Book Summary and Reviews of American Colossus by H.W. Brands

American Colossus by H.W. Brands

American Colossus

The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900

by H.W. Brands

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  • Published:
  • Oct 2010, 624 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The three decades after the Civil War saw a wholesale shift in American life, and the cause was capitalism. Driven by J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and oth­ers like them, armies of men and women were harnessed to a new vision of massive industry. A society rooted in the soil became one based in cities, and legions of immigrants were drawn to American shores.

H. W. Brands’s American Colossus portrays the stunning trans­formation of the landscape and institutions of American life in these years. Brands charts the rise of Wall Street, the growth of a national economy, the building of the railroads, and the first sparks of union life. By 1900, America was wealthier than ever, yet prosperity was precarious, inequality rampant, and democ­racy stretched thin. A populist backlash stirred.

American Colossus is an unforgettable portrait of the years when a recognizably modern America first took shape.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Perhaps the only significant omission in this fast-paced, engrossing narrative is a tendency to dwell on political doctrines... while only briefly discussing the dogma of ... social Darwinism, which favored the monopolists." - Publishers Weekly

"An educational, briskly written pseudo-textbook aimed at readers outside university classrooms." - Kirkus

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Author Information

H.W. Brands Author Biography

H.W. Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. A New York Times bestselling author, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography for The First American and Traitor to His Class.

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