Rebirth Of A Nation The Making Of Modern America, 1877-1920 (american History) [Paperback]

Fascinating.... A major work by a leading historian at the top of his game—at once engaging and tightly argued. —The New York Times Book Review

“Dazzling cultural history: smart, provocative, and gripping. It is also a book for our times, historically grounded, hopeful, and filled with humane, just, and peaceful possibilities.” —The Washington Post

An illuminating and authoritative history of America in the years between the Civil War and World War I, Jackson Lears’sRebirth of a Nationwas named one of the best books of 2009 byThe Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, andThe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In the half-century between the Civil War and World War I, dreams of spiritual, moral, and physical rebirth formed the foundation for the modern United States. Inspired by imperial ambition, presidents and entrepreneurs—from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Andrew Carnegie—helped usher the nation into the modern era, but sometimes the consequences of their actions failed to match the grandeur of their hopes.

Award-winning historian Jackson Lears richly chronicles this momentous period in America—years marked by wrenching social conflict and vigorous political debate—vividly capturing the roles played by a variety of seekers, from Gilded Age mavericks to vaudeville entertainers, and from populist farmers and progressive reformers to avant-garde artists and writers. Illuminating and authoritative,Rebirth of a Nationbrilliantly weaves the remarkable story of this crucial epoch into a masterful work of history.

A remarkable book. . . . As Jackson Lears demonstrates again, he is one of the best of his (and my) generation of historians.Jackson Lears is one of the few pre-eminent historians of our time. As we dream for a rebirth of America in the age of Obama, this magnificent and magisterial book on the making of modern AmelÃ4