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The Glory and the Dream Volume Two
In the Glory and the Dream William Manchester springs open a great time capsule of a book- a huge, abundant popular history of the United States from 1932 to 1972.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1974
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About the author
William Manchester
79 books562 followersWilliam Raymond Manchester was an American author and biographer, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into 20 languages.He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 26, 2015
A remarkable overview in sporadic detail. As reminder volumes they serve as terrific "oh yeah" opportunities as opposed to "ah hah" moments. While Manchester was outrageously thorough and he strings facts to narrative to detail to reflection in a masterly fashion, at the end of the day anything this massive overwhelms one's ability to parse, well anything. This is the second time i have gone through these, and again i wished i could hold this much in my working memory all the time. Just brilliant.
Toward the end of the second volume, as he leaves the Korean conflict, the writing goes from dated to didactic, as he treats pop culture and youth culture with the objectivity of a rich grumpy neighbor chasing kids out of his his truly impressive yard. But it is quite a yard.
Toward the end of the second volume, as he leaves the Korean conflict, the writing goes from dated to didactic, as he treats pop culture and youth culture with the objectivity of a rich grumpy neighbor chasing kids out of his his truly impressive yard. But it is quite a yard.
July 7, 2025
3.5 Stars
This Volume 2 is a continuation of Volume 1, covering 1954 to 1972. I found a difference only in a greater emphasis on political observations versus cultural commentary. Volume 2 is dominated by VIETNAM & civil rights turmoil, written in 1974 when events were fresh, and written with the same objectivity as Volume 1.
For readers who grew up in the 50’s & early 60’s, the cultural parts of the volume will undoubtedly be nostalgic: Kerouac, Ginsberg, Elvis, Liberace, the Beatles, Sputnik, the Edsel, hula hoops, the ‘pill’, Apollo 11, Haight-Asbury, ‘Mary Jane’, Tiny Tim, Ralph Nader, and the Clifford Irving fraud, fascinatingly described by author Manchester.
Politically, the narrative brings up uncomfortable memories for those same readers: Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, the Space race, James Meredith, assassinations, race riots, beatings, dogs & hoses, anti war protests, Kent State, Attica prison riot, 50,000 U.S. military deaths, Watergate, & “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice”…”In your heart you know he’s right.”
It is quite possible that the distrust of government and other institutions today is directly traceable to these events of 50 years ago.
In summing up, Manchester sounds a positive note;” Change is one aspect of the American character yet there is another which emerged at the end of Vietnam/ Watergate: It is the yearning to renounce the present & find restoration in the unconsummated past. Quoting F.Scott Fitzgerald, “ So we beat on boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”
“The Glory and the Dream”
This Volume 2 is a continuation of Volume 1, covering 1954 to 1972. I found a difference only in a greater emphasis on political observations versus cultural commentary. Volume 2 is dominated by VIETNAM & civil rights turmoil, written in 1974 when events were fresh, and written with the same objectivity as Volume 1.
For readers who grew up in the 50’s & early 60’s, the cultural parts of the volume will undoubtedly be nostalgic: Kerouac, Ginsberg, Elvis, Liberace, the Beatles, Sputnik, the Edsel, hula hoops, the ‘pill’, Apollo 11, Haight-Asbury, ‘Mary Jane’, Tiny Tim, Ralph Nader, and the Clifford Irving fraud, fascinatingly described by author Manchester.
Politically, the narrative brings up uncomfortable memories for those same readers: Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, the Space race, James Meredith, assassinations, race riots, beatings, dogs & hoses, anti war protests, Kent State, Attica prison riot, 50,000 U.S. military deaths, Watergate, & “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice”…”In your heart you know he’s right.”
It is quite possible that the distrust of government and other institutions today is directly traceable to these events of 50 years ago.
In summing up, Manchester sounds a positive note;” Change is one aspect of the American character yet there is another which emerged at the end of Vietnam/ Watergate: It is the yearning to renounce the present & find restoration in the unconsummated past. Quoting F.Scott Fitzgerald, “ So we beat on boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”
“The Glory and the Dream”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2025
WOW. I’ve been reading this two part series since last year, and though it is 60 hours long, it was enrapturing. Essentially this book covers American history through the decades, from the Great Depression to Watergate. While it does tackle key moments in history, it also describes the zeitgeist of the times, fashion, opinions and culture of the youth, portraits of different Americans, new innovations, popular opinions, and so on. This is by far one of my favorite books from the past few years!
**listened to this on audiobook, excellent narrator
**listened to this on audiobook, excellent narrator
February 5, 2016
Easy read and engaging narration of historical events.
April 3, 2019
I remember reading this book from my grandmother's library when I was in high school. I was able to ask her questions about her views on some of the events as I read from her books. She loved these books.
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December 21, 2016one of the best book ever read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews