The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II - Hardcover

Chafe, William Henry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195036395 ISBN 13: 9780195036398

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1985

Synopsis

Prize-winning historian William Chafe here offers a vibrant chronicle of America's roller-coaster journey of the past forty years.
Since World War II, the U.S. has witnessed both stunning progress and profound social divisions. The economy boomed, suburbia blossomed, college became the norm for half the younger population, and social liberation movements swept away ancient barriers of racial and sexual discrimination. Yet in the midst of affluence, poverty remained a blight affecting a fifth of the nation; war and violence nearly tore America apart; and a new generation emerged with little hope of change for the future, convinced that belief in reform was naive and romantic.
Proceeding from the Cold War chill of the 1950s to the heated social protests of the '60s, Chafe shows how the conflicting forces in American life led to a turning point in 1968 and the ascendancy of a conservative coalition. Though set back by Watergate, this coalition re-emerged triumphant with the election of Ronald Reagan and was reigning supreme by the mid-1980s--even though in its midst lay enormous problems of inequality that have yet to be solved.
Chafe brings our recent history alive in this gripping, brilliantly written narrative. As he highlights the paradoxes of postwar reform and reaction, he shows with cogency and passion how things might have been different.

About the Author

William H. Chafe is Professor History at Duke University. He is author of several books, among them Civilities and Civil Rights, which won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and the Mayflower Prize in 1981.

About this title

About the Author

William H. Chafe, Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Duke University.

Review

"Very clear and balanced coverage."--Glenn L. Smygart, Tennessee Temple University

"Excellent coverage; written with passion; strong on women's movement, superb on African-American history. I appreciate the emphasis on the critical social changes of the post-war era."--James J. Lorence, University of Wisconsin

Praise for the previous edition

"Provides all the necessary details, critical when it is appropriate, insightful, informative!"--James Edmonson, Emmanuel College

"Chafe presents Americana, its strengths and fears, its pock marks and its beauty along with its unity and diversity. It's a wonderful resource for our class!"--Barbara Boe, Carthage College

"The chapter on the Sixties and the material on the women's movement are excellent. The book is superbly written."--Edward Wheat, University of Southern Mississippi

"Chafes book is concise, while at the same time being extremely informative. It is one of the best, if not the best, history for this time period. A masterful job of weaving all facets of the American experience together. "--F. Muslimeci, Mohave Community College

"The Unfinished Journey still makes our students feel the history of the postwar era and is unsurpassed for the civil rights coverage. "--Mollie C. Davis, Queens College

"Concise, well-written and ties together many disparate threads. A masterful synthesis, written in the grand style, and reading almost like a novel."--Roger Hamburg, University of Indiana at South Bend

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0195036395
• ISBN 13: 9780195036398
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 528