Beginning with Woodrow Wilson and U.S. entry into World War I and closing with the Great Depression, The Perils of Prosperity traces the transformation of America from an agrarian, moralistic, isolationist nation into a liberal, industrialized power involved in foreign affairs in spite of itself. William E. Leuchtenburg's lively yet balanced account of this hotly debated era in American history has been a standard text for many years. This substantial revision gives greater weight to the roles of women and minorities in the great changes of the era and adds new insights into literature, the arts, and technology in daily life. He has also updated the lists of important dates and resources for further reading.
"This book gives us a rare opportunity to enjoy the matured interpretation of an American Historian who has returned to the story and seen how recent decades have added meaning and vividness to this epoch of our history."--Daniel J. Boorstin, from the Preface William E. Leuchtenburg is William Rand Kenan Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and recent past president of the American Historical Association. He has published numerous books on twentieth-century American history.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
The Perils of Marginalizing:
Seller indicated some underlining and marginal notations. Actually, every page is spattered with both, to the extent that it is seriously distracting.
Dense and dull for the adverage reader:
I read the Perils of Prosperity for a History class. It was hard to get through, extremely dry, and at times extremely unclear. Leuchtenburg does not attempt to insert any life or interest into the stories of many interesting people, but instead blathers on in a detached style, leaving the reader bored to tears. He also assumes social knowledge of the reader, by making reference to explain points, which are completely useless and confusing to those who have not read the work he's referencing. Also,... more info
Enjoyable "textbook":
Originally I purchased this book as part of my required college history class. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much. This book was a huge surprise. Some people may be turned off by Leuchtenberg's "negative" appraisal of the early 20th century. But his arguments are well-supported and his opinions are clearly outlined against the facts. The best feature of this book is the sheer volume of time-specific setting information. Tons of examples from then-contemporary newspapers, books, and movies... more info
History; As you like it.:
The Perils of Prosperity is an over view of the time period from 1914 to 1932. It covers
the highs and the lows of this period in a friendly and personable manner. Similar to FDR's
fireside chats this is an easy and informative read. It is like learning history from a relative
who lived in the time period. The thesis for the book is How America's prosperity of the
1920's was a false prosperity. The sterotype of the roaring twenties is a falacy and our author
tries to... more info
