Fear Itself
The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time
Published on 15. April 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
720 pages
978-0-87140-738-2 (ISBN)
Description
A work that "deeply reconceptualizes the New Deal and raises countless provocative questions" (David Kennedy), Fear Itself changes the ground rules for our understanding of this pivotal era in American history. Ira Katznelson examines the New Deal through the lens of a pervasive, almost existential fear that gripped a world defined by the collapse of capitalism and the rise of competing dictatorships, as well as a fear created by the ruinous racial divisions in American society. Katznelson argues that American democracy was both saved and distorted by a Faustian collaboration that guarded racial segregation as it built a new national state to manage capitalism and assert global power. Fear Itself charts the creation of the modern American state and "how a belief in the common good gave way to a central government dominated by interest-group politics and obsessed with national security" (Louis Menand, The New Yorker).
Reviews / Votes
"Engrossing... It is an exhilarating pleasure to lose yourself in this old-fashioned example of original historical scholarship. Fear Itself is a sprawling, ambitious book that offers illuminating insights on nearly every page. Among Katznelson's gifts is the one most valuable to readers and most in danger of extinction in the American academy: He writes clear, energetic prose without a whiff of academic jargon or pretension... Entertaining and enlightening." -- Robert G. Kaiser - Washington Post "Ambitious, fascinating, and slightly dark... [Katznelson's] account of how a belief in the common good gave way to a central government dominated by interest-group politics and obsessed with national security." -- Louis Menand - New Yorker "Brilliant." -- Scott Lemieux - American Prospect "A provocative look at how modern America-created three-quarters of a century ago by the very Southern barons who were so important a part of the New Deal -was shaped. We think of history as a settled thing, tucked safely in a faraway past. This book is a reminder of how very surprising it can be." -- David Shribman - Boston Globe "An excellent work of synthesis about the political and economic terms of the New Deal. . . . Powerful and well-paced . . . anyone wanting an intelligent guide to the ideas that still shape its place in our own fractious times should begin by reading this book." -- Duncan Kelly - Financial TimesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
WW Norton & Co
Illustrations
24 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
543 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-87140-738-2 (9780871407382)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2013
Liveright Publishing Corporation
€20.49
Available for download
Person
Ira Katznelson is Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History at Columbia University and Deputy Director of Columbia World Projects. A former president of the American Political Science Association, he is the author of many celebrated books, including Fear Itself, winner of the Bancroft Prize in History.