Dissent The History of an American Idea

"A beautifully written and impressively comprehensive survey of the history of dissent in America." - Thaddeus Russell,author of A Renegade History of the United States "A sweeping, panoramic narrative that is ambitious in nature, and broad and deep in scope. It provides an alternative history of the United Statesindeed of 'America.' It is a historynot from the vantage point of the forgotten or the 'losers,' per sebut from dissenters: those who foughtvaliantly, nobly, with great foresight and insight, and often against overwhelming, even impossible, odds and at great cost to themselvesin order to push, pull, shift, and shape the American world around them." - Glenn Feldman,University of Alabama at Birmingham "A wonderfully erudite and lucid introduction to another 'American dream' that inspired millions around the world. A wise and topical invitation to reappraise global image of American culture today, when we are facing renewed struggle for hearts and minds." - Vladislav Zubok,London School of Economics and Politics "Ralph Young takes us on a journey from the distant Puritan past to the cultural divisions of the contemporary age, showing that at every step along the way the nation's most powerful and productive force has been its rich tradition of dissent, the willingness of its citizens to cut against the grain of conformity to help build a fairer, more representative democracy. Marked by fast-paced and engaging prose, and filled with important insights and observations, Dissent may be the most important revisionist history of the nation since Howard Zinn's A People's History." - David M. Wrobel,Merrick Chair in Western American History, University of Oklahoma "In deeply conservative times it bears remembering that our nation also has a long and rich history of dissent-- one that always pushes our nation to become more just and humane. This work deals with that important topic from colonial times to the present. Young brings experience and knowledge to this subject...This history will satisfy fans of Howard Zinn, Pete Seeger, and Allen Ginsberg." (Library Journal) "[An] expansive and...impressive account...[Young] excels in story-telling mode." (Popmatters) "One of the great merits of Youngs book in his nuanced perspective on events and people that are too often reduced to clichés in our collective memory." (Political Science Quarterly) "Temple University historian Young (Dissent in America) delivers a doorstopper that few readers will ever want to misuse in such a manner; his clear and elegant style and a keen eye for good stories make it a page-turner...Young convincingly demonstrates that the history of the United States is inextricably linked to dissent and shows how 'protest is one of the consummate expressions of Americanness.'" (STARRED Publishers Weekly)