Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream
- Downloads：3855
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-10-24 06:21:45
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：David Leonhardt
- ISBN：0812993209
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
The clear-eyed， definitive history of the modern American economy and the decline of the American Dream， from the Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist behind The New York Times's “The Morning” newsletter。
“With the even-handed incisiveness that has made him one of the country’s most-respected voices on economics， David Leonhardt illuminates the inside history of the players and missteps that have stolen so many Americans’ futures。”—Jane Mayer， author of Dark Money
Two decades into the twenty-first century， the stagnation of living standards has become the defining trend of American life。 Life expectancy has declined， economic inequality has soared， and， after some progress， the Black-white wage gap is once again as large as it was in the 1950s。 How did this happen in the world’s most powerful country？ And what happened to the “American dream”—the promise of a happier， healthier， more prosperous future—which was once such an inextricable part of our national identity？
Drawing on decades of writing about the economy for The New York Times， Pulitzer Prize–winning writer David Leonhardt examines the past century of American history， from the Great Depression to today’s Great Stagnation， in search of an answer。
To make sense of the rise and subsequent fall of the American dream， Leonhardt tells the story of the modern American economy as an ongoing battle between two competing forms of one that envisions prosperity for most， and one that serves the individual and favors the wealthy。 In vivid prose， Ours Was the Shining Future traces how democratic capitalism flourished to make the American dream possible， until the latter decades of the twentieth century when， bit by bit， the dream was corrupted to serve only the privileged few。
Ours Was the Shining Future is a sweeping narrative full of innovation and grit， human drama and hope。 Featuring the trailblazing figures who helped shape the American dream—Frances Perkins， Paul Hoffman， Cesar Chavez， Robert Kennedy， A。 Philip Randolph， Grace Hopper， and more—this engaging history reveals the power of grassroots democratic movements from across the political spectrum。 And though the American dream feels lost to us now， Leonhardt shows how Americans—if they commit themselves to transforming the economy， as they did in the past—have the power to revive the dream once more。
“With the even-handed incisiveness that has made him one of the country’s most-respected voices on economics， David Leonhardt illuminates the inside history of the players and missteps that have stolen so many Americans’ futures。”—Jane Mayer， author of Dark Money
Two decades into the twenty-first century， the stagnation of living standards has become the defining trend of American life。 Life expectancy has declined， economic inequality has soared， and， after some progress， the Black-white wage gap is once again as large as it was in the 1950s。 How did this happen in the world’s most powerful country？ And what happened to the “American dream”—the promise of a happier， healthier， more prosperous future—which was once such an inextricable part of our national identity？
Drawing on decades of writing about the economy for The New York Times， Pulitzer Prize–winning writer David Leonhardt examines the past century of American history， from the Great Depression to today’s Great Stagnation， in search of an answer。
To make sense of the rise and subsequent fall of the American dream， Leonhardt tells the story of the modern American economy as an ongoing battle between two competing forms of one that envisions prosperity for most， and one that serves the individual and favors the wealthy。 In vivid prose， Ours Was the Shining Future traces how democratic capitalism flourished to make the American dream possible， until the latter decades of the twentieth century when， bit by bit， the dream was corrupted to serve only the privileged few。
Ours Was the Shining Future is a sweeping narrative full of innovation and grit， human drama and hope。 Featuring the trailblazing figures who helped shape the American dream—Frances Perkins， Paul Hoffman， Cesar Chavez， Robert Kennedy， A。 Philip Randolph， Grace Hopper， and more—this engaging history reveals the power of grassroots democratic movements from across the political spectrum。 And though the American dream feels lost to us now， Leonhardt shows how Americans—if they commit themselves to transforming the economy， as they did in the past—have the power to revive the dream once more。
Reviews
Nancy
，
I took an elective in economics in high school after a teacher recommended it。 What I most remember was being told that a high national debt was the result of a growing economy， and since it was money we owe to ourselves， we shouldn’t be worried about a high debt。When I took that class， the economy was still good。 My dad had a union job with great benefits。 We had two cars and a house in the suburbs。 He talked about his international lab at Chrysler， with engineers from India and Lebanon。But soc I took an elective in economics in high school after a teacher recommended it。 What I most remember was being told that a high national debt was the result of a growing economy， and since it was money we owe to ourselves， we shouldn’t be worried about a high debt。When I took that class， the economy was still good。 My dad had a union job with great benefits。 We had two cars and a house in the suburbs。 He talked about his international lab at Chrysler， with engineers from India and Lebanon。But society was also under strain。 We watched helicopters flying overhead， taking National Guard to Detroit in ’67。 Kids from my high school class went to an antiwar protest and fhad to run from the police。 Inflation and lines at gas stations plagued my early marriage， and when we bought a house the mortgage had a 15。5% interest rate。 Fast forward to 2008， and when our son graduated from college， it took two years to find a job。What happened？David Leonhardt’s take on the American Dream is a comprehensive history of the social and political influences that drove the growth of the middle class and later drove huge business profits at the expense of workers。Yes， there is a lot of information， but I found it interesting reading。He breaks the book down into “The Rise” and “The Fall。” A central theme of The Rise is the importance of unions to workers。 President F。 D。 Roosevelt supported living wages and unions。 After WWII， business believed that well paid workers was good for the economy， therefore good for business。 In The Fall， he shows how the breakdown in society into separate interest groups， especially those with ‘elite’ concerns over working/middle class concerns， impacted politics and the economy， and how social disorder and crime drove people to switch political allegiance。I found the book to be balanced， engaging， and very informative。Thanks to the publisher for a free book。 。。。more
Steven
，
I thought it was very interesting。 I agree with most of it。 But I haven't finished it yet。 I thought it was very interesting。 I agree with most of it。 But I haven't finished it yet。 。。。more
Melissa
，
This review is based on an advance reader copy。 This book is a good history of US economic policy and an argument for fixing things for the future。 While there is a lot of interesting information here， it can be dry and repetitive at times。 Some chapters also had a lot of names I wasn't previously familiar with and it was difficult to keep them all straight。 Leonhardt does do a fantastic job of explaining concepts in a way that makes sense to laypeople （like me） instead of hiding behind economic This review is based on an advance reader copy。 This book is a good history of US economic policy and an argument for fixing things for the future。 While there is a lot of interesting information here， it can be dry and repetitive at times。 Some chapters also had a lot of names I wasn't previously familiar with and it was difficult to keep them all straight。 Leonhardt does do a fantastic job of explaining concepts in a way that makes sense to laypeople （like me） instead of hiding behind economics lingo that only other economists understand。Though it is pretty clear through his writing that he is a liberal， Leonhardt presents a well balanced look at past presidents and their economic policies。 He doesn't pull punches when calling his own party out on their shortcomings either， putting into words frustrations that I am sure I share with many others。Overall， a very good， if somewhat dense read。 。。。more
Tag
-
ours was the shining future the story of the american dream