H.W. Brands
About H.W. Brands
“Everything was handled very well. Thank you especially to Edie for her assistance in everything for our event.”
Speech topics
The Zealot and the Emancipator:
John Brown, Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for American Freedom
Speaking videos
Books by H.W. Brands
“American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900” (2021)
American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900
“American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900 (Random House Large Print)” (2010)
American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900 (Random House Large Print)
“American Colossus” (2010)
In a grand-scale narrative history, the bestselling author of two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize now captures the decades when capitalism was at its most unbridled and a few breathtakingly wealthy businessmen utterly transformed America from an agrarian economy to a world power. The years between the Civil War and the end of the nineteenth century saw the wholesale transformation of America from a land of small farmers and small businessmen into an industrial giant. Driven by unfathomably wealthy and powerful businessmen like J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, armies of workers, both male and female, were harnessed to a new vision of massive industry. A society rooted in the soil became one based in cities, and legions of immigrants were drawn to American shores. What’s more, in accomplishing its revolution, capitalism threatened to eclipse American democracy. “What do I care about the law?” bellowed Cornelius Vanderbilt. “Hain’t I got the power?” He did, and with it he and the other capitalists reshaped every aspect of American life. In American Colossus, H.W. Brands portrays the emergence, in a remarkably short time, of a recognizably modern America. The capitalist revolution left not a single area or aspect of American life untouched. It roared across the South, wrenching that region from its feudal past and integrating the southern economy into the national one. It burst over the West, dictating the destruction of Native American economies and peoples, driving the exploitation of natural resources, and making the frontier of settlement a business frontier as well. It crashed across the urban landscape of the East and North, turning cities into engines of wealth and poverty, opulence and squalor. It swamped the politics of an earlier era, capturing one major party and half of the other, inspiring the creation of a third party and determining the issues over which all three waged some of the bitterest battles in American history. Brands’s spellbinding narrative beautifully depicts the oil gushers of western Pennsylvania, the rise, in Chicago, of the first skyscraper, the exploration of the Colorado River, the cattle drives of the West, and the early passionate sparks of union life. By 1900 the America he portrays is wealthier than ever, yet prosperity is precarious, inequality rampant, and democracy stretched thin. American Colossus is an unforgettable portrait of the years when the contest between capitalism and democracy was at its sharpest, and capitalism triumphed.
“American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900” (2010)
In a grand-scale narrative history, the bestselling author of two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize now captures the decades when capitalism was at its most unbridled and a few breathtakingly wealthy businessmen utterly transformed America from an agrarian economy to a world power. The years between the Civil War and the end of the nineteenth century saw the wholesale transformation of America from a land of small farmers and small businessmen into an industrial giant. Driven by unfathomably wealthy and powerful businessmen like J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, armies of workers, both male and female, were harnessed to a new vision of massive industry. A society rooted in the soil became one based in cities, and legions of immigrants were drawn to American shores. What’s more, in accomplishing its revolution, capitalism threatened to eclipse American democracy. “What do I care about the law?” bellowed Cornelius Vanderbilt. “Hain’t I got the power?” He did, and with it he and the other capitalists reshaped every aspect of American life. In American Colossus, H.W. Brands portrays the emergence, in a remarkably short time, of a recognizably modern America. The capitalist revolution left not a single area or aspect of American life untouched. It roared across the South, wrenching that region from its feudal past and integrating the southern economy into the national one. It burst over the West, dictating the destruction of Native American economies and peoples, driving the exploitation of natural resources, and making the frontier of settlement a business frontier as well. It crashed across the urban landscape of the East and North, turning cities into engines of wealth and poverty, opulence and squalor. It swamped the politics of an earlier era, capturing one major party and half of the other, inspiring the creation of a third party and determining the issues over which all three waged some of the bitterest battles in American history. Brands’s spellbinding narrative beautifully depicts the oil gushers of western Pennsylvania, the rise, in Chicago, of the first skyscraper, the exploration of the Colorado River, the cattle drives of the West, and the early passionate sparks of union life. By 1900 the America he portrays is wealthier than ever, yet prosperity is precarious, inequality rampant, and democracy stretched thin. American Colossus is an unforgettable portrait of the years when the contest between capitalism and democracy was at its sharpest, and capitalism triumphed.
“Traitor To His Class: The Privileged Life And Radical Presidency Of Franklin Delano Roosevelt” (2008)
a Sweeping, Magisterial Biography Of The Man Generally Considered The Greatest President Of The Twentieth Century, Admired By Democrats And Republicans Alike. traitor To His Class Sheds New Light On Fdr's Formative Years, His Remarkable Willingness To Champion The Concerns Of The Poor And Disenfranchised, His Combination Of Political Genius, Firm Leadership, And Matchless Diplomacy In Saving Democracy In America During The Great Depression And The American Cause Of Freedom In World War Ii. drawing On Archival Materials, Public Speeches, Personal Correspondence, And Accounts By Family And Close Associates, Acclaimed Bestselling Historian And Biographer H. W. Brands Offers A Compelling And Intimate Portrait Of Roosevelt’s Life And Career.brands Explores The Powerful Influence Of Fdr’s Dominating Mother And The Often Tense And Always Unusual Partnership Between Fdr And His Wife, Eleanor, And Her Indispensable Contributions To His Presidency. Most... the Washington Post - Lynne Olson brands, A Professor Of History And Government At The University Of Texas Who Has Written Biographies Of Benjamin Franklin And Andrew Jackson, Offers Few New Facts About Roosevelt's Life Or The Complexities Of His Character. What He Does Doand Does Wellis To Explain In Detail How This Ambitious Hudson Valley Patrician, The Coddled Son Of An Elderly Father And Dominating Mother, Managed To Defy His Family And Social Class And Become The Most Reform-minded President In U.s. History. The Best Part Of Brands's Book Is His Vivid Account Of Fdr's Early Life And Pre-presidential Career.
At a glanceH.W. Brands
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