‘Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920’

Following the devastation of the Civil War, America yearned for a new beginning. Some sought progressive reform, while others were motivated by their own visions of Christianity. Artists, writers and musicians developed new forms of self-expression. And politicians and entrepreneurs combined a desire for rebirth with fierce personal ambition. In Rebirth of a Nation, award-winning historian Jackson Lears chronicles this remarkable time when American transformed itself from a nation at war with itself to a prosperous world power. But at what cost--socially, economically and politically-- did this change take place?

Lears recounts the wrenching social conflict and vigorous political debate that marked the 50 years following the Civil War, when a modern America emerged and came to dominance on a world stage. Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, and many other lesser known but influential Americans are profiled in this masterly account of a troubled but also triumphant time in United States history.

Jackson Lears is Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and the editor of Raritan: A Quarterly Review. He is the author of Fables of Abundance, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for history; Something for Nothing, and No Place of Grace. He writes for The New Republic, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. He lives in western New Jersey.

"Fascinating ... A major work by a leading historian at the top of his game -- at once engaging and tightly argued." -- The New York Times Book Review

--American History