The American Intellectual Tradition: A Source Book2-Volume set: 1620-1865 and 1865 to the present

by David A. Hollinger, Charles Capper (Editor)

This anthology brings together some of the most historically significant writings in American intellectual history. This new edition will be revised to include additional selections on feminist theory, multiculturalist debates, and postmodernism. Introductions and headnotes have been updated and revised.

Genres: History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Anthologies, Religion, Literature, American History

696 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Preston Hotchkis Professor of History (Emeritus)
University of California at Berkeley

One of the pre-eminent intellectual historians in and of the United States.

Past President of the Organization of American Historians (2010-2011); Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; former Guggenheim Fellow, Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, and Harmsworth Professor of the University of Oxford.

Reviews

[Dan Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthology of diverse sources from American literature, philosophy, politics, religion, and higher education. Major topics include foundationalist versus antifoundationalist concepts of the world, the nature of a literary canon, governance in the United States, and the applications of economics and social science to politics.

[Karl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another 100%. Pointless rambling nonsense book.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is simple: well-edited excerpts from the most important thinkers of the post-1865 era in American thought. After World War II, its selections become less defensible, but for the most fecund period of American intellectual history, the century from 1865 to 1965, it is pretty hard to beat it for a small volume with the principal texts, well-edited.

[Max Havlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays and parts of readings that explore the several different intellectual movements in the 20th century. Definitely not a light read but a great reference book with writers ranging in political ideas from William James to Ayn Rand.

[Brittany Werges · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for anyone who wants to understand the history of America. Perfectly edited, a treasure for historians.