Bøger af John Patrick Diggins

A revealing look at the true beginning of American politicsUntil recently rescued by David McCullough, John Adams has always been overshadowed by Washington and Jefferson. Volatile, impulsive, irritable, and self-pitying, Adams seemed temperamentally unsuited for the presidency. Yet in many ways he was the perfect successor to Washington in terms of ability, experience, and popularity. Possessed of a far-ranging intelligence, Adams took office amid the birth of the government and multiple crises. As well as maintaining neutrality and regaining peace, his administration created the Department of the Navy, put the army on a surer footing, and left a solvent treasury. One of his shrewdest acts was surely the appointment of moderate Federalist John Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Though he was a Federalist, Adams sought to work outside the still-forming party system. In the end, this would be his greatest failing and most useful lesson to later leaders. "Diggins's slim volume offers a reconsideration of Adams, a thoughtful study of American politics of the period and Adams's legacy for today. " - Publishers Weekly

Fired by Stanford and the University of Chicago but recommended by his peers to the presidency of the American Economic Association, Thorstein Veblen remains a baffling figure in American intellectual history. This title unravels the riddles that surround his reputation and assesses his varied and important contributions to modern social theory.

For a theologian who died in 1971, Reinhold Niebuhr maintains a remarkably high profile in the twenty-first century. This title begins by working through Niebuhr's theology, which focuses less on God's presence than his absence - and the ways that absence abets the all-too-human sin of pride.

"Informative and useful. . . . A balanced history of leftist American politics in the 20th century. . . . Admirably nonpartisan." -Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post

"Richly instructive. . . . With characteristic cogency and verve John Diggins has painted a memorable portrait of the United States at a triumphant moment in its history."-David M. Kennedy, Stanford University