Twentieth-Century America: A Brief History

By Thomas C. Reeves

Book Overview

As this most tumultuous century draws to a close, the need for a concise and trustworthy history is clear. Recent decades have seen the publication of American histories that are either bloated with unnecessary detail or infused with a polemical purpose that undermines their authority. InTwentieth-Century America, Thomas C. Reeves provides a fluidly written narrative history that combines the rare virtues of compression, inclusiveness, and balance.
From Progressivism and the New Deal right up to the present, Reeves covers all aspects of American history, providing solid coverage of each era without burying readers in needless detail or trivia. This approach allows readers to grasp the major developments and continuities of American history and to come away with a cohesive picture of the whole of the twentieth century. The volume stresses social and well as political history, emphasizing the roles played by all Americans--including immigrants, minorities, women, and working people--and pays special attention to such topics as religion, crime, public health, national prosperity, and the media. Reeves is careful throughout to present both sides of controversial subjects and yet does not leave readers bewildered about which interpretations are most strongly supported or where to explore these issues more thoroughly. At the conclusion of each chapter, the author cites ten authoritative volumes for further study. The bibliographies, as well as the text, are refreshing in their lack of ideological bent. "Objectivity," Reeves suggests, "is an illusive but worthy goal for the historian."
For anyone wishing to achieve a lucid historical overview of the past 100 years, Twentieth-Century America is the best place to start.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195044835
• ISBN13: 9780195044836
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.4" x 1.3" x 6.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Brief History

I was unsure I could get much from such a brief history of 20th century America. It was exceedingly comprehensive and hit upon the key events of the century. The book was not a complicated read so those without a large American History background would find it interesting and well paced.

100 years in 300 pages

Kirkus acts as if Reeves' book is biased, when it is clear ITS' critic has the ax to grind. The book is actually noteworthy for its objectivity - impossible in any written history - but this may be as close as it gets. Try to sum up 100 years of dynamic history in 300 pages sometime. Reeves has done an exemplary job.

Solid History Solidly Told

The first thing I wanted to know, after reading this fine book, was who in the hell reviewed it for Kirkus and how often do they let him out of the state hospital to rant and rave like that. The hatchet job done by the Kirkus review of Reeves fine study seems unethical and self-indulgent. Somebody remind that writer that the 60s are over. Reeves' view of the 50s is hardly unconventional. As for Rosa Parks, in the 50s she felt confident enough to stay in her seat on that Birmingham Bus and the boycott ended in integration of the bus system. Brown vs. Board of Education was in the 50s, a polio cure was found, and on and on. This is a noteworthy and highly readable and provocative book.

Kirkus is wrong!

I took classes with Thomas Reeves while an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. I know Thomas Reeves. Kirkus, obviously, does not. Nowhere in this splendid read have I found the zealot that Kirkus makes him out to be! Are we reading the same text?Reeves takes us on a "brief" trip through 20th century America, providing short, useful bibliographies for more in depth analysis at the end of each chapter. His writing is sharp and easily digestible. And, given that this is written by an elder historian at the height of his craft, it is a welcome relief to not be stopped every five minutes by a footnote, a sign that tells us the author knows his subject matter.Like stepping in the classroom all over again . . . and loving it!