★ A masterwork by Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
★ A look back at an era, and a key to understanding the origins of contemporary American politics.
★ A president, a group of reformers, and a series of legislative battles: one of the most dramatic chapters in political history.
[About the Author] Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was one of America's most prestigious and controversial heavyweight historians and political commentators. He was also a columnist, film critic, and freelance contributor to Fortune and Life, and served as a professor in Harvard University's Department of History and as a special assistant to President Kennedy. Over the course of his life, he received two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, and the Bancroft Prize, America's highest honor in the field of history. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1965 and awarded the National Humanities Medal in 1998.
[Synopsis] The Politics of Upheaval is the third volume of Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s The Age of Roosevelt, focusing on the social upheaval in America from 1935 to the end of President Roosevelt's first term in 1936. The New Deal broke the spell of helplessness and stagnation that had gripped America in the early years of the Great Depression. From then on, America's energies began radiating in every direction. The first New Deal brought a swift economic recovery, but also sparked political conflict and opposition from both the left and the right. The Supreme Court ruled the government's intervention in the market economy unconstitutional, leaving the executive and judicial branches in a tense standoff. In 1935, a year of upheaval in the economy, politics, and ideology, Roosevelt launched the Second New Deal, then went on to win the 1936 presidential election by a landslide.
The Politics of Upheaval is a vivid and dynamic work of historical storytelling. Like Schlesinger's first two volumes, The Crisis of the Old Order and The Coming of the New Deal, it offers a sweeping portrait of the era, a rich cast of historical figures, and a comprehensive presentation of the ideas that shaped the times. It is a classic work on the Age of Roosevelt.
