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Following the devastation of the Civil War, America yearned for a new beginning. Some sought progressive reform, while others were motivated by their own visions of Christianity. Artists, writers and musicians developed new forms of self-expression. And politicians and entrepreneurs combined a desire for rebirth with fierce personal ambition. In Rebirth of a Nation, award-winning historian Jackson Lears chronicles this remarkable time when American transformed itself from a nation at war with itself to a prosperous world power. But at what cost-socially, economically and politically- did this change take place? Lears recounts the wrenching social conflict and vigorous political debate that marked the 50 years following the Civil War, when a modern America emerged and came to dominance on a world stage. Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, and many other lesser known but influential Americans are profiled in this masterly account of a troubled but also triumphant time in United States history. Jackson Lears is Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and the editor of Raritan: A Quarterly Review. He is the author of Fables of Abundance, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for history; Something for Nothing, and No Place of Grace. He writes for The New Republic, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. He lives in western New Jersey. '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
About the author
Jackson Lears is Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and the editor of Raritan: A Quarterly Review. The author of Fables of Abundance (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for history), Something for Nothing, and No Place of Grace, Lears writes for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic. He lives in western New Jersey.
Summary
"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’s Rebirth of a Nation was named one of the best books of 2009 by The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
