false 5277128 1 In <i>Banquet at Delmonico’s</i>, Barry Werth, the acclaimed author of <i>The Scarlet Professor</i>, draws readers inside the circle of philosophers, scientists, politicians, businessmen, clergymen, and scholars who brought Charles Darwin’s controversial ideas to America in the crucial years after the Civil War.<br><br>The United States in the 1870s and ’80s was deep in turmoil–a brash young nation torn by a great depression, mired in scandal and corruption, rocked by crises in government, violently conflicted over science and race, and fired up by spiritual and sexual upheavals. Secularism was rising, most notably in academia. Evolution–and its catchphrase, “survival of the fittest”–animated and guided this Gilded Age.<br><br>Darwin’s theory of natural selection was extended to society and morals not by Darwin himself but by the English philosopher Herbert Spencer, father of “the Law of Equal Freedom,” which holds that “every man is free to do that which he wills,” provided it doesn’t infringe on the equal freedom of others. As this justification took root as a social, economic, and ethical doctrine, Spencer won numerous influential American disciples and allies, including industrialist Andrew Carnegie, clergyman Henry Ward Beecher, and political reformer Carl Schurz. Churches, campuses, and newspapers convulsed with debate over the proper role of government in regulating Americans’ behavior, this country’s place among nations, and, most explosively, the question of God’s existence.<br><br>In late 1882, most of the main figures who brought about and popularized these developments gathered at Delmonico’s, New York’s most venerable restaurant, in an exclusive farewell dinner to honor Spencer and to toast the social applications of the theory of evolution. It was a historic celebration from which the repercussions still ripple throughout our society.<br><br><i>Banquet at Delmonico’s</i> is social history at its finest, richest, and most appetizing, a brilliant narrative bristling with personal intrigue, tantalizing insights, and greater truths about American life and culture. 5344512 6 1 2009 Banquet at Delmonico's: Great Minds, the Gilded Age, and the Triumph of Evolution in America total:11|4:5|3:6| 11 38 63 7 3 0 false false Wed Apr 15 12:44:34 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 12:44:34 -0700 2009 The New York Times Book Review noted that "[t]rying to write intellectual history is like trying to nail jelly to a wall," but most critics concluded, with some reservations, that Werth has succeeded in this effort. Reviewers praised Banquet at Delmonico's for its taut storytelling and its...

more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jan 19 14:41:50 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 25 07:22:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 09:41:51 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 09:43:47 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 18:55:08 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 20:27:16 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 13:44:57 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 13:27:41 -0800 2009 in our time. In its original incarnation, social Darwinism was eclipsed by pragmatism, and I hope that's what we're experiencing now in our political life.more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 15 13:00:19 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 13:24:04 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 13:00:19 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Mar 29 06:26:41 -0700 2009 Thu Jan 29 14:30:40 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 29 06:26:41 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 06 16:11:15 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 16:11:15 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 03 06:03:36 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 06:03:36 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 30 11:20:51 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 11:20:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 23 18:32:23 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 18:32:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Aug 17 09:05:25 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 09:05:28 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 01 11:54:33 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 11:54:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jul 22 22:21:07 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 22:21:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jul 17 15:06:52 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 15:06:52 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 05 11:12:34 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 11:12:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jun 15 09:05:39 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 09:05:39 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jun 10 17:52:50 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 17:52:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue May 26 07:37:05 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 07:37:05 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed May 20 13:14:53 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 13:14:53 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5277128