{"product_id":"popularizing-the-past-historians-publishers-and-readers-in-postwar-america-hardcover","title":"Popularizing the Past: Historians, Publishers, and Readers in Postwar America - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eNick Witham\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePopularizing the Past\u003c\/i\u003e tells the stories of five postwar historians who changed the way ordinary Americans thought about their nation's history.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e What's the matter with history? For decades, critics of the discipline have argued that the historical profession is dominated by scholars unable, or perhaps even unwilling, to write for the public. In \u003ci\u003ePopularizing the Past, \u003c\/i\u003e Nick Witham challenges this interpretation by telling the stories of five historians--Richard Hofstadter, Daniel Boorstin, John Hope Franklin, Howard Zinn, and Gerda Lerner--who, in the decades after World War II, published widely read books of national history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Witham compellingly argues that we should understand historians' efforts to engage with the reading public as a vital part of their postwar identity and mission. He shows how the lives and writings of these five authors were fundamentally shaped by their desire to write histories that captivated both scholars and the elusive general reader. He also reveals how these authors' efforts could not have succeeded without a publishing industry and a reading public hungry to engage with the cutting-edge ideas then emerging from American universities. As Witham's book makes clear, before we can properly understand the heated controversies about American history so prominent in today's political culture, we must first understand the postwar effort to popularize the past.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNick Witham\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of United States history and head of the department at the Institute of the Americas at University College London. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Cultural Left and the Reagan Era: US Protest and Central American Revolution.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.69 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 26, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51780264952096,"sku":"9780226826974","price":178.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/1e5d4bca9eb765bf8447699a47829abb.webp?v=1780525773","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/popularizing-the-past-historians-publishers-and-readers-in-postwar-america-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}