20th Century US History

[Ubik]

Evening all. Any chance of a little help for an infrequent poster? I'm struggling to find a good introduction to 20th century American history. The recommendations I've seen seem quite focused on particular figures or events, and I'm really looking for something a bit more high level than that.

I appreciate the vastness of the subject might make it harder to find a sufficiently nuanced big picture read, but I hoped the collected brains of WSC might be able to suggest something a bit more generalist. Cheers!

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

You would probably be best off with a portion of a college level survey of US history as a whole, as 20th c history isn't a recognized discipline (we tend to break the subject into smaller thematic periods, which break across century breaks).

Consider The Great Republic by Bailyn et al (a number of my old professors) or the newer American History: a Survey by Alan Brinkley (who was working on his doctorate when I was an undergraduate). The standard leftist account is Howard Zinn's People's History of the US.

[Ubik]

20th Century US History

Thanks for that. The Zinn book looks well reviewed but I'll probably check out The Great Republic as a first port of call. Seems to be much easier to get hold of in the UK than American History. Glad of the help though. It's such a big topic it's hard to know where to start. I take it popular history isn't really a thing when it comes to US publishing?

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

Not for surveys.

American popular history is big on biography and repetitive takes on popular subjects, particularly the Civil War and the Founders.

[Errorist Sympathiser]

20th Century US History

Although it covers the whole thing, from pre-founding fathers, Tindall & Shi's America is the set text for most American History courses. It was last updated in 2010.

[Ginger Yellow]

20th Century US History

Maybe not high level enough, but you can't really go wrong with Studs Terkel.

[imp]

20th Century US History

Stephen Kinzer's Overthrow is a fine account of arrogant, disastrous US/CIA intervention in other countries' affairs from 1893 (Hawaii) up until Iraq.

[Satchmo Distel]

20th Century US History

I enjoy Rick Perlstein's work but it's not to everyone's taste:

https://www.amazon.com/Nixonland-Rise-President-Fracturing-America/dp/074324303X

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

As someone who lived through that period (and was more politicaly active than I have been since) Nixonland is a great book

[Reed John]

20th Century US History

I'm a big fan or Sarah Vowell's work. She's not an historian - her background is in public radio - but her books are very informative and accessible. She writes accessible, but well-constructed history lessons intertwined with her accounts of how she researched it and her experiences visiting the museums and national monuments and so forth. To me, examining how America memorializes and remembers something is as interesting as what really happened.

Although, now that I think about it, she doesn't do much 20th century stuff. But IMP's recommendation made me think of her excellent Unfamiliar Fishes, about the history of Hawaii. I never had much interest in Hawaii - it's hot and touristy, two things I don't care for - but now I'm interested to go and see the museums and talk to people about Hawaiian national identity. The colonial history is sad, but not simple. To a large extent, the Hawaiian ruling class were complicit in the colonialization of their own country.

She's also a good one to listen to on Audible, etc. She reads her own stuff but gets actors - many of them famous - to take the parts of the historical figures she quotes.

[WOM]

20th Century US History

Reed John wrote: To a large extent, the Hawaiian ruling class were complicit in the colonialization of their own country.

Happens quite often, though. Hoping to preserve their privilege, they throw in with whoever's running the show next.

The Hotel on Place Vendome is very good on the Parisian high-society that placed their bets on these new Nazi fellows who seem to have taken over, and what their lives looked like afterward when they found themselves on the wrong side of history.

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

Another excellent book, though I did not live through the Nazi Occupation of Paris.

[WOM]

20th Century US History

Yes, that one's gone through almost every pair of hands in the family and everyone's enjoyed it.

[Amor de Cosmos]

20th Century US History

This seems to be a good place to ask whether anyone's read Bill Bryson's One Summer: America, 1927? I'm sure it's engagingly written, all his books are, but will it provide me with insights or information that, say Frederick Lewis Allen's Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920’s doesn't?

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

I have not read the Bryson, but have always loved the Allen book, which Bryson HAS to be aware of.

[Amor de Cosmos]

20th Century US History

Me too — I think we discussed it some time ago. You're right, and if Bryson has read it you'd think he'd want to do something additional rather than repetitive.

