A New Republic: A History of the United States in the Twentieth Century

by John Lukacs

Book Overview

In A New Republic, one of America's most respected historians offers a major statement on the nature of our political system and a critical look at the underpinnings of our society. American democracy, says John Lukacs, has been transformed from an exercise in individual freedom and opportunity to a bueracratic system created by and for the dominance of special groups. His book, first published in 1984 as Outgrowing Democracy, is now reissued with...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300104294
• ISBN13: 9780300104295
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Refreshing viewpoint on 20th Century US History

John Lukacs is one of the best historians in the field, though most of his work deals with 20th-Century European history. This book warrants being read in connection with his excellent history of Philadelphia in the first half of the century. In this book, Lukacs takes a rather negative view of cultural trends in the United States since 1900. These negative trends include: 1) the growing bureaucratization, not only of government, but also the professions, which can be seen as a weakening of the national character; 2) de-urbanization, the result of the automobile, and the implications of a less urban society; and 3) Inflation (and thus devaluation) of money (an economic issue) but also, of ideas -- a complicated concept. (The argument is that the huge increase in printed material and expansion of the media in the 20th century has created an "inflation" of words and thus ideas.) Lukacs might best be described as a small-c conservative; he has many critical things to say about the Eisenhower and Reagan administrations, especially re: the gaps between their rhetoric and their actions when it came to the issue of the size and role of the federal government in the nation's life.