Summary of Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire The theses of Colossus are that America is an empire, that being an Empire is a good thing, but that America is, essentially, failing at being an empire because it is unable to effectively control other states and remain a hegemon. It is one of those non-fictions that makes you think just that when you pick it up...it's colossal in size. United States -- Economic conditions -- 19th century; United States -- Social conditions -- 19th century; Language eng Summary Directed by Denys Arcand. Welcome back. A good read about a critical period in American history. Mr. Brands recounts these disputes vividly, especially the assassination attempt on the industrialist Henry Clay Frick that backfired badly on the Homestead strikers. "The New Colossus" is an Italian sonnet written by the Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus. In addition, despite its length, I found many of the stories to be incomplete, often one-sided, with frequent l. I listened to this volume as a CD -- 19 discs lasting more than 20 hours. He attended Stanford University and studied history and mathematics. Great book! :(, I listened to this volume as a CD -- 19 discs lasting more than 20 hours. It did not, however, because colonialism nagged at the consciences of many Americans, who believed that … It does talk in extend of the businessmen pionering big league american capitalism but it also tries to focus in the bigger socioeconomic picture of the 1800's. This book very impressively ties together all (okay, probably not all...definitely most) of the major economic factors that shaped the Gilded Age. Some of the chapters, such as the ones on the railroads, the growth of the big industrial Robber Barons, and the beginnings of labor disputes, are straightforward and easy to read. Ultimately, indeed, this is a rather hopeless book, at least in the sense that readers who share Ferguson's wistfulness for a new liberal American empire after the British model are likely to be dispirited by his survey of precedents and present possibilities. It was a messy process. University of Texas historian Bill Brands surveys what the book’s subtitle calls “The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900.” It seems Brands isn’t happy with the outcome of his story, as capitalism bests populism by convincing working class voters that free markets provide more prosperity and opportunity that populism’s class warfare could. A traveler at Natchez marveled at the way prospective employers—planters from Mississippi and Louisiana—descended upon a regiment of African American soldiers being mustered out of the Union army. by Doubleday Books. Author H.W. And how were its more monstrous forms managed? But together, the book is disjointed and uncoordinated. H.W. It … “In imperial relationships, getting out proves much more complicated than getting in.”, “It may be that the voice of the people is the voice of God 51 times out of 100. American colossus : the triumph of capitalism, 1865-1900 by Brands, H. W. Print Book . The Commodore was tough as nails and a self-interested capitalist to his fingertips, but he never said: “What do I care about the law? Maybe there was a practical reason why working people rejected populism for free enterprise: the latter improved their lives and the former didn’t. With Maxim Roy, Maripier Morin, Éric Bruneau, Vincent Leclerc. I really enjoyed Brands's use of primary accounts. The U.S. security policy needs to be based on a proper appreciation of the roots of the nation's superpower status, which recognizes the contribution of “soft” (economic and cultural) power to the defense of a balanced world system, which would preclude the formation of peer competitors or an anti‐U.S. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Stewart Hall Holbrook, The Story of American Railroads (New York: Crown, 1947), is more capacious, while Albro Martin, Railroads Triumphant: The Growth, Rejection, and Rebirth of a Vital American Force (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), is more celebratory. Brands Creator. This book wasn't what I expected. A deeply corrupt New York State government and judiciary allowed Wall Street in the late 1860s to be a free-for-all, capitalism red in tooth and claw. The project proved to be more challenging than initially envisioned. Multitasking is the only way (at least for me) that a book as colossal as Colossus gets finished. Brands charts the rise of Wall Street, the growth of a national economy, the building of the railroads, and the first sparks of union life. The first edition of the novel was published in October 12th 2010, and was written by H.W. Even accounting had to evolve new tools to allow the efficient management of the vast emerging enterprises. Brands. Written in 1883, the poem helped to shape the popular idea of the Statue of Liberty as a welcoming mother, and of America as the great nation of immigrants. Brands covers topics from Reconstruction, the rise of the great industrialists (Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Morgan), the "taming" of the West, the struggles of African Americans and Native American tribes, immigration, the creation of the Railroads, and a synopsis of the 1890s, perhaps the most consequential decade of that period. It was the worst Brands book so far. A booming industrial base and a rapidly expanding capital market on Wall Street provided the synergy that produced the colossus of the book’s title. He … Fantastic book. ~ His writings have received critical and popular acclaim. Its chapters cover the general developments of a series of topics all related to the rise of the "guilded age" in the late 1900s. AMERICAN COLOSSUS is written with verve, attention to detail, and breezy portraiture of the interesting actors – many of them businessmen and