The Columbia History of Post-World War II America

Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures

by Mark C. Carnes (Editor)

Beginning with an analysis of cultural themes and ending with a discussion of evolving and expanding political and corporate institutions, The Columbia History of Post-World War II America addresses changes in America's response to the outside world; the merging of psychological states and social patterns in memorial culture, scandal culture, and consumer culture; the intersection of social practices and governmental policies; the effect of technological change on society and politics; and the intersection of changing belief systems and technological development, among other issues.

Many had feared that Orwellian institutions would crush the individual in the postwar era, but a major theme of this book is the persistence of individuality and diversity. Trends toward institutional bigness and standardization have coexisted with and sometimes have given rise to a countervailing pattern of individualized expression and consumption. Today Americans are exposed to more kinds of images and music, choose from an infinite variety of products, and have a wide range of options in terms of social and sexual arrangements. In short, they enjoy more ways to express their individuality despite the ascendancy of immense global corporations, and this volume imaginatively explores every facet of this unique American experience.

Genres: History

536 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Mark C. Carnes is Professor of History at Barnard College.

Reviews

[James Hatton]

Four stars. This is an excellent history of the United States between 1945 and 2007, roughly. These years brought enormous changes to the World, and this history focuses on how those changes happened, and how they affected the American People. It's truly worth reading.

The format is different from many histories I've read in that it’s a collection of essays by separate historians, rather than a single work by one or more historians. This is one of the things that makes it valuable as a history, because each essayist focuses on that facet of history their essay comprises, bringing that facet to the fore in a bite-sized portion. There are nineteen such essays in this history; that’s nineteen important facets of American history between 1945 and 2007. Very interesting.

Be aware that historians can have controversial points of view. An example of such is the essay in chapter 16, Citizenship and the Problem of Desire in the Postwar Labor and Civil Rights Movements, by Thaddeus Russell. You can judge its veracity for yourself, but I’ve never read this perspective before. (I’ll not state my opinion regarding its veracity.)