David M. Kennedy - Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945

ReviewA grand historical synthesis...this is the kind of book prizes are made for.--Chicago TribuneThis is modern Americas story--modern Americas most thrilling, most irresistible, and most significant story--and in this massive volume, David M. Kennedy makes it his story in a way that no one has before. Freedom From Fear, the fourth installment of the new Oxford History of the United States to appear, is as much a triumph as its predecessors, providing every indication that the series, once completed, will stand as the most comprehensive and most compelling narrative history of the nation. --Boston GlobeRarely does a work of historical synthesis combine such trenchant analysis and elegant writing as does Kennedys spectacular contribution to the Oxford History of the United States. Kennedy uses a wide canvas to depict all aspects of the American political, social and economic experience from 1929 to 1945. He also provides a stunningly original reinterpretation of the competing forces and interests that combined to shape the New Deal under FDRs direction. The books final 400 pages admirably demonstrate exactly how the U.S. emerged victorious in WWII.... Because of its scope, its insight and its purring narrative engine, Kennedys book will stand for years to come as the definitive history of the most important decades of the American Century. --Publishers WeeklyAn engrossing narrative of a momentous time. The best one-volume account of the Roosevelt era currently available.... Good old-fashioned history.-- The New York Times Book ReviewAn indispensable account of the two great formative events of 20th century American history--the Great Depression and the second World War.--The EconomistThe book...has my strong approval. As it will have, I cannot doubt, that of the many readers it deserves.--John C. Gilbraith, The Washington MonthlyAn invaluable compendium of the hyperactive period that contains the Great deprFrom the PublisherAn exciting new book that spans the Great Depression to WWIIIN THE TRADITION OF JAMES McPHERSONS BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM, JAMES PATTERSONS GRAND EXPECTATIONS AND ROBERT MIDDLEKAUFFS THE GLORIOUS CAUSE COMES THE LATEST IN THE AWARD-WINNING OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SERIES: DAVID M. KENNEDYS FREEDOM FROM FEAR.Here Kennedy Reevaluates the Hoover and Roosevelt Presidencies, The Great Depression, and The New Deal; and Vividly Brings to Life the Major Military and Naval Battles of World War II.This is an enormous book, heavy to carry and light and very agreeable to read. David Kennedy is merciless to fact and detail but very kind to the reader... [FREEDOM FROM FEAR] has my strong approval. As it will have, I cannot doubt, that of the many readers it deserves. --John Kenneth Galbraith, The Washington MonthlyDisplaying a literary craft[Kennedy] has woven together narrative, sketches of character, and critical judgment to record and analyze the economic, political, social, and military events of these epic years This account of the crucial struggles and events of the Depression and war years will lend perspective like few others. --Library JournalIn FREEDOM FROM FEAR: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945, the first comprehensive study that spans the Depression, the New Deal and World War II eras, Bancroft Award-winning historian David M. Kennedy tells the story of three of the most formative events in modern American history. Here Kennedy situates American history in the context of the world historical events developments of the era, including global economic crisis, the rise of Nazism, and Japans quest for empire in Asia.In FREEDOM FROM FEAR, an important addition to the award-winning The Oxford History of the United States series, Kennedy examines in detail Americas greatest economic crisis ever, and sheds light on all contemporary comparisons with that event. It also documents the techniques of presidential leadership developed by Franklin Roosevelt, arguably the most effective and consequential president of the century, and critically discusses the nature of FDRs great reform legacy. Finally, the book rehearses the momentous debate between 1935 and 1941 about American foreign policy, a debate that ended with American intervention in World War II and the end (for a time, at least) of a century and a half of isolationism a debate that still echoes in discussions for foreign policy today.Kennedy addresses major controversies, such as: causes of the Depression, the Hoover presidency, the failures and successes of the New Deal, the role of Depression-era demagogues like Father Charles Coughlin and Senator Huey Long, the rise of organized labor, the origins of Social Security, the Constitutional Revolution of 1937, the origins of WWII, the Pearl Harbor attack, the emergence of the American-British-Russian Grand Alliance, the internment of Japanese-Americans in wartime, the American society in wartime, the Second Front debate, the liabilities of the unconditional surrender policy, the nature of the air war waged against Germany and Japan, the development of atomic weapons, and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Ultimately, FREEDOM FROM FEAR tells the story of how Americans endured, and finally prevailed in the face of two back-to-back calamities: The Great Depression and WWII. Kennedy describes the Depressions impact in vivid detail, and documents the New Deals effort to wring lasting