A fantastic detailed overview of Jazz from its origins to the mid-sixties. Combines historical, social, academic musical,literary, entertainment, and psychological perspectives in which all components 'swing'. One caveat-too much deference accorded to psychiatrists in explaining the human behavior of Jazz musicians!

Given the polarization of American politics since the end of World War II it seems strange to have Christopher & James Lincoln Collier entitle this volume in The Drama of American History series "The Middle Road: American Politics, 1945-2000." Especially since the major metaphor and argumentative structure of this volume has to do with a pendulum swinging back and forth between the liberal policies of the Democrats and the conservative agenda of the Republicans. Consequently, instead of arguing that this period of American politics represented a shift away from the extremes towards the middle, this volume looks at the major swings of the pendulum.

The Colliers divide the volume into six chapters: (1) A New President Confronts the Peace begins with a description of the basic political differences between the Democrats and Republicans, then covers how President Truman's attempts to push through liberal policies were stopped by the Southern Democrats; (2) McCarthyism looks at how the Republicans hoped President Eisenhower would roll back FDR's "New Deal" but instead the nation had to deal with the extremism of the Red Witch hunts; (3) The Drama of the 1960s reduces the Kennedy and Johnson administrations to dealings with Communists in Cuba and Vietnam while the domestic situation dealt with Civil Rights and assassinations; (4) President Nixon and Watergate looks at the end of the Vietnam War and the biggest political scandal of the 20th century; (5) The Pendulum Swings Again deals with the decidedly different ways in which Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan wanted to revamp the federal government in the wake of Watergate; and (6) The Middle Ground Triumphant manages to equate the failure of the George Bush to be elected after decisively winning Desert Storm and the failure of Bill Clinton to keep his personal life out of the headlines. From such a perspective the victory of George W. Bush over Al Gore, which necessitates an explanation of the Electoral College, probably seems a fitting capstone to American politics in the 20th century.

I think the Colliers could have made a case that the political arc of the swinging pendulum is reduced each time around, so that there is a definite movement towards the middle ground, but that is something that would have to be set up from the start in this volume. Of course, there is also a sense in which this period represents the failure of both conservatives and liberals to turn electoral victories into political reform. The volume on "The United States in the Cold War, 1945-1989" provides the most important element of the post World-War II period. This volume, along with "The Changing Face of American Society, 1945-2000," catches young students up on the last half of the 20th century in terms of everything else in America. One of the strengths of the series is how it is able to focus on the past in terms of how it impacts the present. However, at this point we really do not have the appropriate perspective to be able to look at what will turn out to be the key aspects of American politics during this period. In that regard, this volume is one of the lesser volumes in this excellent series, which focuses on the "central core" of American history.

This book was really amazing. It kept you on your toes and really put you in the character's place. I often found myself getting anxious,angry or sad in many parts of the book. My mom picked it up thinking of just reading a couple of pages to check what I was reading and ended up staying up until 3 in the morning reading it. Before you start this book make sure you don't have anything big happening for hours because you won't put it down. If you enjoy thinking about what it would be like to live on the other side of the law this is definitely the book for you. -Q

On the misinterpretation of this book, Bourdieu writes in the preface: "All of this was there in the text, waiting to be read, but it was rejected by the guardians of orthodox interpretation, who have felt their privileges threatened by the unruly progress of the new sciences, and so have clung like fallen aristocrats to a philosophy of philosophy, whose exemplary expression was provided by Heidegger, erecting a sacred barrier between ontology and anthropology."

Surprisingly enough, the seeds of this book was written nearly a decade before the "Heidegger contoversy" that swept through the French academy in the late 1980s. Rather than denouncing Heidegger as a Nazi or defending Heidegger's philosophy as exempt from his political miscues, Bourdieu offers another route: forget the singularity of the discourse on Heidegger, rather, we must look at the historical, cultural, social, and political context that made Heidegger's involvement with Nazism possible. Forget the "man" and let us examine the context...

This is a brilliant insight: we focus on the merits of the individual, even as great as Heidegger, and forget that individuals are actors in a larger matrix of culture, politics, economics and history. To this, Bourdieu discusses the homology of the three fields of production: philosophical, academic, and political. In this, Bourdieu argues that there is no possibility of reducing the discourse on Heidegger to any specific field. We must look to the ways in which Heidegger's activities and writings both reflect and are determined by the constructs of the three fields. By "political ontology," Bourdieu challenges the statements of pure ontology that have been circulated by both Heidegger and his commentators. "Pure ontology" is contrasted with "political ontology." Despite Heidegger's claims, and despite his enormous philosophical insights, can we ever claim to notions of the "pure"? In this, is not Bourdieu making a stake for himself as a faithful Heideggerian by virtue of opposing the pure?

Beyond the discourse on the Heidegger controversy, Bourdieu strongly contends that we must give up notions of "pure" disciplinary studies whether they be a pure reading of philosophy or a pure political or social reading of an event. In the end, as Bourdieu suggests, this book isn't necessarily about Heidegger in any sense; rather, this book is a practical exercise--that is, a preliminary exercise for a possible method, which must always remain reflexive and changing.

At first I thought it was rather strange that the time frame for "The Rise of the Cities" in The Drama of American History series was 1820-1920, but the emphasis of this volume is on the shift in the United States from an agrarian to an urban population. But Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier are also describing the rather unique American cities that developed, where populations essentially exploded during the 19th-century (e.g., Chicago was the fastest growing city in the world between 1875 and 1900).

