The American Century: Varieties of Culture in Modern Times [Hardcover]

Norman F. Cantor (Author), Mindy Cantor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

Distinguished scholar Norman Cantor presents an absorbing, readable, and opinionated overview of 20th-century culture which covers the arts, philosophy, science, and political movements. Featuring 35 percent new material, The American Century is the magnum opus of a historian, teacher, and author of great distinction. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Norman Cantor writes as if he were present for each event and movement, both large and small, since 1900, so clear is his analysis of society, culture, and politics. In this massive book Cantor tackles seemingly everything--whether modernism, folk music, psychoanalysis, or the atomic bomb--placing each in its proper context while cleverly intertwining themes and drawing intriguing comparisons. A distinguished scholar of history, sociology, and comparative history, Cantor deftly incorporates a staggering amount of information and observations into a coherent package that will challenges readers' perceptions and ideas. Spiced with wit and wisdom, The American Century is at turns brilliant, controversial, and fascinating.

From Library Journal

A revised and expanded version of Twentieth Century Culture, Modernism to Deconstruction (Lang, 1988), this is a wonderful summing up of Western civilization in the 20th century, with fascinating chapters on modernism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, fascism, and Postmodernism. This should be in all public and college libraries.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006017451X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060174514
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,681,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly broad and detailed; falls short on science, October 28, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Century: Varieties of Culture in Modern Times (Hardcover)

First, I enjoyed the book a great deal. It was incredibly thought-provoking and stimulating. Therefore, whatever its shortcomings, it is truly an impressive achievement and a remarkable tour de force.

My complaint is that the author appears seriously misinformed on some of the scientific subjects about which he writes. Granted, Cantor is not a natural scientist, and the book is not primarily about science. Still, what he chooses to include about chemistry and physics ought to be correct. For example (p. 19), Cantor is completely mistaken about the role of the periodic table in modern chemistry (or, as he would have it, the lack of a role); he even gives the wrong date for its discovery (no later than 1869, not 1890 as stated). I can be less categorical about a quotation of Einstein's purporting to show that Einstein knew his theory of relativity was akin to philosophical relativism; however, based on the content and date of the quote (1928) and on my knowledge that relativity retains the principle of causality, I think the quote is much more likely to be about quantum mechanics, about which Einstein (as Cantor notes) had serious misgivings.

Rather than belabor examples, I'll close by stating that these errors undermined the book's authority in my eyes. Granted, a book as opinionated as this generates a healthy skepticism in any critical reader: that is part of the book's attraction and, I assume, part of the author's intent. But by writing inaccurately about matters I know about (I am a chemist), Cantor makes me wonder which, if any, of the other subjects reflect similar misinformation.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars readable but superficial, January 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Century: Varieties of Culture in Modern Times (Paperback)

Today, New Year's Day 1999, I spent reading the first 170 pages or so of Cantor's book. Pages fly by; it is readable. But it is also superficial, sometimes factually wrong. At one point, the periodic table of elements is presented as an anachronism leftover from the Victorian age. Chemists today, he claims, would not recognize it. "... most chemists today would not even know the periodic table, nor would they have a use for it." (p. 19, paperback edition). That's sheer idiocy, as any practicing chemist would tell you. Inorganic chemistry is essentially the further development of the great periodic table.

My time today was not wasted - but beware.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars brilliant but disappointing book, July 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Century: Varieties of Culture in Modern Times (Paperback)

in his attempt to be comprehensive,norman cantor's survey of twentieth century thought is often superficial. his history of the jews, "the sacred chain", was deeper, more intellectually stimulating and infuriating.