The Making of Modern America: The Nation from 1945 to the Present

by Gary A. Donaldson

Overview

The third edition of Dr. Gary A. Donaldson’s highly successful textbook The Making of Modern America, introduces students to the cultural, social and political paths the United States has traveled from the end of WWII to the present day. While deftly cataloging the sweeping changes and major events in America from “Dewey Defeats Truman” through the election of Donald Trump, this newly updated edition never loses touch with that American history taking place at the level of the people. This edition details not just the United States’ rich cultural history, but elegantly repositions it as integral to our understanding of any portion of this country’s past. Donaldson provides a factual foundation for students and then pushes them to interpret those facts, framing the discussions essential to any complete study of American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538104453
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/29/2017
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	6.32(w) x 9.36(h) x 1.22(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gary A. Donaldson is the Keller Foundation in American History at Xavier University of Louisiana. His other books include The First Modern Campaign: Kennedy, Nixon and the Election of 1960; Liberalism’s Last Hurrah: The Presidential Campaign of 1964; Truman Defeats Dewey; and America at War since 1945, among others. He lives in Mandeville, Louisiana.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: Postwar Adjustments
Chapter 2: The Early Cold War
Chapter 3: Affluence and Anxiety: America in the 1950s
Chapter 4: The Eisenhower Presidency
Chapter 5: Kennedy at Home and Abroad
Chapter 6: “We Shall Continue”
Chapter 7: The Nation in the 1960s
Chapter 8: Out of the 1960s and into the 1970s: The Agony of Change
Chapter 9: America in the 1970s: The Post-Watergate Years
Chapter 10: The Reagan Years
Chapter 11: The Kinder, Gentler Conservatism of George H. W. Bush
Chapter 12: Bill Clinton’s America
Chapter 13: America after the New Millennium
Chapter 14: The Second Bush and Obama: From the War on Terrorism to the Audacity of Hope

Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

The third edition of Gary A. Donaldson’s The Making of Modern America is a splendid history of the country’s complex saga from its post-World War II adjustments, to the era of presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Donaldson punctuates each of his lucid and fast-paced chapters with a reading, a document, and questions—pedagogy that supplements or complicates his narrative. Students and their teachers will welcome Donaldson’s sure-handed analysis of America’s modern era—a time of momentous challenges to its status as the world’s richest and most innovative country.

John David Smith

The Making of Modern America does an outstanding job of capturing postwar America’s Zeitgeist through a comprehensive but clear treatment of the era’s personalities, politics, and popular culture. The Making of Modern America’s clarity and judgment would fit well into the second half of the U.S. History survey, and the work would serve very well for an upper-level course on the United States since the end of World War II. Finally, an integrated postwar textbook for undergraduates!

Jeffrey P. Moran

"The third edition of Gary A. Donaldson's The Making of Modern America is a splendid history of the country's complex saga from its post-World War II adjustments, to the era of presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Donaldson punctuates each of his lucid and fast-paced chapters with a reading, a document, and questions--pedagogy that supplements or complicates his narrative. Students and their teachers will welcome Donaldson's sure-handed analysis of America's modern era--a time of momentous challenges to its status as the world's richest and most innovative country."

"The Making of Modern America does an outstanding job of capturing postwar America's Zeitgeist through a comprehensive but clear treatment of the era's personalities, politics, and popular culture. The Making of Modern America's clarity and judgment would fit well into the second half of the U.S. History survey, and the work would serve very well for an upper-level course on the United States since the end of World War II. Finally, an integrated postwar textbook for undergraduates!"

From the Publisher

Gary Donaldson's sparkling book begins like Only Yesterday and ends like yesterday's New York Times. It is our story—how America and the Allies' triumph in World War II opened doors of bright possibilities that ended in nightmares. From Hiroshima to Baghdad, from prosperity to economic collapse—Donaldson's book makes sense out of the dreams of the Baby Boomers and the angst of Generation X. It is the story of bold plans and unintended consequences.

Randy Roberts

In The Making of Modern America, Gary A. Donaldson makes a valiant effort to take his student readers from . . . the bombing of Nagasaki to the inauguration of Barack Obama. . . . Will students find basic facts here? Yes.

Journal of Southern History

The Making of Modern America is detailed enough without losing sight of its central themes. It also leaves room for disagreement with some of the interpretations. Very readable!

John Stranges

By far the best text available for post-1945 U.S. history courses. Donaldson deftly integrates political, diplomatic, social, and cultural history in a style that will engage undergraduates. Especially interesting is his treatment of science and medicine, important topics often receiving scant attention in textbooks. I plan to adopt The Making of Making of America in my own course.

Anthony O. Edmonds

[An] excellent overview of the period. [A] nice blend of politics, economics, foreign relations and pop culture.

Edward J. Tassinari

In The Making of Modern America: The Nation from 1945 to the Present, Gary A. Donaldson makes a valiant effort to take his student readers from... the bombing of Nagasaki to the inauguration of Barack Obama.... Will students find basic facts here? Yes.

The Journal of Southern History

In The Making of Modern America, Gary A. Donaldson makes a valiant effort to take his student readers from . . . the bombing of Nagasaki to the inauguration of Barack Obama. . . . Will students find basic facts here? Yes.

The Journal Of Southern History

In The Making of Modern America: The Nation from 1945 to the Present, Gary A. Donaldson makes a valiant effort to take his student readers from... the bombing of Nagasaki to the inauguration of Barack Obama.... Will students find basic facts here? Yes.

Journal Of Southern History