social and economic reform out of the Depression crisis. Kennedy also offers a compelling narrative of Americas engagement in World War II, including fresh analyses of how and why America won, and the lasting consequences of American victory. Covering what are the most influential years of the 20th century, FREEDOM FROM FEAR is an exciting narrative of the foundations of modern America.ABOUT THE AUTHOR David M. Kennedy is Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University. He is the author of Over Here: The First World War and American Society, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger, which won a Bancroft Prize. He lives in Stanford, California.ABOUT THE OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES The Atlantic Monthly has praised The Oxford History of the United States as the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship, a series that synthesizes a generations worth of historical inquiry and knowledge into one literally state-of-the-art book. Who touches these books touches a profession. Conceived under the general editorship of one of the leading American historians of our time, C. Vann Woodward, The Oxford History of the United States blends social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly written narrative. Previous volumes are Robert Middlekauffs The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution; James M. McPhersons Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (which won a Pulitzer Prize and was a New York Times best seller); and James T. Pattersons Grand Expectations: The United States 1945-1974 (which won a Bancroft Prize). Future volumes include the work of such distinguished historians as Gordon S. Wood, Timothy Breen, James Patterson, and Michael McGerr. FREEDOM FROM FEAR FACT SHEETIn this new book, David Kennedy Rehabilitates the reputation of Herbert Hoover, who is rendered here as in many ways a forerunner of the New Deal. Examines the old poor, who were not impoverished by the Depression, but were among the eras most ravaged victims. These people were 1/3 of the nation who had not prospered in the affluent 20s. Explains the economic causes and consequences of the Great Depression in non-technical language. Vividly renders the human face of both Depression and War with personal stories. Analyses the causes of the Great Depression, with important implications for assessing the prospects of a comparable calamity in our own era. Makes clear the relationship between Americas deepest economic crisis and the most prolific moment of political and social reform in American history. The first major re-interpretation of the New Deal era in a generation or more. Shows the importance of immigrant and minority communities to the shaping of the New Deal, and the creation of the fabled New Deal Coalition that made the Democrats the dominant political party for nearly two generations after WWII. Explains the origins of the great New Deal reforms that have shaped American life for the last three generations: The Social Security Act, the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act, the Securities Exchange Commission Act, Fair Labor Standards (minimum wage) Act, etc. Documents the achievement of Franklin Roosevelt in guiding the country through both the Depression and the war. Presents the Great Debate on foreign policy between isolationists and internationalists, from 1935 to the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Provides the best account of America in World War II, taking into account homefront, military, and diplomatic aspects of the war, bar none. Makes clear the grand strategic architecture that informed Americas wars in both Europe and Asia. Vividly and clearly renders major military and naval engagements, including Pearl Harbor, North Africa, Italy, D-Day, Midway, the Battle for Northwest Europe, the Battle of the Bulge, the air war against Germany, Guadalcanal, Leyre Gulf, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, the Marianas, Okinawa, and the final air assault on Japan. Explains why and how the United States emerged victorious in World War II, with emphasis on strategy, the homefront economy, and the character, training, and deployment of the 16-million men and women who served in the armed forces. Argues that Franklin Roosevelt was a shrewd and pragmatic war leader who nevertheless failed to prepare his countrymen for the post-war world they inherited. Graphically illustrates the transformation of America from a surprisingly backward, still heavily rural nation in the 1920s to the affluent society of the post-war era. Shows how the seeds of the Cold War were planted during WWII.DONT BLAME HOOVER!Public opinion made him the villain of the Great Depression. In fact, as FREEDOM FROM FEAR, a new book from historian David Kennedy, shows the 31st president was a visionary but a hopelessly inept politician.By 1932, Herbert Hoover, once the most respected man in America, had become the most loathed, his name forever synonymous with the Great Depression. But, according to Stanford historian David Kennedy, historys indictment of Hoover is flawed. His failure in the face of the Depression has obscured his achievement as an activist president who pointed the way to the New Deal. Hoovers vigorous response to the stock market crash dazzled most commentators. No one in his place could have done more, said the New York Times of March 2, 1930. A Roosevelt advisor conceded: Practically the who --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.