Atlantic Monthly"A sweeping, meticulous synthesis of 30 years, from unique prosperity and influence to uncertainty and social fragmentation."--The New York Times Book Review (And Bear in Mind)"A spirited, sprawling narrative of American life...from the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.... Grand Expectations covers its subject in meticulous detail.... Covering enormous ground, Mr. Patterson weaves a narrative that includes everything from the battle against polio an the meaning of Alfred Kinseys sexual studies to the rise of McCarthyism and the struggle for civilrights."--The New York Times Book Review"Grand Expectations is, above all, the story of the maturing of a nation.... [It] is a careful work of history, a tour de force from the last murmurings of the New Deal through the last mutterings over Watergate."--The Wall Street Journal"With unassuming virtuosity, James T. Patterson succeeds brilliantly at every turn in Grand Expectations.... His sentences always move swiftly from point to point; meaning is never muddied with partisan rhetoric or academic jargon; and a gift for apt quotation and telling example energizes every page.... Many of the events that Patterson chronicles are not merely contemporary history, they represent our very lives. A word, a phrase, a place name can beenough to release floods of memory.... One can hardly imagine a better overview of American life during the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights, and the debacle of Vietnam."--The Washington Post Book World"James T. Patterson has accomplished a herculean task, bringing off a history of the United States and, more or less, the world during the near-apocalyptic period 1945-1974.... He has written a grand book."--The Washington Times"Mr. Pattersons overall achievement is compelling. He has pulled together recent findings in political, social, legal, and economic history while maintaining a strong narrative flow.... While dealing with such a vast array of events, Mr. Patterson consistently manages to produce subtle and sophisticated conclusions. Grand Expectations is a definitive history of post-war America."--The Economist"Patterson successfully puts into context the events of a tumultuous 30-year period in U.S. history.... His work explains the history of the times of the baby boomer generation and could become the definitive work on the era."--Library Journal"In a continuously challenging, stirring history of postwar America, Brown University history professor Patterson charts Americans ever-widening postwar expectations about the capacity of the U.S. to create abundance and opportunity.... Bursting with shrewd analyses and fresh assessments of people and events (McCarthyism, the Beats, the growth of suburbia, Vietnam, etc.), Pattersons primarily political but also cultural and social history gores both liberaland conservative sacred cows."--Publishers Weekly"To pack so much so judiciously into a single volume is an impressive achievement, which comports with a series (The Oxford History of the United States) that boasts such gems as James McPhersons Battle Cry of Freedom."--Booklist (starred review)"Lucid, engrossing, and provocative, Grand Expectations brilliantly captures America from World War II to Watergate. If you can read only one book about the United States between World War II and Watergate, choose this one. Even when you disagree with it, you will admire and enjoy it."--Laura Kalman, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara"James Patterson is one of Americas most eminent historians of modern America, and this sweeping synthesis of our recent past displays his great gifts as a scholar and writer in full measure. Grand Expectations is a bold and engaging narrative. It also proposes a series of challenging and at times surprising interpretations of the postwar era."--Alan Brinkley, Professor of History, Columbia University"Grand Expectations fulfills all the requirements for an important work of history--broad learning expressed in lucid prose and punctuated by thoughtful interpretations. Whats more, its also a good read."--John Morton Blum, Department of History, Yale University"Patterson offers us a magisterial overview of American public life from the end of World War II to the close of the Nixon era. His readable, even fast-paced account is solidly grounded in scholarship, and frequently displays a strking originality. There is no better guide to the history of these years."--Otis L. Graham, Jr., Professor of History Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara"Grand Expectations is simply the best single book about the unique and fascinating period of American history between 1945-1974. Pattersons fast-paced narrative is filled with vivid portraits, interesting facts, illuminating insights, and thoughtful and judicious commentary. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the roots of Americas contemporary discontent."--Steven M. Gillon, University Lecturer in American History, OxfordUniversity"The three decades following World War II constituted a unique moment in American history, a triumphal and confident age against which, for better or worse, we now judge our own era. In Grand Expectations, James Patterson vividly renders the complex energies and abundant ironies of those years. He brilliantly illuminates the promises and perils of postwar prosperity, the achievements and agonies of the rights revolution, and the costs and calamitiesof the Cold War, including Vietnam. Clear, colorful, comprehensive, and studded with provocative judgements, Grand Expectations is a grand history that richly rewards the specialist and the general reader alike."--David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Stanford University"Lively and erudite, taut yet comprehensive. The research is diverse and thorough, the writing clear and compelling. Perfect to provide the historical underpinning for my Journalism course..."