[Reed John]

20th Century US History

WOM wrote:

To a large extent, the Hawaiian ruling class were complicit in the colonialization of their own country.

Happens quite often, though. Hoping to preserve their privilege, they throw in with whoever's running the show next.

The Hotel on Place Vendome is very good on the Parisian high-society that placed their bets on these new Nazi fellows who seem to have taken over, and what their lives looked like afterward when they found themselves on the wrong side of history.

Yeah, that's true.

But from what I could gather, the Hawaiian nationalists were/are still enamored with their kings and queens, even though it was really all their fault.* It's complicated. And now a huge chunk of

Other things I learned:
The real problem above all other problems was the way land was distributed/redistibuted and converted to cash crops like sugar instead of taro and the irrigation projects, etc.

Hawaii's flag still has the Union Jack even though Britain only nominally controlled Hawaii for about six months in 1843. After that, they apologized and were the first "indigenous" nation to be recognized by a major European power.

Teddy Roosevelt was a racist, colonialist dick. I actually already knew that, but the story of Hawaii drives it home. He's still so many people's favorite president.

Sugar is a very water-intensive crop.

Much of Hawaii is actually very dry.

*Also, the hula dance was once banned by the Haoles, not primarily because it was an expression of Hawaiian culture, but because the original version of the dance is a paean to the royal family's genitals. That sounds kinda appalling - who wants to sing a song about an old fat guy's hog - but in a hereditary monarchy, the whole system rises and falls on ability of the kings and queens to make more kings and queens, so I guess it doesn't help to mince words about it.

[linus]

20th Century US History

Ubik wrote: Evening all. Any chance of a little help for an infrequent poster? I'm struggling to find a good introduction to 20th century American history. The recommendations I've seen seem quite focused on particular figures or events, and I'm really looking for something a bit more high level than that.

I appreciate the vastness of the subject might make it harder to find a sufficiently nuanced big picture read, but I hoped the collected brains of WSC might be able to suggest something a bit more generalist. Cheers!

In terms of high level, big picture view of American civilization and power structure, you can't do much better than Carroll Quigley, Georgetown prof, starting with "Tragedy and Hope", and "The Anglo-American Establishment". Quigley was Clinton's mentor at GU.

http://www.carrollquigley.net/books.htm

[Gangster Octopus]

20th Century US History

Reed John wrote: Hawaii's flag still has the Union Jack even though Britain only nominally controlled Hawaii for about six months in 1943.

After Pearl Harbor? That's often glossed over in histories of WW2...

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

1843, and it was complicated

[Reed John]

20th Century US History

Gangster Octopus wrote:

Hawaii's flag still has the Union Jack even though Britain only nominally controlled Hawaii for about six months in 1943.

After Pearl Harbor? That's often glossed over in histories of WW2...

Yes, 1843. I made that correction now.

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

Though I thought the flag had nothing to do with that episode, but rather had its roots in Kamehameha's use of a British naval ensign he had been gifted by a visiting naval ship.

[Etienne]

20th Century US History

Amor de Cosmos wrote: This seems to be a good place to ask whether anyone's read Bill Bryson's One Summer: America, 1927? I'm sure it's engagingly written, all his books are, but will it provide me with insights or information that, say Frederick Lewis Allen's Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920’s doesn't?

I've read the Bryson, and it was very entertaining and interesting, particularly on Coolidge and Ruth, and long distance aviation. But I haven't read Allen's book.

[Reed John]

20th Century US History

ursus arctos wrote: Though I thought the flag had nothing to do with that episode, but rather had its roots in Kamehameha's use of a British naval ensign he had been gifted by a visiting naval ship.

It predates the Paulet Affair, yes, but they kept it the same all these years, long after the US and Britain stopped being colonial rivals, and even after becoming a US state. The day that Britain "restored" their independence is a holiday in Hawaii, so I inferred that the flag is meant to signify that they're not willing to call themselves 100% American.

There's some dispute about what it should be.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2001/Feb/12/212localnews29.html

This is another version

[ursus arctos]

20th Century US History

I lived in Honolulu for about six weeks in the summer of 1984.

It's a strange place in many ways, and there definitely is a sense that they lost something very valuable with annexation.