Provides a look at the origins of the culture wars of modern America and the political and economic transformation of the U.S. republic This book tells, in clear and lively prose, how Americans struggled with modernity in both its cultural and economic forms between the start of World War I and the end of World War II, focusing on the 1920s through 1930s. This edition includes revisions that expand the scope and features increased coverage of topics that will be of great interest to new readers as well as those familiar with the subject. The Birth of Modern America, 1914-1945, Second Edition begins with a discussion of the promises and perils of the progressive era. The book goes on to look at the Great War and life on the home front and explores many paradoxes that marked the birth of Modern America. Topics covered include: the pervasive racism and nativism during and after WWI; the disillusionment with Woodrow Wilson's rhetorical idealism; the emergence of national media; the Great Depression; FDR and the New Deal; the attack on Pearl Harbor; Hollywood’s part during World War II; the United States' decision to drop "the bomb" on Japan; and more. Makes a strong contribution to understanding American society in the interwar years (1920s and 1930s) Disputes that American entry into WWII brought the New Deal to an end and argues that wartime measures foreshadowed postwar American practice Features more coverage of politics in the 1920s and 1930s Includes an Afterword covering the G.I. bill, postwar prosperity, Americans' move to the suburbs, the challenges to peace in Europe and Asia, and the Cold War The Birth of Modern America, 1914-1945 is an excellent book for undergraduate courses on the 20th Century and advanced placement courses. It will benefit all students and scholars of the Progressive Era, the Depression, 1920s and 1930s America, and America between the Wars.

The Almanacs Of American Life are historical almanacs of four periods in American history: the Colonial period, the Revolutionary, Victorian America, and the twentieth century from 1914 through World War II.

This book is a thematic history of the world from 1780, the pivotal year of the revolutionary age, to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. It brings together historical data and arguments from different societies in order to show how interconnected the world was, even before the onset of modern globalization. "The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914 demonstrates how events in Asia, Africa, and South America, from the decline of the eighteenth-century Islamic empires to the anti-European Boxer rebellion of 1900 in China, had a direct impact on European and American history. Conversely, it sketches the "ripple effects" of crises such as the European revolutions and the American Civil War. The book also considers the great themes of the nineteenth-century world: the rise of the modern state, industrialization, liberalism, and the progress of world religions. Engaging and original, this book both challenges and complements the dominant regional and national approaches traditionally adopted by historians.

Looks at the origins and impact of World War I, discusses the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet, and analyzes public opinion of the period.

This text provides an innovative global military history that joins three periods—World War I, the interwar years, and World War II. Jeremy Black offers a comprehensive survey of both wars, comparing continuities and differences. He traces the causes of each war and assesses land, sea, and air warfare as separate dimensions. He argues that the unprecedented nature of the two wars owed much to the demographic and industrial strength of the states involved and their ability and determination to mobilize vast resources. Yet the demands of the world wars also posed major difficulties, not simply in sustaining the struggle but also in conceiving of practical strategies and operational methods in the heat and competition of ever-evolving conflict. In this process, resources, skills, leadership, morale, and alliance cohesion all proved significant. In addition to his military focus, Black considers other key dimensions of the conflicts, especially political and social influences and impacts. He thoroughly integrates the interwar years, tracing the significant continuities between the two world wars. He emphasizes how essential American financial, industrial, agricultural, and energy resources were to the Allies—both before and after the United States entered each war. Bringing the two world wars to life, Black sheds light not only on both as individual conflicts but also on the interwoven relationships between the two.

A startling narrative revealing the impressive medical and surgical advances that quickly developed as solutions to the horrors unleashed by World War I. The Great War of 1914-1918 burst on the European scene with a brutality to mankind not yet witnessed by the civilized world. Modern warfare was no longer the stuff of chivalry and honor; it was a mutilative, deadly, and humbling exercise to wipe out the very presence of humanity. Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of maimed, beaten, and bleeding men surged into aid stations and hospitals with injuries unimaginable in their scope and destruction. Doctors scrambled to find some way to salvage not only life but limb. The Great War and the Birth of Modern Medicine provides a startling and graphic account of the efforts of teams of doctors and researchers to quickly develop medical and surgical solutions. Those problems of gas gangrene, hemorrhagic shock, gas poisoning, brain trauma, facial disfigurement, broken bones, and broken spirits flooded hospital beds, stressing caregivers and prompting medical innovations that would last far beyond the Armistice of 1918 and would eventually provide the backbone of modern medical therapy. Thomas Helling’s description of events that shaped refinements of medical care is a riveting account of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of men and women to deter the total destruction of the human body and human mind. His tales of surgical daring, industrial collaboration, scientific discovery, and utter compassion provide an understanding of the horror that laid a foundation for the medical wonders of today. The marvels of resuscitation, blood transfusion, brain surgery, X-rays, and bone setting all had their beginnings on the battlefields of France. The influenza contagion in 1918 was an ominous forerunner of the frightening pandemic of 2020-2021. For anyone curious about the true terrors of war and the miracles of modern medicine, this is a must read.

The third volume of The Cambridge History of America and the World covers the volatile period between 1900 and 1945 when the United States emerged as a world power and American engagements abroad flourished in new and consequential ways. Showcasing the most innovative approaches to both traditional topics and emerging themes, leading scholars chart the complex ways in which Americans projected their growing influence across the globe; how others interpreted and constrained those efforts; how Americans disagreed with each other, often fiercely, about foreign relations; and how race, religion, gender, and other factors shaped their worldviews. During the early twentieth century, accelerating forces of global interdependence presented Americans, like others, with a set of urgent challenges from managing borders, humanitarian crises, economic depression, and modern warfare to confronting the radical, new political movements of communism, fascism, and anticolonial nationalism. This volume will set the standard for new understandings of this pivotal moment in the history of America and the world.