Encompassing political, social, and cultural issues, this primary source reader allows students to hear the voices of the past, giving a richer understanding of American society since 1945. Comprises over 50 documents, which incorporate political, social, and cultural history and encompass the viewpoints of ordinary people as well a variety of leaders An extended introduction explains to students how to think and work like historians by using primary sources Includes both written texts and photographs Headnotes contextualize the documents and questions encourage students to engage critically with the sources

This text introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essys on important topics in U.S. history. The book asks students to evaluate primary surces, test the interpretations and draw their own conclusions.

The story of our nation from the A-bomb to the iPhone-from bestselling historian H.W. Brands With keen insight and an impeccable sense of the spirit of the times, H. W. Brands, one of today's preeminent historians, captures the American experience through the last six decades. As he chronicles politics, pop culture, and everything in between, Brands traces the changes we have gone through as a nation, recounting the great themes and events that have driven America- from the Yalta conference to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Apollo 11 to 9/11, My Lai to "shock and awe." In his adroit hands, movements and trends unfold through a character- driven narrative that shines a brilliant light on America's watershed moments and reveals a still unfolding legacy of dreams.

Growing Up America brings together new scholarship that considers the role of children and teenagers in shaping American political life during the decades following the Second World War. Growing Up America places young people-and their representations-at the center of key political trends, illuminating the dynamic and complex roles played by youth in the midcentury rights revolutions, in constructing and challenging cultural norms, and in navigating the vicissitudes of American foreign policy and diplomatic relations. The authors featured here reveal how young people have served as both political actors and subjects from the early Cold War through the late twentieth-century Age of Fracture. At the same time, Growing Up America contends that the politics of childhood and youth extends far beyond organized activism and the ballot box. By unveiling how science fairs, breakfast nooks, Boy Scout meetings, home economics classrooms, and correspondence functioned as political spaces, this anthology encourages a reassessment of the scope and nature of modern politics itself.

This book ... on postwar America ... looks at civil rights and civil liberties in tandem and does so over the past fifty years. It merges two historical approaches - of looking at America from the view of those in the highest seats of power and from the perspectives of those too often denied political and economic access. It shows that the civil rights movement was not just a southern movement but spanned the nation; not just a movement for African Americans but waged by other people of color, including Latinos and Native Americans as well as women of all races; and not just a struggle that began in the mid-1950s and ended in the mid-1960s. It was more varies ... more grassroots, and more broad than many other studies of the postwar period have shown. -Pref.

This narrative text for courses in recent American history emphasizes political participation and popular culture. Its main theme is the relationship of Americans to their government—for example, how Americans as a people remain skeptical of big government even as they expect it to facilitate large programs such as Social Security. The Second Edition features a range of content enhancements, including increased coverage of events from 1970 to the present. In addition to the author's vivid, accessible writing style, the text maintains its focus on the tension between popular culture and social realities, the dynamics of minority groups and their place in American society, and the ambivalent feelings of many Americans concerning the U.S.'s role in the world during the postwar period. New! Coverage of the 1960s has been reorganized to include separate chapters on the Great Society and Vietnam. These new chapters bring clarity to a chaotic decade. New! The author has included more coverage of women—particularly their role in the rise of the New Left and in the development of Feminism—and more information about U.S. involvement in the Middle East as a foundation for understanding the war on terrorism. New! Each chapter contains up to three primary sources. New documents include excerpts from Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique; Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Montgomery bus boycott speech; and excerpts from the 9/11 Commission's final report. Unlike most postwar American history books that tend to emphasize the 50s and 60s, The American Paradox includes extensive coverage of the 1960s to the present.

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year “Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal “Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.” —The Boston Globe Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy. Judt's book, Ill Fares the Land, republished in 2021 featuring a new preface by bestselling author of Between the World and Me and The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Interweaving key cultural, economic, social, and political events, a history of the United States in the post-World War II era ranges from 1945, through a turbulent period of economic growth and social upheaval, to Watergate and Nixon's 1974 resignation

A masterly synthesis of the history of the contemporary world, The World Since 1945 offers the ideal introduction to the events of the period between the end of the Second World War and the present day. P. M. H. Bell and Mark Gilbert balance a clear narrative with in-depth analysis to guide the reader through the aftermath of the Second World War, the Cold War, decolonization, Détente and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, up to the on-going ethnic strife and political instability of the 21st century. The new edition has been thoroughly revised to fully reflect developments in the history and historiography of the post-war world, and features five new chapters on the post-Cold War world, covering topics including: - The rise and fall of American hegemony - The decline of Europe - The rise of Asia - Political Islam as a global force - The role of human rights The World Since 1945 challenges us to better understand what happened and why in the post-war period and shows the ways in which the past continues to exercise a profound influence on the present. It is essential reading for any student of contemporary history.

Douglas Little explores the stormy American relationship with the Middle East from World War II through the war in Iraq, focusing particularly on the complex and often inconsistent attitudes and interests that helped put the United States on a collision course with radical Islam early in the new millennium. After documenting the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture, Little examines oil, Israel, and other aspects of U.S. policy. He concludes that a peculiar blend of arrogance and ignorance has led American officials to overestimate their ability to shape events in the Middle East from 1945 through the present day, and that it has been a driving force behind the Iraq war. For this updated third edition, Little covers events through 2007, including a new chapter on the Bush Doctrine, demonstrating that in many important ways, George W. Bush's Middle Eastern policies mark a sharp break with the past.