First published 1976
William Manchester examines America from the end of World War II through the mid-1970s in this collection of journalism. The historian and biographer covers major events that shaped the postwar era, from McCarthyism to Watergate to the Vietnam War. The title essay reveals Manchester's personal struggle with Jackie Kennedy, who sued him over his book The Death of a President. That work won awards but cost Manchester dearly in legal battles with JFK's widow. Manchester brings the perspective of a distinguished career to these pieces, drawing on insights that later earned him the National Humanities Medal and Abraham Lincoln Literary Award. The collection spans 25 years of American history through the eyes of a writer who witnessed the nation's most turbulent decades. Manchester shows how major political scandals and cultural shifts affected ordinary Americans during this transformative period.
Genres: history, essays, 20th-century, american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, journalism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: America
Period: 1950-1975
432 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown & Company