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Title: No Place of Grace: Antimodernism and the Transformation of American Culture 1880-1920 by Jackson T.J. Lears ISBN: 0-226-46970-0 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: No Place of Grace
Comment: No Place of Grace, by T. J. Jackson Lears, is an interesting commentary on the movements and schools of thought that rose up in the late nineteenth century. What makes it so interesting isn't the copious first hand accounts that Lears quotes which bring the text to life or the huge amounts of raw information that he serves packed into every sentence; the most interesting fact about this book is that much of the thought and practices that started in the late nineteenth century have affect how think today. Lears tells how urbanization, industrialization, and prosperity all helped change almost everything about the gilded age's culture and the reader can't help but notice how these resultant ideas paved their way into the twentieth century.
The work place was transformed to be a workplace to be modeled after an efficient working machine. It was during this period that time clock was invented and people started to use the phrase "on time." It was also during this time when the drug abuse originated. Much like the citizens of Brave New World, people took "holidays" to get away from their efficient working lives consuming narcotics such as opium, heroin, and morphine.
Urbanization transformed American from a country that thrived on farming to an urban and industrial country, and with that transformation there was consequently a shift from a producer society to a consumer society. There became a link between progress and material wealth. With all of their prosperity people generally thought society and all the world was constantly moving towards a better state, which made people totally ignore heaven and hell.
The movement was so widespread that it even affected the church. Sermons were shortened to be more efficient with time (which I wish is still in effect today). Pastors were regarded as successful by the size of their flock and instead of focusing on their congregation they increasingly focused more on the business world. The idea of relativism took grasp as pastors would not preach hot topics that would raise controversy.
As I read all of this I could not help but think of how much it seemed like our culture today. It is truly amazing how the thoughts and ideas of a hundred and fifty years ago could affect us so much, but they have. If you are an American and you take your citizenship seriously I would say that you should read this not only to better understand where the notions that are in your head have come from, but also where our society is going in terms of how these ideas might evolve into other ideas; and what changes should be made to correct the mistakes. No Places of Grace enables you to stand back and look at the origins of thoughts of today and fully grasp either their fallacies or their utter truth, which in my opinion can lead you to greater appreciation for being an American citizen. The choice is yours! Will you take your citizenship seriously and read this book?
Rating: 4
Summary: No Place of Grace
Comment: T.J. Jackson Lears is a great writer who gives us an informative look into many of the cultural flaws, trials, and undertakings our society has gone through in the past hundred years. These flaws are explained, and opinionated on, in his compelling book, No Place of Grace. In the first section of this book, he writes in great detail about the rise of our culture's modernism and antimodernism- where it came from, when it was molded into a philosophy, and its effect it had on today's culture. He writes about the late nineteenth century, and the cultural authority that took place during this time.
He explains to us just how much urbanization of Western culture has changed and influenced how our society lives and thinks forever. The rapid growth of this change was the starting block for all nineteenth century antimodernists. Lears himself shows his great negative view points on the changes modernism made on our culture, and he goes on to demonstrate many of the problems our society suffers because of this modernistic growth. He explains that Americans, as a result to modernism, are always busy with never enough time in the day, and always wanting more that what he has. He discusses, with great disgust, the degeneration of church, industry, and even family. Families became too busy for church, and the idea of hell became more of a children's story than a reality. Businesses now strive for quantity instead of quality; hard work was over-run by efficiency. The technological advances we have grown accustomed to, has made us a society of lazy gluttons. He reminds us that there once was a time when work and family went hand in hand. A farm stayed in the family for generations, and they worked hard together for exactly what they needed to survive. Now that capitalism has grown, and small family businesses have diminished, work and family are kept completely separate.
To Lears, Culture is a well known and very interesting issue, for he has written many other books on the very topic. He demonstrates his knowledge on the subject with exceptionally strong arguments, and also shows his very wide knowledge of English. Each word you come across helps you to better understand his point, and he never fails to use a perfectly placed analogy where ever he saw fit, and such vivid imagery throughout to even further the strength of his sound arguments, and help clarify them to any reader lost in the mass of information. I found this book to be very interesting. Hearing the negative sides of our culture's modernistic ways made me feel a lack of integrity and pride from our ever-expanding urbanistic society. Although Lears gave great insight into antimodernistic views, I believe there are so many more positive aspects to urbanization than he leads the reader to believe, and I would have liked to see if the pros and cons are really as unbalanced as he makes it seem. It is, of course, important to know and understand exactly where and when these faults and flaws of Americans today came from, but it is also important to understand how far we have advanced and how much we have achieved.
Rating: 4
Summary: No Place of Grace
Comment: No Place of Grace by T.J. Jackson Lears gives an interesting and insightful outlook on the way America's culture has been molded and on how its traditions and overall mindset have been changed. It would seem that an entire culture could not be uniformly affected, but this book really shows how we all fall victim to certain trends and influences. It is important to acknowledge the change and so called progress that America has gone through. By being aware of the impact of social and economical changes, we can have a new perspective of how we view life and of what we consider true prosperity and success.
America was becoming a nation of abundant wealth and continuing technological and economical progress. Success and improvement were in high demand and were partly defined by the material gain. Anti modernists clung to their morals and saw the error made by insisting on constant progress in production and strict use of time. The time clock gave way to the nation's outlook on the importance of time, and now not a minute could be wasted. The nation was in a constant hurry. The people were in such a rush to produce, that they began to overlook the importance of quality.
Lears describes the change in American families. There was a transition from the wife who raises the family and helps manage the farm to a wife who is privileged to a life with finer things and only having to take care of the family as the husband works. Now there were fewer children, and each child was given more attention. The wife was also expected to be a source of strength and support for the husband. Men were continually seeking to be "self-made" and thought they must be prosperous in their work in order to be successful.
Religion was also a topic that Lears gave and interesting outlook on. The moral outlook of the time was strict; however, the church was losing its influence, and now there was no basis for the morals civilization was based on. What was right and wrong anymore? This is an arresting question that Lears poses.
Lears provides some interesting insights concerning the change of the way of life. He causes you to question how much of the change in society has been an actual benefit. He illustrates the society tactfully, providing a vivid image of the background of our culture. He not only points out the way people were influenced in the beginning of the industrial era, but he also shows how our culture is continually affected by the past change. Lears alerts us of how we have been trained to be a consumer society obsessed with material progress, and he explains how our society has arrived at this point.
Lears structures this book well with a good balance of the facts and his opinion. The book is not overpowered with one-sided opinions, but it allows you to think for yourself, and it guides you to consider different questions and ideas that you never thought of before. Once you get past the terms you don't understand, the message of the book shows through. This is an important book to read in order to realize the changes our society has gone through and acknowledge some of the faults of the structure of our society.
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Title: The Incorporation of America: Culture and Society in the Gilded Age (American Century) by Alan Trachtenberg ISBN: 0809001454 Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Manliness & Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (Women in Culture and Society Series) by Gail Bederman ISBN: 0226041395 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Search for Order 1877-1920 by Robert H. Wiebe ISBN: 0809001047 Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub. Date: 01 October, 1980 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Virgin Land: The American West As Symbol and Myth (Harvard Paperback, Hp 21) by Henry Nash Smith ISBN: 0674939557 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1971 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Something for Nothing: Luck in America by T. J. Jackson Lears, Jackson Lears ISBN: 0670031739 Publisher: Viking Books Pub. Date: 27 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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