"The Rise of the Cities" is covered in six chapters: (1) The First American Cities looks at their uniqueness; most of them were port cities that thrived on commerce, but by the start of the 19th-century there was a different type of city springing up in the hinterlands where industrialization was key; (2) The Explosion of Cities charts the difference in size and location of the nation's largest cities from 1820 to 1920 as American became a nation of city dwellers instead of farmers; (3) Technology and the City introduces students to the idea of urban infrastructure and also looks at how not only transportation but changes in construction materials altered the look of cities, which became major centers of entertainment for the workers; (4) City Problems looks at how the quick growth of cities resulted in the creation of slums, as well as numerous infrastructure problems; (5) The Failure of City Government is a fascinating chapter that looks at how the political machines, such as Boss Tweed's infamous Tammany Hall, evolved and dominated big city politics; and (6) Reform covers the movement that swept America in the last decades of the 19th-century, through the efforts of muckrakers like Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell, as well as the pioneering work in sociological reform by Jacob Riis, but also a response to catastrophes such as the Galveston Flood and the Triangle Shirt Factory fire.

As with all of the volumes in The Drama of American History series, "The Rise of the Cities" focuses on the big issues of the subject under examination. If I consider this to be the least valuable volume I have read to date then that is certainly because of the topic under discussion rather than how the Colliers present the material. The urbanization of the United States, while important, just does not lend itself to the same sort of analysis as other topics. The book has historic illustrations and photographs throughout and some charts that but the rise of American cities in historical perspective. Even if a teacher is not ample to have their students read these volumes, then they can still benefit from using what the Colliers have put together as a way of developing the central core of this topic. Certainly, a solid classroom lecture on "The Rise of the Cities" could be constructed from what you find here.

A remarkably well-ordered attack on British theatre. Though it contains slightly inflammatory language in certain passages, overall, it is a good example of early dramatic criticism. I enjoyed it, and agreed especially concerning the denigration and abuse of the clergy on stage. It seemed well-substantiated, and I believe it was one of the first examples of what we today would consider theatre criticism. It was instrumental in reforming British theatre through a controversy that sprang up about the piece.

This book provided a comprehensive review of making a living in Africa. It talked about the futility of coconut farms as a succesful job and talked about where in Africayou could find the best decently paying job and relatively low-cost housing. I liked this book because it was not as dense as other books about trade and fiscal adjustment in Africa I had read. It also helped persuade me not to move to Africa, an option which I had been thinking about when I quit my last job.

Everyone is familiar with the traditional Christmas stories that will be shared during this holiday. Ah, but there are other Christmas stories which put a unique twist on Christmas from an African-American perspective. Collected for the first time in one source are Christmas stories told by African-Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The stories they share and their backgrounds are diverse. You have authors who were journalists, actors, educators, activists and radicals. Many of them were born into slavery and all of them suffered through the sickness of racism. Most of them were the leaders of their day such as Ida B. Wells and T. Thomas Fortune.

How are these stories different from other Christmas tales? All of the stories were serialized in Black periodicals and newspapers.They address social and economic inequities (for all people) in their society . A persistent theme of the uplift of the race by those who have the resources is a continual thread throughout the book. You will also find some amusing tales that will give you a great belly laugh! Christmas is the background but our authors stress the need for social and economic uplift with compassion for the poor.

The book gives us a brief biography of the writer, a synopsis of the story and reviews the historical context. I liked the brief introduction but felt some of the information took away from the stories themselves. Such a treasury is a must to have under the Christmas tree, a gift for Kwanzaa and as a present throughout the year. Bettye Collier-Thomas has rescued a genre of fiction long forgotten in the Black literary tradition.

I didn't grow up in the State of Alabama but it only took me one visit to this game to understand the emotions. The book sets the stage for each year's game with details and history leading up to the end of November. If you have attended classes in Tuscaloosa or Auburn - you need no further convincing. But if you are of the opinion that Oklahoma-Texas or Ohio State-Michigan is the fiercest rivalry - prepare to take a back seat. Too bad it ends in 1994 and doesn't include 18-17 in 1997 or 31-27 in 1995. Head to Toomer's! WAR EAGLE!

I am a big admirer of The Drama of American History series by Christopher and James Lincoln Collier, but "The United States in World War II, 1941-1945" strikes me as one of the lesser volumes. I suspect this is in large part because this was a rare volume in which I did not feel I was learning anything new, although I realize this is mainly because of how much I already know about World War II. But there also seems to be a decidedly different tone to this volume. The "core concept" approach is still the focus but there are a lot of anecdotes about the heroics of individual soldiers like Audie Murphy and comments about not being able to go into detail about certain subjects.

The volume is divided into six chapters: (1) The Legacy of World War I looks at the root causes of World War II, such as the rise of fascism in Europe and American isolationism; (2) The World Goes to War looks at the war up to the attack on Pearl Harbor; (3) Americans Begin to Fight covers U.S. involvement in the war in Europe; (4) The Home Front is the most worthwhile chapter in the book, looking at home the mobilization for war not only effectively ended the Great Depression but how it set the stage for gender and race issues in the last half of the 20th century; (5) The War in the Pacific details the U.S. war effort against Japan; and (6) Summing Up briefly covers the impacts of World War II as one of the great events in human history, although it also talks about the personal level of returning soldiers trying to deal with what they had lived through overseas.

One of the impressive things about this particular volume is that it includes rare photographs and illustrations, many by actual soldiers, not only from the United States but also those from Germany and Japan. Consequently, most of the illustrations in this book are going to be ones you have never seen before. In many regards I think this volume is similar to what you will find in a standard America History textbook, which, again, is probably a result of the fact that it has just a limited time span, only four years (most of the volumes cover decades and a few over a century of American History). However, at the very least, the chapter on how World War II changed the lives of Americans at home is well worth including in an American History class.