People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Origins of American Civilization (Cornell Paperbacks) - Softcover

Kammen, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801497558 ISBN 13: 9780801497551

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1990

Synopsis

From the beginning, what has given our culture its distinctive texture, pattern, and thrust, according to Michael Kammen, is the dynamic interaction of the imported and the indigenous. He shows how, during the years of colonization, some ideas and institutions were transferred virtually intact from Britain, while, simultaneously, others were being transformed in the New World. As he unravels the tangled origins of our culture, he makes us see that unresolved contradictions in the American experience have created our national style. Puritanical and hedonistic, idealistic and materialistic, peace-loving and war-mongering: these opposing strands go back to the genesis of our history.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

From the beginning, what has given our culture its distinctive texture, pattern, and thrust, according to Michael Kammen, is the dynamic interaction of the imported and the indigenous.

About the Author:

Michael Kammen is the Newton C. Farr Professor of American History and Culture, and Director, Society for the Humanities, at Cornell University. His book, People of Paradox: An Inquiry concerning the Origins of American Civilization received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1973, and he is the author of "What Is the Good of History?" Selected Letters of Carl L. Becker, 1900-1945, and A Rope of Sand: The Colonial Agents, British Politics, and the American Revolution, both published by Cornell University Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0801497558
• ISBN 13: 9780801497551
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368