America Transformed: Sixty Years of Revolutionary Change, 1941-2001

Description

America has seen a multitude of transformations since its founding. This 2006 book examines the period 1941-2001 during which time the character of American life changed rapidly, culminating in the shattering of the Liberal Democratic coalition. Revolutions in the areas of affluence, foreign policy, the military, business systems, racial relations, gender roles, sexual behavior and attitudes, and disregard for privacy are discussed. Rather than cite historical facts as they occurred, America Transformed analyzes them and offers a fresh and often controversial perspective. Abrams' draws on a wealth of published sources to highlight his original arguments on McCarthyism, the Cold War, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson, to name a few topics. The synthesis of information and the depth of insight are simply unparalleled in any other book of American social history from 1941-2001.

Richard M. Abrams is a professor of history at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has been teaching since 1961. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1962. He was a Fulbright Professor at the University of London (1968-1969) and Moscow State University (1989). Professor Abrams is the author of Conservatism in a Progressive Era: The Burdens of Progress and editor or co-editor of The Shaping of 20th Century America and The Issues of Populist and Progressive Eras.

'This spirited book synthesizes the scholarly wisdom of a lifetime. The provocative result nicely captures the major changes in American life over the course of the last sixty years.' Edward D. Berkowitz, George Washington University 'Though covering a well-known era of American history, Abrams' use of sources and economic analyses is both innovative and imaginative. Rather than accepting change over time, he originally explains the role of elites in accounting for historical changes in the course of his Eight Revolutions. Again and again, this analysis shows how popular perceptions need to be explained by reality. Look, too, at his insightful dismantling of liberal society over those tumultuous years. Additionally, Abrams boldly looks into the morality of historical events, though his use of morals is not traditional: rather it is to test policies and actions against the values in the making of the American past. In sum, this is historical analysis at its best.' Carl N. Degler, Stanford University, Emeritus 'America Transformed is a cogent and provocative synthesis of our nation's history since World War II. It provides a crisp account of dramatic changes that have occurred in diverse dimensions of American life, while also conveying deep, and disturbing, reservations about the recent trajectory of American policy, both domestic and international.' Alex Keyssar, Harvard University