Frederick Lewis Allen

Frederick Lewis Allen was one of the pioneers in social history. Best known as the author of Only Yesterday, Allen originated a model of what is sometimes called instant history, the reconstruction of past eras through vivid commentary on the news, fashions, customs, and artifacts that altered the pace and forms of American life. The Big Change was Allen's last and most ambitious book. In it he attempted to chart and explain the progressive evolution of American life over half a century. Written at a time of unprecedented optimism and prosperity, The Big Change defines a transformative moment in American history and provides an implicit and illuminating perspective on what has taken place in the second half of the twentieth century.Allen's theme is the realization, in large measure, of the promise of democracy. As against the strain of social criticism that saw America as enfeebled by affluence and conformity, Allen wrote in praise of an economic system that had ushered in a new age of well being for the American people. He divides his inquiry into three major sections. The first, 'The Old Order,' portrays the turn-of-the-century plutocracy in which the federal government was largely subservient to business interests and the gap between rich and poor portended a real possibility of bloody rebellion. 'The Momentum of Change' graphically describes the various forces that gradually transformed the country in the new mass production, the automobile, the Great Depression and the coming of big government, World War II and America's emergence as a world power. Against this background, Allen shows how the economic system was reformed without being ruined, and how social gaps began to steadily close.The concluding section, 'The New America,' is a hopeful assessment of postwar American culture. Allen's analysis takes critical issue with many common perceptions, both foreign and domestic, of American life and places remaining social problems in careful perspective. As William O'Neill remarks in his introduction to this new edition, The Big Change is both a deep and wonderfully readable work of social commentary, a book that gains rather than loses with the years.

“A style that is verve itself.” — New York Times“A perfectly grand piece of historical record and synthetic journalism.” — Chicago Daily TribuneFrom Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor-in-chief of Harper’s magazine, comes a classic history of 1920s America, from the end of World War I to the stock market crash and the beginning of The Great Depression. Originally published in 1931, Only Yesterday has an exuberance and proximity to its subject—the Roaring Twenties in all its scandal and glory—that uniquely captures the feel of the era.

A “wonderfully written account of America in the ’30s,” the follow-up to Only Yesterday examines Black Tuesday through the end of the Depression (The New York Times).Wall Street Journal Bestseller Opening on September 3, 1929, in the days before the stock market crash, this information-packed volume takes us through one of America’s darkest times all the way to the light at the end of the tunnel. Following Black Tuesday, America plunged into the Great Depression. Panic and fear gripped the nation. Banks were closing everywhere. In some cities, 84 percent of the population was unemployed and starving. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, public confidence in the nation slowly began to grow, and by 1936, the industrial average, which had plummeted in 1929 from 125 to fifty-eight, had risen again to almost one hundred. But America still had a long road ahead. Popular historian Frederick Lewis Allen brings to life these ten critical years. With wit and empathy, he draws a devastating economic picture of small businesses swallowed up by large corporations—a ruthless bottom line not so different from what we see today. Allen also chronicles the decade’s lighter the fashions, morals, sports, and candid cameras that were revolutionizing Americans’ lives. From the Lindbergh kidnapping to the New Deal, from the devastating dust storms that raged through our farmlands to the rise of Benny Goodman, the public adoration of Shirley Temple, and our mass escape to the movies, this book is a hopeful and powerful reminder of why history matters.

A "stimulating" account of the capitalists who changed America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, setting the stage for the 1929 crash and Great Depression (Kirkus Reviews).In the decades following the Civil War, America entered an era of unprecedented corporate expansion, with ultimate financial power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists who exploited the system for everything it was worth. The Rockefellers, Fords, Morgans, and Vanderbilts were the "lords of creation" who, along with like-minded magnates, controlled the economic destiny of the country, unrestrained by regulations or moral imperatives. Through a combination of foresight, ingenuity, ruthlessness, and greed, America's giants of industry remolded the US economy in their own image. They established their power and authority, ensuring that they--and they alone--would control the means of production, transportation, energy, and commerce--creating the conditions for the stock market collapse of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed.As modern society continues to be affected by wealth inequality and cycles of boom and bust, it's as important as ever to understand the origins of financial disaster, and the policies, practices, and people who bring them on. The Lords of Creation, first published when the catastrophe of the 1930s was still painfully fresh, is a fascinating story of bankers, railroad tycoons, steel magnates, speculators, scoundrels, and robber barons. It is a tale of innovation and shocking exploitation--and a sobering reminder that history can indeed repeat itself.

John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric. After financing the creation of the Federal Steel Company he merged the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron businesses to form the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. He is widely credited with having saved or rescued the U.S. national economy in general—and the federal government in particular—on two separate occasions. He bequeathed much of his large art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and to the Wadsworth Atheneum of Hartford, Connecticut. He died in Rome, Italy, in 1913 at the age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, John Pierpont "Jack" Morgan, Jr.

