The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin;
Collision 2012 by Dan Balz;
Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation by John Ferling;
The Unwinding by George Packer;
feel free to add your own suggestions.
Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, not...
next possible read?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/509359.What_Would_Jefferson_Do_
Jefferson seems to be much fought over these days. The Conservatives love to claim him as well. the Jefferson-Hamilton book looks interesting as it highlights the stark differences between them in terms of the direction a young America. Seems like Hamilton won out in the end, but at the time Jefferson and Jeffersonsian Democrats like Jackson got the upper hand.
ReplyDeleteI am re-reading Richard Hofstadter's Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and just finished the chapter "The Decline of the Gentleman" which begins with the smear campaign waged against Jefferson in 1800. It all sounds so familiar.
ReplyDeleteEqually familiar was a section in the previous chapter about Eisenhower and how some members of the extreme Right accused him of being an agent of international Communism. Maybe Obama should be glad he's only been labeled a Socialist.
I tried to post this yesterday but for some reason it did not post:
ReplyDeleteMy current reading is UNDISPUTED TRUTH by Iron Mike Tyson.
He and I are from the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. I met his legendary coach Cus D'Amato many years ago and the man was absolutely scary. Tough as heck but a darn good coach. Makes for very good reading.
I don't think I'm ready to to Tyson. It's interesting how this ultimate fighting has come to dominate the ring. You hardly hear anymore about boxing these days, although I saw that Klitschko is playing a big role in the Ukranian opposition movement.
ReplyDeleteI post on a pro boxing website and it seems we get more interested and more knowledgeable boxing fans from Europe than from the USA. Interestingly, many of our American posters are older guys like me. It seems the younger generation is more interested in mixed martial arts.
DeleteSome European fans have made a very interesting observation: that when a White boxer from the USA is boxing a European the crowd invariably shouts "USA! USA!". But when a Black or Hispanic American fights a European you do not hear such shouting. In fact, very often the crowd roots for the European. It comes as quite a shock to Europeans for them to openly see such a racial divide in the USA but it's no secret to those of us who have known this since time immemorial.