Great Society: A New History Audiobook (Free)

THE BRAND NEW York Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Man and Coolidge offers a sensational revision of our last great amount of idealism, the 1960s, with burning relevance for our contemporary challenges.

‘Great Society is definitely accurate history that reads just like a book, covering the high expectations and catastrophic missteps of our well-meaning leaders.’ -Alan Greenspan

Today, a battle rages in our country. Many Americans are attracted to socialism and about Great Society: A FRESH History financial redistribution while competitors of those suggestions argue for purer capitalism. In the 1960s, Americans searched for the same goals many look for now: an end to poverty, higher criteria of living for the middle class, an improved environment and even more access to health care and education. Then, as well, we debated socialism and capitalism, open public sector reform versus private sector advancement. Time and again, whether under John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, or Richard Nixon, the united states chose the open public sector. Yet the targets of our idealism proved elusive. Also, Johnson’s and Nixon’s applications shackled an incredible number of families in permanent government dependence. Ironically, Shlaes argues, the expenses of entitlement commitments made a half hundred years ago preclude the reforms that Us citizens will require in coming years.

In Great Culture, Shlaes offers a powerful companion to her renowned history of the 1930s, The Forgotten Guy, and demonstrates in fact there is scant difference between two presidents we consider opposites: Johnson and Nixon. Just as technocratic military preparing by “the Best and the Brightest” produced failing in Vietnam inevitable, so planning by a team from the local greatest and brightest guaranteed fiasco at home. At once history and biography, Great Culture sketches moving portraits of the characters with this transformative period, from U.S. Presidents towards the visionary UAW innovator Walter Reuther, the founders of Intel, and Federal Reserve chairmen William McChesney Martin and Arthur Uses up. Great Culture casts fresh light on other figures as well, from Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, towards the socialist Michael Harrington and the protest motion leader Tom Hayden. Sketching on her classic economic expertise and deep traditional knowledge, Shlaes upends the traditional narrative from the era, offering a damning indictment of the consequences of thoughtless idealism with stunning relevance for today. Great Culture captures a dramatic competition with lessons both dark and shiny for our very own time.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.