Here, for the first time in one volume, are Frederick Lewis Allen's two classic studies of America in the early decades of the twentieth century. Only Yesterday and its sequel, Since Yesterday, are a look at the events, the personalities, the politics, and the manners and morals of the nation during a significant and turbulent era in history. Only Yesterday has been called "the best account of all that happened in the United States during the wonderfully wacky 1920s." It deals with that delightful decade from the Armistice in November 1918 to the panic and depression of 1929-30. Here is the story of Woodrow Wilson's defeat, the Harding scandals, the Coolidge prosperity, the revolution in manners and morals, the bull market and its smash-up. Allen's lively narrative brings back, revitalized and freshly interpreted, an endless variety of half-forgotten events and fashions, crazes and absurdities. He neglects neither the play of political, social, and economic forces in American life nor those tremendous trifles which immediately concerned ordinary people—the significance of short skirts, Eskimo pies, flagpole sitting. Since Yesterday, which is as gracefully written as its predecessor, picks up where the first book ends. Recapping the period of feverish stock market activity that preceded the Crash of 1929, it goes on to look at what happened in the decade that followed, from September 3, 1929, to September 3, 1939. Allen examines the Depression, the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the beginning of the New Deal, the Dust Bowl, the way Americans worked (and didn't work), how they played. He covers the fashions of the times, gangsterism, politics, unions, Hollywood, and a great deal more.

Three acclaimed chronicles of American life from a New York Times–bestselling author with a “style that is verve itself” (The New York Times). In these three popular histories of America—collectively ranging from the turn of the century through the 1930s—Frederick Lewis Allen confirms his reputation as one of the most influential journalists of the twentieth century and a “diligent and perceptive reporter” (Forbes). Only Yesterday: Allen’s bestselling account of the Roaring Twenties begins at the end of World War I and continues through Prohibition, the Big Red Scare, and the stock market crash of 1929. Originally published in 1931, the definitive account of twentieth-century America combines the immediacy of firsthand experience with clear-cut analysis. This iconic history sold over half a million copies in its first year of publication, reaching commercial and critical success unheard of during the Depression. Since Yesterday: Allen’s bestselling follow-up to Only Yesterday begins with America’s plunge into the Great Depression. With wit and empathy, Allen chronicles the 1930s from the Lindbergh kidnapping to the New Deal, from bank closures and devastating dust storms to the rise of Benny Goodman and our mass escape to the movies. The Lords of Creation: Allen’s history of American finance from the Reconstruction Era to the start of the Great Depression is a fascinating story of bankers, railroad tycoons, steel magnates, and robber barons. From the unprecedented corporate expansion that followed the Civil War, Allen traces a path of innovation and exploitation that put America’s fortunes in the hands of the Rockefellers, Fords, Vanderbilts, and other wealthy industrialists who set the stage for the most devastating financial collapse in history.

***Hyperlinked Table of Contents***Frederick Lewis Allen (July 5, 1890 Boston, Massachusetts - February 13, 1954 New York City) was an American historian of the first half of the twentieth century. Allen's popularity coincided with increased interest in history among the book-buying public of the 1920s and 1930s. This interest was met, not by the university-employed historian, but by an amateur historian writing in his free time. Aside from Allen, these historians included Carl Sandburg, Bernard DeVoto, Douglas Southall Freeman, Henry F. Pringle, and Allan Nevins (before his Columbia appointment).His best-known books were Only Yesterday (1931), a book chronicling American life in the 1920s, and Since Yesterday (1940), which covered the Depression of the 1930s. His last and most ambitious book, The Big Change, was a social history of the United States from 1900 to 1950.In this Frederick Lewis AllenSince YesterdayThe Big Change

A book of adventures written by an 85-year-old containing drama, tragedy, comedy, not to mention history in its most exciting yet moving form.

"The History of the United States" brings together three seminal works by Frederick Lewis Allen, offering readers a captivating journey through key moments in American history, accompanied by stunning illustrations. In "Only An Informal History of the 1920s," Allen provides a vivid and insightful portrayal of the Roaring Twenties, exploring the social, cultural, and political developments that shaped the decade. From the rise of consumer culture to the impact of Prohibition and the stock market boom, Allen captures the spirit of an era marked by prosperity and change."Since The 1930s in America" continues the narrative, delving into the tumultuous decade that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Allen examines the Great Depression, the New Deal era, and the challenges faced by Americans as they grappled with economic hardship and social upheaval. Through poignant anecdotes and historical analysis, he paints a nuanced picture of a nation in crisis and the resilience of its people.In "The Lords of The History of America's 1 Percent," Allen shifts his focus to the economic forces that shaped America in the early 20th century. He explores the rise of corporate power, the influence of financial magnates, and the impact of their actions on society and politics. With meticulous research and incisive commentary, Allen sheds light on the individuals and institutions that wielded immense wealth and influence during this transformative period.Accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, this collection offers readers a visually stunning and intellectually stimulating exploration of American history. From the exuberance of the Jazz Age to the struggles of the Great Depression and the complexities of economic power, "The History of the United States" provides a comprehensive overview of key events and themes that continue to shape the nation to this day.• Only An Informal History of the 1920s• Since The 1930s in America• The Lords of The History of America's 1 Percent

Biography of one of the most famous of American literary agents. With a chapter on Stephen Crane. x, 105, 3 pages. cloth.. 8vo..

Fiftieth Anniversary Issue. Includes this artilce by Allen and other articles by Bret Harte, Stephen Crane, John Galsworthy, Ernest Hemingway and other great authors. Also many illustrations by N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, B.J. Rosenmeyer and many other artists of that period. Covers rubbed. 19-22 pages. paper wrappers.. 4to..

This history in pictures - interpreted in over 20,000 words of running comment - brings together for the first time within a single volume a diversified sequence of photographs of out American past. It reveals the exciting events, the fads and fashions, the sports and theatrical hits, tha flavor of everyday life in the United States from the Civil War to the World War, with more recent pictures added here and there to point contrasts.

hardcover photography book