A Time of Paradox

America Since 1890

By (author) Glen Jeansonne

Paperback - £55.00

Publication date:

10 March 2006

Length of book:

576 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742533769

In this lively and provocative synthesis, distinguished historian Glen Jeansonne explores the people and events that shaped America in the twentieth century. Comprehensive in scope, A Time of Paradox offers a balanced look at the political, diplomatic, social and cultural developments of the last century while focusing on the diverse and sometimes contradictory human experiences that characterized this dynamic period.

Designed with the student in mind, this cogent text provides the most up to date analysis available, offering insight into the divisive election of 2004, the War on Terror and the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Substantive biographies on figures ranging from Samuel Insull to Madonna give students a more personalized view of the men and women who influenced American society over the past hundred years.
Jeansonne has produced a finely crafted synthesis of U.S. history, 1890 to the present. More than just another textbook, this is a balanced, intellectual presentation of the people and events that shaped the U.S. during the nation's modern era. The chapters are both chronological and topical, and the author presents a broad history that he illustrates with biography, overarching themes, and insightful juxtapositions of the competing agents for change. Jeansonne lays out each chapter's framework in a logical format, and his masterfully crafted narrative conveys the complexity of the past with sensitivity and balance. Attention is given to ethnicity, gender, economics, diplomacy, and politics, as well as to the arts, technology, sports, and pop culture. College students, the intended audience, will appreciate such auxiliary features as useful chronologies, short biographies, and vignettes, which give added texture and depth to each period, and the well-developed, up-to-date, and thematic suggested readings bibliographic essays for each section.