Cowie
like the best work of the mid-century historian Richard Hofstadter, whom he frequently cites
has written not so much a work of American history as a brilliant meditation about a central dilemma of American history.
In These Times Jefferson Cowie offers a grand interpretation of the road blocks to change... A rich survey, studded with insights culled from a generation ... Read moreof scholarship.
Michael Kazin, Bookforum Cowie sings the achievements of the New Deal in a tragic register, emphasizing its transformative power while lingering on its compromises... Cowie's vision is coherent and arresting, and helps to make sense of recurring puzzles in American political experience. As a literary-intellectual posture, moreover, his fatalism is downright infectious.
Democracy Important.
Harold Meyerson, American Prospect One of the year's most important political books.
E.J. Dione Jr., Washington Post Engaging and highly readable, Cowie's book provides an excellent, thought-provoking introduction to American economic and political history.
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