T. J. Jackson Lears

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Something for Nothing: Luck in America

T. J. Jackson Lears; Jackson Lears

Synopsis:
In SOMETHING FOR NOTHING, prizewinning historian Jackson Lears documents how America's culture of control is inextricably entwined with its culture of chance.
Conventional wisdom has it that the Protestant ethic of hard work and self-control is what made America great, but a deep, seldom acknowledged reverence for luck runs through our history as well. Americans have embraced the seductive whims of chance, from African fortune-telling to Puritan folk superstitions right up to the current resurgence of casinos and lotteries. Drawing on a vast body of research, Lears ranges through the entire sweep of American history as he uncovers the hidden influence of risk taking, conjuring, soothsaying, and sheer dumb luck on our culture, politics, social lives, and economy.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1999