Rendezvous With Destiny: A History of Modern American Reform

by Eric F. Goldman

Here, back in print in paperback, is one of the most brilliant and dramatic historical narratives ever written about the American experience. Eric Goldman tells a story of the wise and the shortsighted, the bold and the timid, the generous and the grasping men and women who are the stuff of American reform. He begins in the years after the Civil War, when our tradition of dissent was fueled by industrialization and urbanization. He deals not with theories, alien or native, but with the lives of the dissenters, Populist and Progressive, with their political organizations and schemes, their popular support, the newspapers and newspapermen who controlled them or followed them, the several dramatic flood tides of reform, and the subsequent ebbing. Mr. Goldman has the gift of personal portraiture; by returning directly to men and events, he shows that reform groups have often been patched-up alliances of planners and libertarians, centralizers and decentralizers. The tradition of freedom and the tradition of welfare―both passing as liberal―haphazardly merged in the New Deal, where only Franklin Roosevelt's political skill held them together. They began to revert to their natural opposition during the administration of Harry Truman.“One of the most learned, one of the most enlightening, and one of the best-written historical works in a long time.”― New York Times . “A continuous narrative....The author stops the action occasionally to insert significant and brilliant sketches of the leading actors...and illuminates his story with anecdotes. He has wit and erudition.”― New Yorker .

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Nonfiction

564 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Eric Frederick Goldman was an American historian, Rollins Professor of History at Princeton University, and Presidential advisor.

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a Ph.D. in history at age 22. He wrote on national affairs for TIME magazine.In addition ,throughout the course of his life, his works appeared in Harper's Magazine,Holiday,Saturday Review,and The New York Times.

He joined Princeton University as an assistant professor in 1942. He became a full professor in 1955, until retirement in 1985. He was special advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1963 to 1966.He served as president of the Society of American Historians from 1962 to 1969.From 1959 to 1967, he was the moderator on the television program, The Open Mind, on NBC network.

He married Joanna R. Jackson (died 1980). His papers are held at the Library of Congress, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably read this because it was recommended for Mr. Ellenberger's sophomore A.P United States History course at Maine Township High School South in Park Ridge, Illinois.