Saturday, May 14, 2016

The Tyranny of Change: America in the Progressive Era, 1900-1917   John Whiteclay Chambers
More of a survey than a primary-source history, Chambers covers these years in broad strokes. American society changed dramatically because of massive immigration from southern and eastern Europe, rapid urbanization, and sweeping industrialization. He gives a glancing account of the Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson presidencies, but  much detail about what is generally referred to as the progressive movement that resulted from all the change. Also, America’s shift from isolationist to interventionist foreign policy. Pretty good introduction to the first two decades of the 20th century. Overall, worthwhile, especially since I had trouble finding histories about these two decades.



The Universe in a Nutshell   Stephen Hawking
A lavishly illustrated sequel to Hawking’s unbelievably popular A Brief History of Time. A little too rudimentary, and about 15 years out of date. Good, clear explanations of concepts that are, however, basically incomprehensible in any practical sense, like real time and imaginary time. All that matters in understanding the universe is whether the math works. Ok, I guess.

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