The American Political Tradition, Richard Hofstadter
The American Political Tradition, Richard Hofstadter
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The American Political Tradition
And the Men Who Made it

Author: Richard Hofstadter, Christopher Lasch

Narrator: Kaleo Griffith

Unabridged: 17 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/24/2018

Synopsis

The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a "kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics," Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas in their national experience. Like only a handful of American historians before him—Frederick Jackson Turner and Charles A. Beard are examples—Hofstadter was able to articulate, in a single work, a historical vision that inspired and shaped an entire generation.

About The Author

Richard Hofstadter (1916–1970) was one of the leading American historians and intellectuals of the twentieth century. Throughout his career, he worked at many universities, most recently as the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. His works include the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Age of Reform and Anti-intellectualism in American Life.Christopher Lasch (1932–1994) was the author of The Culture of Narcissism, The True and Only Heaven, The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy, and other books. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1932 and attended Harvard (BA, 1954) and Columbia University (MA, 1955; PhD, 1961). He taught history at Williams College (1957–9), Roosevelt University (1960–1), and the State University of Iowa, where he was appointed associate professor in 1963. In 1966 he became a professor of history at Northwestern University. Winner of the Bowdoin Prize from Harvard in 1954, he held both the Erb Fellowship (1955–6) and the Gilder Fellowship (1956–7) at Columbia University. Kaleo Griffith's film and television work includes Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Diagnosis X, As the World Turns, One Life to Live, and All My Children, among others. Griffith has recorded over 30 audiobooks, numerous commercials, and voice-overs.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Justin on July 16, 2012

Hofstadter writes very well and makes big claims, which is a pleasant change from a lot of contemporary history. The book's general thesis - that the American Political Tradition is by and large an ongoing defense of the property rights of the well-off - seems correct. The book itself lags a bit. It......more

Goodreads review by Mike on June 24, 2010

Strangely, Hofstadter wasn't particularly proud of this book; he considered it a young man's work, not the work of a serious scholar. But because of this fact, it is his most accessible work to the educated, non-specialist public. It is probably his most-read book, and it repays reading with wit, hu......more

Goodreads review by Logan Grant on February 03, 2022

This progressive contrarian take on major American political figures is both serious and fun. Published in 1948, Richard Hofstadter himself called it “a young man’s book”. I think that this is because he took many of the historical myths of the left in that era and turned them upside down. He is an......more

Goodreads review by Steven on May 12, 2010

Richard Hofstadter was an eminent historian, who wrote well on significant issues. My favorite works of his focus on American political thought and the history of American politics. Some of the chapters reveal the nature of his effort. "The Founding Fathers: An Age of Realism"; "Thomas Jefferson: The......more

Goodreads review by Melanie on December 13, 2023

I really enjoyed reading this book for my course, American Political Thought. I thought the author’s commentary was extremely insightful and ahead of his time. My favorite chapters were definitely Lincoln’s and FDR’s. Highly recommend if you want to learn more “inside” information of why our governm......more

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