--Anthony Cannella, Central Connecticut State University Promotional Winner of the 1997 Bancroft Prize in History^L Named an Outstanding Academic Book of 1996 by Choice Prizes Winner of Winner of the 1997 Bancroft Prize in History Named an Outstanding Academic Book of 1996 by Choice. Long Description Beginning in 1945, America rocketed through a quarter-century of extraordinary economic growth, experiencing an amazing boom that soared to unimaginable heights in the 1960s. At one point, in the late 1940s, American workers produced 57 percent of the planets steel, 62 percent of the oil, 80 percent of the automobiles. The U.S. then had three-fourths of the worlds gold supplies. English Prime Minister Edward Heath later said that the United States in the post-Warera enjoyed "the greatest prosperity the world has ever known." It was a boom that produced a national euphoria, a buoyant time of grand expectations and an unprecedented faith in our government, in our leaders, and in the American dream--an optimistic spirit which would be shaken by events in the60s and 70s, and particularly by the Vietnam War.Now, in Grand Expectations, James T. Patterson has written a highly readable and balanced work that weaves the major political, cultural, and economic events of the period into a superb portrait of America from 1945 through Watergate. Here is an era teeming with memorable events--from the bloody campaigns in Korea and the bitterness surrounding McCarthyism to the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin LutherKing, to the Vietnam War, Watergate, and Nixons resignation. Patterson excels at portraying the amazing growth after World War II--the great building boom epitomized by Levittown (the largest such development in history) and the baby boom (which exploded literally nine months after V-J Day)--as well as theresultant buoyancy of spirit reflected in everything from streamlined toasters, to big, flashy cars, to the soaring, butterfly roof of TWAs airline terminal in New York. And he shows how this upbeat, can-do mood spurred grander and grander expectations as the era progressed. Of course, not all Americans shared in this economic growth, and an important thread running through the book is an informed and gripping depiction of the civil rights movement--from the electrifying Brownv. Board of Education decision, to the violent confrontations in Little Rock, Birmingham, and Selma, to the landmark civil rights acts of 1964 and 1965. Patterson also shows how the Vietnam War--which provoked LBJs growing credibility gap, vast defense spending that dangerously unsettled the economy, andincreasingly angry protests--and a growing rights revolution (including demands by women, Hispanics, the poor, Native Americans, and gays) triggered a backlash that widened hidden rifts in our society, rifts that divided along racial, class, and generational lines. And by Nixons resignation, we find a national mood in stark contrast to the grand expectations of ten years earlier, one in which faith in our leaders and in the attainability of the American dream was becomingshaken.The Oxford History of the United StatesThe Oxford History of the United States is the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times bestseller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The AtlanticMonthly has praised it as "the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship," a series that "synthesizes a generations worth of historical inquiry and knowledge into one literally state-of-the-art book." Conceived under the general editorship of C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter, and now under the editorship of David M. Kennedy, this renowned series blends social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly writtennarrative. Review Text "A tour de force from the last murmurings of the New Deal through the last mutterings over Watergate."--The Wall Street Journal"Mr. Pattersons overall achievement is compelling."--The Economist"A spirited, sprawling narrative of American life."--The New York Times Book Review"One can hardly imagine a better overview of American life during the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights, and the debacle of Vietnam."--The Washington Post Book World"A magisterial history....A fair, judicious, and yet decisive synthesis."--Atlantic Monthly"Scholars will embrace Grand Expectations for copious footnotes that establish its credentials; readers will glide past those distractions for a trip through postwar American in which change occurred not incrementally but cataclysmically....Pattersons work whispers behind its chronicle of events, This is the way it was; this is how it happened."--Richmond Times-Dispatch"Exceedingly well written narrative. A big book that reads well and explains much. I will assign it in my next class."--Peter Piccillo, Rhode Island College"James Patterson has provided a tour dhorizon which unusually is also a tour de force....Grand Expectations is an exceptional achievement. There can be little doubt that the volume will become the standard single text on the period....An epic venture."--The Times Higher Education Supplement"If adopted as the standard college text on this period, Grand Expectations will be bound to affect the reputations of the postwar Presidents. John F. Kennedy...will suffer most, as students innocent of the Kennedy charisma come of age knowing little more of thim that what Petterson tells them.... A fair, judicious, and yet decisive synthesis."--The Atlantic Monthly"A sweeping, meticulous synthesis of 30 years, from unique prosperity and influence to uncertainty and social fragmentation."--The New York Times Book Review (And Bear in Mind)"A spirited, sprawling narrative of American life...from the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.... Grand Expectations covers its subject in meticulous detail.... Covering enormous ground, Mr. Patterson weaves a narrative that includes everything from the battle against polio an the meaning of Alfred Kinseys sexual studies to the rise of McCarthyism and the struggle for civilrights."--The New York Times Book Review"Grand Expectations is, above all, the story of the maturing of a nation.... [It] is a careful work of history, a tour de force from the last murmurings of the New Deal through the last mutterings over Watergate."--The Wall Street Journal"With unassuming virtuosity, James T. Patterson succeeds brilliantly at every turn in Grand Expectations.... His sentences always move swiftly from point to point; meaning is never muddied with partisan rhetoric or academic jargon; and a gift for apt quotation and telling example energizes every page.... Many of the events that Patterson chronicles are not merely contemporary history, they represent our very lives. A word, a phrase, a place name can beenough to release floods of memory.... One can hardly imagine a better overview of American life during the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights, and the debacle of Vietnam."--The Washington Post Book World"James T. Patterson has accomplished a herculean task, bringing off a history of the United States and, more or less, the world during the near-apocalyptic period 1945-1974.... He has written a grand book."