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The Contours of American History
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The Contours of American History Paperback - 2011

by William Appleman Williams; Introduction by Greg Grandin


From the publisher

A former president of the Organization of American Historians, William Appleman Williams taught for many years at the University of Wisconsin and Oregon State University. His books include The Contours of American History, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, and Empire as a Way of Life.

Greg Grandin is the author of Empire’s Workshop, The Last Colonial Massacre, Who is Rigoberta Menchú?, the award-winning The Blood of Guatemala, and the 2009 National Book Awards finalist Fordlandia. A professor of history at New York University and a Guggenheim fellow, Grandin has served on the United Nations Truth Commission investigating the Guatemalan Civil War and has written for the Los Angeles Times, Nation, New Statesman, and New York Times.

Details

  • Title The Contours of American History
  • Author William Appleman Williams; Introduction by Greg Grandin
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Second Edition
  • Pages 560
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Verso
  • Date 2011-10-01
  • ISBN 9781844677740 / 1844677745
  • Weight 1.38 lbs (0.63 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.24 x 5.47 x 1.15 in (20.93 x 13.89 x 2.92 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects United States - History - Philosophy
  • Dewey Decimal Code 973.01

Media reviews

“One of the most original home-grown minds in American history. The welcome republication of The Contours of American History should make William Appleman Williams’ stature and foresight as an analyst of the basic patter of US history transparently evident.”—Eric Hobsbawm

“There is still—fifty years after its publication—no better critique of America liberalism and the contradictions of the ideology of individualism, no clearer analysis of the specificities of American empire. Greg Grandin’s preface is a terrific introduction to Williams’ thinking.”—Joan Wallach Scott

“It is hard to capture the impact of The Contours of American History on a generation of young historians in the 1960s, offering a model of history writing that took account of class forces, state power, and the role of ideas. In a way, the study of history has come full circle, back to examining the interconnections between domestic and international history. Back to Williams, in other words.”—Eric Foner

“A very good book indeed ... It is quietly reasoned, beautifully ordered, and spirited as hell ... [It] is not a book for children, nostalgic or otherwise.”—Loren Baritz, The Nation

About the author

A former president of the Organization of American Historians, William Appleman Williams taught for many years at the University of Wisconsin and Oregon State University. His books include The Contours of American History, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, and Empire as a Way of Life.

Greg Grandin is the author of Empire's Workshop, The Last Colonial Massacre, Who is Rigoberta Mench?, the award-winning The Blood of Guatemala, and the 2009 National Book Awards finalist Fordlandia. A professor of history at New York University and a Guggenheim fellow, Grandin has served on the United Nations Truth Commission investigating the Guatemalan Civil War and has written for the Los Angeles Times, Nation, New Statesman, and New York Times.

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The Contours of American History

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The Contours of American History
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The Contours of American History

by Williams, William Appleman

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