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Reviews of Freedom from Fear : The United States, 1929-1945 (Oxford History of the United States, Vol 9) by David M. Kennedy
Amazon.com
You can think of Freedom from Fear as the academic's version of The
Greatest
Generation: like Tom Brokaw, Stanford history professor
David M. Kennedy focuses on the years of the Great Depression and the
Second World War and how the American people coped with those
events. But there the similarities end--and, in terms of the differences,
one
might begin by noting that the historian's account is over twice the size
of
the journalist's.
Whereas Brokaw made use of extensive interviews, Kennedy relies on
published accounts and primary sources, all meticulously footnoted. This
academic rigor, however, does not render the book dull--far from it.
Certainly the subject matter is interesting enough in its own right, but
Kennedy offers attention-grabbing turns of phrase on nearly every page.
He also unleashes some convention-shattering theses, such as his
revelation that "the most responsible students of the events of 1929 have
been unable to demonstrate an appreciable cause-and-effect linkage
between the Crash and the Depression" and his subsequent argument
that, although it made order out of chaos, the New Deal did not reverse
the Depression--that, he says, was the war's doing. All in all, Freedom
from Fear compares favorably to its companions in the multivolume
Oxford History of the United States in both its comprehensive heft and
its
vivid readability. --Ron Hogan
The New York Times Book Review, Barry Gewen
...an engrossing narrative of a momentous time, the best one-volume
account of the Roosevelt era currently available.... Kennedy ... has a
genuine talent for plunging the reader into the immediacy of the moment...
Publishers Weekly
Rarely does a work of historical synthesis combine such trenchant
analysis and elegant writing as does Kennedy's spectacular contribution
to the Oxford History of United States. Throughout, he takes care to
detail parts of the American story often neglected by more casual
histories.... Because of its scope, its insight and its purring narrative
engine, Kennedy's book will stand for years to come as the definitive
history of the most important decades of the American century.
From Kirkus Reviews , April 12, 1999
The latest volume of the Oxford History of the United States, an
exhaustive survey spanning 16 years of crises, ordeals, fears, and
insecurities. Kennedy (History/Stanford Univ.; Over Here: The First
World War and American Society, 1980) writes of post-WWI
disillusionment, the collapse of farm prices that had been driven higher
by
the war, and the great movement of rural people to the cities. President
Hoover, the laissez-faire whipping boy of the Great Depression, emerges
here as a well-intentioned workaholic who tried valiantly with many plans
and experiments, despite some faulty philosophy, to bring his country out
of the economic free fall that resulted from the effects of the Treaty
of
Versailles (huge and ruinous war reparations imposed on Germany,
record tariffs that severely damaged international trade), a gold standard
that restricted the money supply, and an unregulated, speculative stock
market that fed on excess credit and caused widespread bank failures
and massive unemployment. Kennedy describes the great fear paralyzing
the country when FDR came to power. The flood of New Deal
legislation attempted to use the government to build social and economic
security for its citizens. It didnt end the Depression, but it did create
permanent monuments in American life, including Social Security,
unemployment insurance, and banking and stock market reforms. Full
economic recovery followed the US entrance into WWII, from which a
newly prosperous, confident America emerged, despite the loss of more
than 400,000 lives. The author does well in selecting salient events and
colorful, representative details to illuminate this critical period in
the
American Century. A major achievement in objective historical writing
that should be a legacy to generations of students seeking authoritative
reference material on the period. (First printing of 50,000; first serial
to
the Atlantic Monthly; author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus
Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The Washington Monthly, John Kenneth Galbraith
This is an enormous book, heavy to carry and light and very agreeable to
read. David Kennedy, a professor of History at Stanford, is merciless as
to fact and detail but very kind to the reader. It gave me, I do not
exaggerate, a very pleasant free-time occupation for a full two weeks....
The book, nearly all of it, has my very strong approval. As it will have,
I
cannot doubt, that of the many readers it deserves.
Synopsis of Freedom from Fear : The United States, 1929-1945
(Oxford History of the United
States, Vol 9) by David M. Kennedy
The newest volume in the award-winning Oxford History of the United
States--a brilliant narrative spanning the Great Depression, FDR's New
Deal, and the Second World War. 58 illustrations.
The publisher, Russell Perreault, Director of Publicity,
rap@oup-usa.org , April 23, 1999
An exciting new book that spans the Great Depression to WWII
IN THE TRADITION OF JAMES McPHERSON’S BATTLE CRY
OF FREEDOM, JAMES PATTERSON’S GRAND
EXPECTATIONS AND ROBERT MIDDLEKAUFF’S THE
GLORIOUS CAUSE COMES THE LATEST IN THE
AWARD-WINNING OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED
STATES SERIES: DAVID M. KENNEDY’S FREEDOM FROM
FEAR.
Here Kennedy Reevaluates the Hoover and Roosevelt Presidencies, The
Great Depression, and The New Deal; and Vividly Brings to Life the
Major Military and Naval Battles of World War II.
"This is an enormous book, heavy to carry and light and very agreeable
to read. David Kennedy is merciless to fact and detail but very kind to
the reader... [FREEDOM FROM FEAR] has my strong approval. As it
will have, I cannot doubt, that of the many readers it deserves." --John
Kenneth Galbraith, The Washington Monthly
"Displaying a literary craft…[Kennedy] has woven together narrative,
sketches of character, and critical judgment to record and analyze the
economic, political, social, and military events of these epic years… This
account of the crucial struggles and events of the Depression and war
years will lend perspective like few others." --Library Journal
In FREEDOM FROM FEAR: The American People in Depression and
War, 1929-1945, the first comprehensive study that spans the
Depression, the New Deal and World War II eras, Bancroft
Award-winning historian David M. Kennedy tells the story of three of the
most formative events in modern American history. Here Kennedy
situates American history in the context of the world historical events
developments of the era, including global economic crisis, the rise of
Nazism, and Japan’s quest for empire in Asia.
