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H. W. Brands
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American Dreams: The United States Since 1945 Hardcover – June 10, 2010

by H. W. Brands (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 134 ratings
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From bestselling historian H. W. Brands, an incisive chronicle of the events and trends that guided-and sometimes misguided-our nation from the A-bomb to the iPhone.

For a brief, bright moment in 1945, America stood at its apex, looking back on victory not only against the Axis powers but against the Great Depression, and looking ahead to seemingly limitless power and promise. What we've done with that power and promise over the past six decades is a vitally important and fascinating topic that has rarely been tackled in one volume, and never by a historian of H. W. Brands's stature.

As American Dreams opens, Brands shows us a country dramatically different from our own-more unequal in social terms but more equal economically, more religious and rural but also more liberal and more wholeheartedly engaged with the rest of the world. As he traces the changes we have gone through as a nation, he reveals the great themes and dreams that have driven America-the rising focus on individual rights and pleasures, the growing distance between our global goals and those of the rest of the world, and the inexorable dissolution of a shared sense of what it means to be American. In Brands's adroit hands, these trends unfold through a character-driven narrative that sheds brilliant light on the obvious highs and lows-from Watergate to the Berlin Wall, from Apollo 11 to 9/11, from My Lai to shock and awe. But he also chronicles the surprising impact of less celebrated events and trends. Through his eyes, we realize the sweeping significance of the immigration reforms of the 1960s, which gradually transformed American society. We come to grasp the vast impact of abandoning the gold standard in 1971, which enabled both globalization and the current financial crisis. We ponder the unnerving results of CNN's debut in 1979, which sped up the news cycle and permanently changed our foreign policy by putting its effects live on our TV screens.

Blending political and cultural history with his keen sense of the spirit of the times, Brands captures the national experience through the last six decades and reveals the still-unfolding legacy of dreams born out of a global cataclysm.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    432 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Press
  4. Publication date
    June 10, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1594202621
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1594202629
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though this crisp, informal narrative overview of the last half-century of American history is long on story and short on analysis, it does its job well. Bringing his trademark clarity to the tales he tells, bestselling historian Brands (The First American) opens in post-Hiroshima days and closes in our own. He covers everything important, from politics and war to culture and society—civil rights, music, the baby boom, and the middle class. But it's hard to swallow the sappy conceit of Americans as dreamers with which Brands tries to thread the book together. [T]he heart of America's dreams was the act of dreaming itself... it was encoded in the country's DNA from the beginning. But what has dreaming to do with the cold war or the embarrassments of the Nixon and Clinton administrations or with the Great Recession? Americans' collective dramas may be on hold for the moment, Brands concludes, but individually, they are as ambitious as ever. Despite its thematic weakness, Brands's book is a fast-moving, reasonably comprehensive history of more than half a century of American history. (May)
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From Booklist

Brands’ reputation as a prolific author of American history should attract attention to his survey of post-WWII America. With so much material to cover in one volume, Brands must condense events; still, he succeeds in linking a chronicle with important themes to deliver a comprehensible presentation of our country’s major political and cultural changes since 1945. The national confidence and social unity of that year, compared with present cultural antagonisms and political polarity, bracket Brands’ presentation of cold war foreign policy; the civil rights movement; LBJ’s escalation in Vietnam and expansion of the welfare state; the collapse of liberalism and rise of conservatism; and American history’s directions since 1989. In all this, the baby boomers loom influential in Brands’ historical appreciation, which weaves in their upbringing in unprecedented prosperity; their questioning of parental attitudes; and their coming to power in the Bill Clinton years. Because his accounts of such social trends are interwoven with those about presidencies up to Barack Obama, Brands delivers a history well modulated for readers seeking an introduction to American history of their living memory. --Gilbert Taylor

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Press; First Edition (June 10, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594202621
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594202629
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

About the author

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H. W. Brands

H. W. Brands

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H.W. Brands taught at Texas A&M University for sixteen years before joining the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History. His books include Traitor to His Class, Andrew Jackson, The Age of Gold, The First American, and TR. Traitor to His Class and The First American were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
134 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jack Zubritsky
5.0 out of 5 stars The History of Your Past
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2020
Verified Purchase
I am a big enthusiast of H.W. Brands. His books are eminently readable and cover interesting times. Also pick up his book on the California Gold Rush, The Age of Gold. Fascinating. Like they said in A Christmas Carol, I am the ghost of Christmas past, long past, no, your past. This is that book. America became the world power it is with the end of the WWII. The story of the baby boomers takes off from here. Children, demographics, material good consumption and the march forward. Having laid out like this is a primer on who we are and where we are via the world. Informative and a really fun read.
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great condition
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2021
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Very few penned notes within, clean and uncrinkled. Everything is legible.
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Dr.Stanley Toompas
5.0 out of 5 stars Read, Reconnect, Remember....
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
Absolutely a great summary of America after WWII
A true piece of Americana in and of itself.
I highly recommend this work of American history.

Dr. Stanley E. Toompas, Optometrist
& Author of, "I'm the One the Other Isn't"
4 people found this helpful
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Tommy Schubert
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2012
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My wife had to get this book for a history class at her university. As a high school history teacher, I couldn't help but to read it myself. A great book! I found myself not able to put it down.
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David H. MacCallum
4.0 out of 5 stars sorting out the important highlights
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2010
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The art in this very useful book is to select the important highlights, to treat them with careful but concise analysis, and to link them together to paint a picture of history as a running stream. Events do connect and H. W. Brands does a wonderful job in taking us into the heart of events, showing us what is important about them, throwing each event onto a larger scale so we are constantly aware of the growing power and complexity of America. I was particularly interested in his treatment of the racial conflict in America, long boiling just under the surface of American society but sporadically erupting into volcanic bursts of hatred and violence, ultimately leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I was reminded of the uselessness of Vietnam. I read of the growing involvement of the federal government in the major problems facing Americans: medical care, education, sexual equality, infrastructure development, the peacetime uses of atomic power. Each of these events precipitated vast quantities of emotion and media attention. Each contributes to the story of America in 2010. H.W.Brands, in my opinion, does a great job in weaving together this story and in keeping our attention riveted on the big picture.
7 people found this helpful
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Jorge Medina
5.0 out of 5 stars Understandable History
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
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This book is easy to understand and is ideal for anyone interested in history from 1945 onward.
2 people found this helpful
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CM
3.0 out of 5 stars Fine for very quick overview
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
Kinda ripped right through it didn't he? Fine for very quick overview, need something else for a bit more depth.
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Gl
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2017
Verified Purchase
It sure hit all of the topics that I experienced in my life. Great book!
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Top reviews from other countries

Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent summary of post-war American history
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2012
Verified Purchase
Very impressive summary of post-war American History. H.W. Brands writes in a really accessible way, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the book - even those with just a passing interest in American history. As I'm studying US History at university, I brought this to get a general overview to jog my memory and haven't been let down.

The book seems to be unbiased, and whilst squeezing this much history into 400-odd pages means that detail is lacking on some topics, it will spur further research for anyone interested in looking at particular topics in more detail. Overall, a really enjoyable and informative text.
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TEDDY BORRING
5.0 out of 5 stars arrived at atime
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2020
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was as promised
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Canadian Reviewer
3.0 out of 5 stars Good summary of Modern America history
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
Not as good as his other books. .too much opinion and not enough details.
Balanced explanations...u can see both sides of the issues.
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