The United States, 1865-1920

"In this short but sharp overview of the United States between the Civil War and the end of the First World War, Adam Burns has delineated a crisp and clear chronological map of the major political and social changes of the era. Without deviating from the trajectory of disunion and reunification that drives the narrative, one largely shaped by the political and racial ramifications of Reconstruction and beyond, Burns guides us through what was by any standards a complex and often convoluted period in America’s history. In a market saturated by textbook treatments of America's history, Burns's study stands out for the clarity both of its style and its approach, but mostly for its coverage of a period that, located between two major conflicts too often finds itself lost between them. Supported by a range of primary documents clearly linked to the book's driving arguments, this is a work that will be of immense value to students at A-level and those undertaking undergraduate programmes in American History."

Susan-Mary Grant, Professor of American History at Newcastle University. Among numerous books and articles, she is the author of The War for a Nation: The American Civil War (Routledge, 2006), A Concise History of the United States of America (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Routledge, 2016).

"A timely volume in the "Seminar Studies" series, this compact narrative weaves familiar content around important and relevant themes, notably how racism and ethnicity shaped the terrain of Reconstruction, national politics, economic transformation, immigration, and international relations after the Civil War when the US emerged as a global power. White cultural predilections and interests bounded the clashes over incorporation, industrialization, and the fierce electoral battles that characterized the 55 years after Appomattox. The postbellum US that Burns (Univ. of Wolverhampton, UK) details evolved into a nation almost as divided as it was during the Civil War [...] This engaging text is clearly linked to primary and secondary sources, and the inclusion of a glossary, chronology, documentary collection, and current bibliographic essay make it especially useful in college classroom settings. Burns’s narrative will engage general readers as well."

--E. R. Crowther, emeritus, Adams State University

Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty.