Customer Reviews

Stand, Columbia: A History of Columbia University in the City of New York, 1754-2004

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got the book at my 30th Columbia College reunion last year, but have just finished it. It made me super-nostalgic for my college days. I feel that, while the first part of the book, up to 1901 when Nicholas Murray Butler took over as President, is somewhat dry, the second part, consisting of the 20th Century, is insightful, immediate, and riveting. I was there from 1970-1974, and the description of the campus unrest in 1968, 1970, and 1972 is right on the money. The fact that Prof. McCaughey could get oral histories from approximately 1950 or so through to the present meant that he could analyse events through considering the reports and opinions of the major players in that time. I would recommend this book to all alumni/ae and former faculty, administrators, and anyone who would appreciate an intimate portrait, a biography even, of Columbia. And, as the Columbia fight song mentioned in the title of this review concludes, as for Columbia, "We Own New York!" This book tells everyone why that's true.

Like the previous reviewer, I too, a newcomer to Columbia faculty, was curious about the history of this great ivy league university -- how President Butler dominated Columbia for 50 years, the difficult Eisenhower presidency, and the student riots of the late 1960s -- and bought McCaughey's massive history sight unseen. Big mistake. Talk about a boring pedantic tome. Fortunately, I've found a better book written by a far superior writer: "Eisenhower at Columbia," by Travis Beal Jacobs. Now there's a page turner, with much background and history of Columbia in living color. Now if only Jacobs will write a sequel.....

I read "Stand, Columbia" with much eagerness, but I discovered that the book is hardly reader friendly. The writer's talent as a historian is strong, and his research into the university's history is excellent. But what's lacking is a sense of cohesiveness and character. What makes Columbia unique? Where do all these facts and details lead us? "Stand, Columbia" ultimately appears as if it were commissioned by Columbia University Press to be little more than a sugar-coated celebration of the institution's 250th birthday.

I think the book is for a very isolated audience. If you want a book for the coffee table as a overview of Columbia's history it would be fine but probably best for grads and current staff/faculty interested in such. Perhaps it also fills a niche for researchers looking at such history.

If you fall into this category I think the book is a 5 star book.

If you have not attended of have special interest in Columbia the book may be a slog. It is not a volume you will probably enjoy sitting with with a cup a coffee - it is better for the coffee table. As a read I would probably give it a 3 star.

If you have little interest in Columbia - hmmm, but want a book on Columbia's Impact perhaps would make a better read. See link below and happy selection (but also for an isolated audience), all literature is worth a go:


Living Legacies at Columbia