In FREEDOM FROM FEAR, an important addition to the
award-winning The Oxford History of the United States series, Kennedy
examines in detail America’s greatest economic crisis ever, and sheds
light on all contemporary comparisons with that event. It also documents
the techniques of presidential leadership developed by Franklin
Roosevelt, arguably the most effective and consequential president of the
century, and critically discusses the nature of FDR’s great reform legacy.
Finally, the book rehearses the momentous debate between 1935 and
1941 about American foreign policy, a debate that ended with American
intervention in World War II and the end (for a time, at least) of a century
and a half of isolationism – a debate that still echoes in discussions
for
foreign policy today.
Kennedy addresses major controversies, such as: causes of the
Depression, the Hoover presidency, the failures and successes of the
New Deal, the role of Depression-era demagogues like Father Charles
Coughlin and Senator Huey Long, the rise of organized labor, the origins
of Social Security, the "Constitutional Revolution" of 1937, the origins
of
WWII, the Pearl Harbor attack, the emergence of the
American-British-Russian "Grand Alliance," the internment of
Japanese-Americans in wartime, the American society in wartime, the
Second Front debate, the liabilities of the "unconditional surrender"
policy, the nature of the air war waged against Germany and Japan, the
development of atomic weapons, and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
Ultimately, FREEDOM FROM FEAR tells the story of how Americans
endured, and finally prevailed in the face of two back-to-back calamities:
The Great Depression and WWII. Kennedy describes the Depression’s
impact in vivid detail, and documents the New Deal’s effort to wring
lasting social and economic reform out of the Depression crisis. Kennedy
also offers a compelling narrative of America’s engagement in World
War II, including fresh analyses of how and why America won, and the
lasting consequences of American victory. Covering what are the most
influential years of the 20th century, FREEDOM FROM FEAR is an
exciting narrative of the foundations of modern America.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR David M. Kennedy is Donald J. McLachlan
Professor of History at Stanford University. He is the author of Over
Here: The First World War and American Society, which was nominated
for a Pulitzer Prize, and Birth Control in America: The Career of
Margaret Sanger, which won a Bancroft Prize. He lives in Stanford,
California.
ABOUT THE OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES The
Atlantic Monthly has praised The Oxford History of the United States as
"the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship," a series
that "synthesizes a generation's worth of historical inquiry and knowledge
into one literally state-of-the-art book. Who touches these books touches
a profession." Conceived under the general editorship of one of the
leading American historians of our time, C. Vann Woodward, The
Oxford History of the United States blends social, political, economic,
cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly written
narrative. Previous volumes are Robert Middlekauff's The Glorious
Cause: The American Revolution; James M. McPherson's Battle Cry of
Freedom: The Civil War Era (which won a Pulitzer Prize and was a New
York Times best seller); and James T. Patterson's Grand Expectations:
The United States 1945-1974 (which won a Bancroft Prize). Future
volumes include the work of such distinguished historians as Gordon S.
Wood, Timothy Breen, James Patterson, and Michael McGerr.
FREEDOM FROM FEAR FACT SHEET
In this new book, David Kennedy…
· Rehabilitates the reputation of Herbert Hoover, who is rendered
here as
in many ways a forerunner of the New Deal. · Examines the "old poor,"
who were not impoverished by the Depression, but were among the era’s
most ravaged victims. These people were 1/3 of the nation who had not
prospered in the "affluent" 20s. · Explains the economic causes
and
consequences of the Great Depression in non-technical language. ·
Vividly renders the human face of both Depression and War with
personal stories. · Analyses the causes of the Great Depression,
with
important implications for assessing the prospects of a comparable
calamity in our own era. · Makes clear the relationship between
America’s deepest economic crisis and the most prolific moment of
political and social reform in American history. · The first major
re-interpretation of the New Deal era in a generation or more. ·
Shows
the importance of immigrant and minority communities to the shaping of
the New Deal, and the creation of the fabled "New Deal Coalition" that
made the Democrats the dominant political party for nearly two
generations after WWII. · Explains the origins of the great New
Deal
reforms that have shaped American life for the last three generations:
The
Social Security Act, the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act, the
Securities Exchange Commission Act, Fair Labor Standards (minimum
wage) Act, etc. · Documents the achievement of Franklin Roosevelt
in
guiding the country through both the Depression and the war. · Presents
the "Great Debate" on foreign policy between isolationists and
internationalists, from 1935 to the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. ·
Provides the best account of America in World War II, taking into
account homefront, military, and diplomatic aspects of the war, bar none.
· Makes clear the grand strategic architecture that informed America’s
wars in both Europe and Asia. · Vividly and clearly renders major
military
and naval engagements, including Pearl Harbor, North Africa, Italy,
D-Day, Midway, the Battle for Northwest Europe, the Battle of the
Bulge, the air war against Germany, Guadalcanal, Leyre Gulf, Tarawa,
Iwo Jima, the Marianas, Okinawa, and the final air assault on Japan. ·
Explains why and how the United States emerged victorious in World
War II, with emphasis on strategy, the homefront economy, and the
charac...
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