--The Washington Times"Mr. Pattersons overall achievement is compelling. He has pulled together recent findings in political, social, legal, and economic history while maintaining a strong narrative flow.... While dealing with such a vast array of events, Mr. Patterson consistently manages to produce subtle and sophisticated conclusions. Grand Expectations is a definitive history of post-war America."--The Economist"Patterson successfully puts into context the events of a tumultuous 30-year period in U.S. history.... His work explains the history of the times of the baby boomer generation and could become the definitive work on the era."--Library Journal"In a continuously challenging, stirring history of postwar America, Brown University history professor Patterson charts Americans ever-widening postwar expectations about the capacity of the U.S. to create abundance and opportunity.... Bursting with shrewd analyses and fresh assessments of people and events (McCarthyism, the Beats, the growth of suburbia, Vietnam, etc.), Pattersons primarily political but also cultural and social history gores both liberaland conservative sacred cows."--Publishers Weekly"To pack so much so judiciously into a single volume is an impressive achievement, which comports with a series (The Oxford History of the United States) that boasts such gems as James McPhersons Battle Cry of Freedom."--Booklist (starred review)"Lucid, engrossing, and provocative, Grand Expectations brilliantly captures America from World War II to Watergate. If you can read only one book about the United States between World War II and Watergate, choose this one. Even when you disagree with it, you will admire and enjoy it."--Laura Kalman, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara"James Patterson is one of Americas most eminent historians of modern America, and this sweeping synthesis of our recent past displays his great gifts as a scholar and writer in full measure. Grand Expectations is a bold and engaging narrative. It also proposes a series of challenging and at times surprising interpretations of the postwar era."--Alan Brinkley, Professor of History, Columbia University"Grand Expectations fulfills all the requirements for an important work of history--broad learning expressed in lucid prose and punctuated by thoughtful interpretations. Whats more, its also a good read."--John Morton Blum, Department of History, Yale University"Patterson offers us a magisterial overview of American public life from the end of World War II to the close of the Nixon era. His readable, even fast-paced account is solidly grounded in scholarship, and frequently displays a strking originality. There is no better guide to the history of these years."--Otis L. Graham, Jr., Professor of History Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara"Grand Expectations is simply the best single book about the unique and fascinating period of American history between 1945-1974. Pattersons fast-paced narrative is filled with vivid portraits, interesting facts, illuminating insights, and thoughtful and judicious commentary. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the roots of Americas contemporary discontent."--Steven M. Gillon, University Lecturer in American History, OxfordUniversity"The three decades following World War II constituted a unique moment in American history, a triumphal and confident age against which, for better or worse, we now judge our own era. In Grand Expectations, James Patterson vividly renders the complex energies and abundant ironies of those years. He brilliantly illuminates the promises and perils of postwar prosperity, the achievements and agonies of the rights revolution, and the costs and calamitiesof the Cold War, including Vietnam. Clear, colorful, comprehensive, and studded with provocative judgements, Grand Expectations is a grand history that richly rewards the specialist and the general reader alike."--David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Stanford University"Lively and erudite, taut yet comprehensive. The research is diverse and thorough, the writing clear and compelling. Perfect to provide the historical underpinning for my Journalism course..."--Anthony Cannella, Central Connecticut State University Review Quote "With unassuming virtuosity, James T. Patterson succeeds brilliantly atevery turn in Grand Expectations.... His sentences always move swiftly frompoint to point; meaning is never muddied with partisan rhetoric or academicjargon; and a gift for apt quotation and telling example energizes everypage.... Many of the events that Patterson chronicles are not merelycontemporary history, they represent our very lives. A word, a phrase, a placename can be enough to release floods of memory.... One can hardly imagine abetter overview of American life during the Cold War, the struggle for civilrights, and the debacle of Vietnam."--The Washington Post Book World Feature Winner of the 1997 Bancroft PrizeSelling point: Weaves the major political, cultural, and economic events of the period into a superb portrait of America from 1945 through WatergateSelling point: Portrays the amazing growth after World War II and the resultant buoyancy of spiritSelling point: Reveals how this upbeat, can-do mood spurred grander and grander expectations as the era progressedSelling point: Explains how the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and other social movements shook the nation and triggered a backlash that widened hidden rifts in our society Details ISBN0195117972 Author James T. Patterson Language English ISBN-10 0195117972 ISBN-13 9780195117974 Media Book Format Paperback Subtitle The United States, 1945-1974 Short Title GRAND EXPECTATIONS US 1945-197 Affiliation Brown University Edition Description Revised Position Former Professor of International Commerical Law Imprint Oxford University Press Inc Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Edition 10th DOI 10.1604/9780195117974 UK Release Date 1998-02-12 NZ Release Date 1998-02-12 US Release Date 1998-02-12 Illustrations 32 pp halftone plates, maps Edited by James J. Fawcett Birth 1916 Death 1990 Qualifications PhD Pages 848 Publisher Oxford University Press Inc Series Oxford History of the United States Year 1998 Publication Date 1998-02-12 DEWEY 973.92 Series Number X Audience General AU Release Date 1997-12-31 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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