When America Was Great

by Kevin Mattson

A sweeping intellectual history that will make us rethink postwar politics and culture, When America Was Great profiles the thinkers and writers who crafted a new American liberal tradition in a conservative era -- from historians Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and C. Vann Woodward, to economist John Kenneth Galbraith and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

A compelling tale that will redefine the word "liberal" for a new generation, Mattson retraces the intellectual journey of these towering figures. They served in the Second World War. They opposed communism but also wanted to make America's poor visible to the affluent society. Contrary to those who characterize liberals as naïve or sentimental "bleeding hearts," they had a tough-minded and nuanced vision that stressed both human limitations and hope. They felt America should stand for something more than just a strong economy.

Genres: American History

242 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2004

About the author

Dr. Kevin Mattson is a historian, critic, and author whose work focuses on the intersection of ideas and politics in the twentieth century. Currently, he is Professor of Contemporary History at Ohio University, where he teaches about U.S. cultural and intellectual history and popular culture.

Mattson's work has appeared in the American Prospect, the Nation, the New York Times Book Review, Salon, and the Guardian. He has also appeared on NPR, Fox News, C-SPAN, and the Colbert Report.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is about as discouraging and self-defeating a polemic as you could imagine if you're on my end of the simplistic ideological spectrum that we are currently burdened with in this country. This is so intellectually weak, so vapid, so historically uninformed, so emotional, and so pragmatically useless, I can't even begin to tell you. This book is almost complete nonsense as far as I can tell.