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Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (Oxford History of...
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Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (Oxford History of...
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by David M. Kennedy
Sales Rank : 15479
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Paperback: 992 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA April 19, 2001
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195144031
ISBN-13: 978-0195144031
Product Dimensions:
9.2 x 5.9 x 2.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
Product Review
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
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Rarely does a work of historical synthesis combine such trenchant analysis and elegant writing. Because of its scope, insight, and purring narrative engine, Kennedy's book will stand for years as the definitive history of the critical decades of the American century.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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