Fear Itself

The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time

By: Ira Katznelson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Redefining our traditional understanding of the New Deal, Fear Itself finally examines this pivotal American era through a sweeping international lens that juxtaposes a struggling democracy with enticing ideologies like Fascism and Communism. Ira Katznelson, "a towering figure in the study of American and European history" (Cornel West), boldly asserts that, during the 1930s and 1940s, American democracy was rescued yet distorted by a unified band of southern lawmakers who safeguarded racial segregation as they built a new national state to manage capitalism and assert global power. This original study brings to vivid life the politicians and pundits of the time, including Walter Lippmann, who argued that America needed a dose of dictatorship; Mississippi’s five-foot-two Senator Theodore Bilbo, who advocated the legal separation of races; and Robert Oppenheimer, who built the atomic bomb yet was tragically undone by the nation’s hysteria. Fear Itself is a necessary work, vital to understanding our world - a world the New Deal first made.

©2013 Ira Katznelson (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

" Fear Itself deeply reconceptualizes the New Deal and raises countless provocative questions." (David Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Freedom from Fear)

So necessary for understanding our times

It puts modern policy in proper historical context. Enlightening. Would recommend for anyone who has questions about how the modern state has become disconnected from the people it purports to serve.

This book is loooong

Any additional comments?

And it's pretty dry. But if you have a lot of time to kill, it's an interesting perspective on the era. Good background for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of our political parties and electoral map.

Overly dramatic performance makes listening impossible

The book might be ok, but the reading is unbearable
I had to stop reading and would urge others to avoid this book. Maybe Brick would be ok for reading fiction, but NOT serious history

A Great Book on Inequality

Well-written, well-narrated. this book really made me think about inequality in our society today, and in particular about how I can't believe Jeff Bezos made so much money while Amazon workers contracted COVID-19 due to unsafe workplace policies with minimal hazard pay and were fired (and in some cases smeared and ruined) for organizing for dignified working conditions.

dense.

definitely a lot of material covered and not necessarily in the most easily followed way. A lot of it seemed to jump around a little bit and it didn't seem to have one coherent thesis. But there was a lot of evidence and you just end up feeling like the United States some pretty terrible things to people.