financiers – who shape this era by bold decisions, tough action, and sometimes chicanery. How can or should we balance both capital and human growth? I found it an interesting read but not great... A average book about the captains of industry as well as some cultural aspects as well. Taglines; Plot Summary; Synopsis; Plot Keywords; Parents Guide In addition, despite its length, I found many of the stories to be incomplete, often one-sided, with frequent language use that belies a bias on the author's part. H. W. Brands tells this story of extraordinary economic transformation in his new book, “American Colossus.” Mr. Brands, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and one of the country’s foremost historians, has written first-rate biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson and both Presidents Roosevelt, as well as numerous other books on American history. For me, the story wandered -- it is a compilation of a plethora of vignettes, each of which is a fascinating episode in itself. The book’s main thesis, the incompatibility between capitalism and democracy, is a bit loose but the book was one of the best I’ve read in sometime. “Men fawned upon him; took him to the sutler’s shop and treated him; carried pockets full of tobacco to bestow upon him; carefully explained to him the varied … Henry William Brands was born in Portland, Oregon, where he lived until he went to California for college. Frankly, if the book I read was the very book that was intended for the series, then I completely understand why Kennedy rejected it: Colossus simply doesn't measure up to the other volumes, like Kennedy's own on the Great Depression/New Deal, or McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom, or Howe's What Hath God Wrought. Added to Watchlist. ~ He is a member of various honorary societies, including the Society of American Historians and the Philosophical Society of Texas. Andrew Jackson was a Chicago Tribune Best Book of 2005 and a Washington Post bestseller. View production, box office, & company info Upcoming Superhero TV Series We Can't Wait to See. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The New Colossus. I have to say that as an avid reader of this genre, I am amazed at how freshness and excitement that H.W. There are some errors in “American Colossus,” as is inevitable in a book of its size and scope. Others, such as those concerned with the treatment of the Indians, the development of the Reconstruction South, and the growth of post civil war politics were full of new information to me and fit in nicely with the other chapters. In addition to writing poetry, Lazarus also enjoyed reading British and American literature, and she also wrote many articles on varying topics. Be the first to ask a question about American Colossus. October 12th 2010 But beginning in 1869 Wall Street cleaned up its own act and would later impose new rules, like requiring that accounts be kept in a uniform fashion and that they be certified by independent accountants. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 624 pages and is available in Hardcover format. A daunting task in itself! Mr. Brands, a terrific writer who commands his material, handles this sprawling, complicated story with authority and panache. For example, the capture of the Philippines by American troops could have set the stage for colonial endeavors on every continent. This new age giant is what we know as America today and the poem, The New Colossus, is about all the ideals that helped shaped this land of dreams and achievements. His biography depicts the entire twentieth century as a battle between two great Presidents' worldviews, FDR's and Reagan's, while progressive historians treat Reagan's 80s as a wasted decade of no particular importance except corruption. But while each corporation spoke with a single voice, the workers did not, putting them at a grave disadvantage in labor negotiations. American Colossus captures the decades between the Civil War and the turn of the twentieth century, when a few breathtakingly wealthy businessmen transformed the United States from an agrarian economy to a world power. See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/books/19book.html. It's a fascinating look at the late 19th century and is still relevant today! Yes, I have mixed feelings. The poem garnered immense fame and popularity in the coming … Notes on H. W. Brands' American Colossus. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Atlantic Monthly, the Smithsonian, the National Interest, the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, the Political Science Quarterly, American History, and many other newspapers, magazines and journals. Happy Women's History Month! The writing is excellent and, with the right expectations in the face of its poor marketing strategy, I'd recommend it to anyone. If you wonder why it doesn't get better ratings and reviews from the masses, it is probably because the content of the book is really for folks who already have a pretty good grasp on American political and financial history of the era. Brands covers topics from Reconstruction, the rise of the great industrialists (Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Morgan), the "taming" of the West, the struggles of African Americans and Native American tribes, immigration, the creation of the Railroads, and a synopsis of the 1890s, perhaps the most consequential decade of. Brands employs a huge scope to the period 1865-1900. In 1987 he joined the history faculty at Texas A&M University, where he taught for seventeen years. The power barons of the times, like Morgan, Rockefeller, a. Lone Star Nation won the Deolece Parmelee Award. This contains the kind of stories one would wish showed up in school books to get people interested in history and to get people talking about political and economic choices. Most capitalist nations are democracies and most democracies employ … The story of "American Colossus" spans the years 1865 to 1900. synergies and contradictions of “the world's archetype of a capitalist democracy ” [Bra2010, p5] Thesis: During the decades after the Civil War, Morgan and his fellow capitalists effected a stunning transformation in American life. In those decades the American economy exploded in size, becoming by far the largest, most productive and most technically advanced in the world. Curiously, Mr. Brands appears to make no use of T. J. Stiles’s masterly and deeply researched 2009 Vanderbilt biography, “The First Tycoon.” Instead he relies on far older works, like Matthew Josephson’s unscholarly and deeply dishonest (if highly popular) “Robber Barons.” Vanderbilt does not get a fair shake in this latest book. It is a good reminder that we as a nation have been full of contradiction and self interest from the start. Did capitalism successfully drive the growth of the country? H. W. Brands’s American Colossus portrays the stunning transformation of the landscape and institutions of American life in these years. University of Texas historian Bill Brands surveys what the book’s subtitle calls “The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900.” It seems Brands isn’t happy with the outcome of his story, as capitalism bests populism by convincing working class voters that free markets provide more prosperity and opportunity that populism’s class warfare could. Henry William Brands was born in Portland, Oregon, where he lived until he went to California for college. Historians are being thrown up the pop charts on the springs of such unlikely subjects as Lincoln’s cabinet (Doris Kearns Goodwin), the life story of the amazingly stolid John Adams (David McCullough), or the squabbles of the 1780’s in the creation of the Constitution (Joseph J. Ellis). Meanwhile he resumed his formal education, earning graduate degrees in mathematics and history, concluding with a doctorate in history from the University of Texas at Austin. I have to say that as an avid reader of this genre, I am amazed at how freshness and excitement that. But together, the book is disjointed and uncoordinated. 1 Summary; 2 Analysis of The New Colossus; 3 Historical Context . The railroads, naturally, took advantage of their monopoly power to charge high freight rates, and farmers fought back by organizing the Granger movement to lobby state governments for stronger economic regulation. His wanderlust diminished after several trips across the Great Basin, and he turned to sales of a different sort, namely teaching. His wanderlust diminished after several trips across the Great Basin, and he turned to sales of a differen. Yet Americans shy away from the long-term commitments of manpower and … Quite readable, perhaps a bit too easy in parts. This is warts-and-all history, but the warts don’t get undue attention. Briefly, it is not Dr. Brands' best work. I finally decided to finish what I started. Briefly, it is not Dr. Brands' best work. The supporters of all sides are presented in ways that most of them would not mind. Emma Lazarus is the American poet who wrote this sonnet in the year 1883, to raise funds for the construction of a pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands. In 2005 he returned to the University of Texas, where he is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History and Professor of Government. Our political system has been disquietingly vicious in its disregard for the rights and needs of human beings in it vicious devotion to property and exploitation of all aspects of nature and people. Colossus is much too light to fit into that series. A book that might have been a worthy but boring tome turns out to be as close as serious history gets to a page turner. Add to Watchlist. In the acknowledgments section, Brands gives a shout out to David Kennedy, the editor of the Oxford series and mentions how the book went in a direction neither of them anticipated. It seems that so many of us had a football coach for high school history that we didn’t realize how damned interesting the story was – at least until Ken Burns reminded us (I’m guessing he didn’t have a coach for that class). Others, such as those concerned with the treatment of the Indians, the development of the Reconstruction South, and the growth of post civil war poli. This book was a bit odd and fragmented. To see what your friends thought of this book, H. W. Brands is one of the historians made popular by “the Ken Burns phenomenon” of the last quarter century. The writing is excellent and, with the r. I was, at first, thrown off by this book as what is billed as a book about the iconic capitalists of the day abandon those characters with little explanation for about 80% of the books center. By 1900 there were dozens, many employing tens of thousands of workers. This view was helped by the fact that the Statue was the first great US landmark that immigrants arriving in the United States would see. This, H.W. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. But the book disappoints because its very premise is illogical with Brands setting this story as "capitalism" vs. "democracy". At the close of the Civil War there was not a single industrial corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Very few non-fiction writers today can create this much of a page turner out of this subject matter and make it all feel so fresh and inspired. ", I am about a third of the way into American Colossus. The recurring theme of the tension between capitalism and democracy is most stark in Brands’ coverage of U.S. expansion beyond natural boundaries. The main characters of this history, north american history story are , . 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