This book maintains Pulitzer Prize winning author Irwin Unger's challenging "inquiry approach," organizing each chapter around a specific question designed to challenge students/readers to consider the complexity of the past. KEY TOPICS: " The classic coverage has been both updated and expanded to offer a more contemporary approach while remaining an interesting and absorbing introduction to American history. This edition represents a condensed, streamlined version (about one-fourth shorter than its predecessor), presenting coverage in a brief format to both facilitate readability and reduce the price of the work to students.
Irwin Unger Knihy
A portrait of a great American dynasty and its legacy in business, technology, the arts, and philanthropy, this narrative chronicles the Guggenheim family, founded by Swiss immigrant Meyer Guggenheim. At their peak in the early twentieth century, they were among America's wealthiest families, recognized as the richest Jewish family globally after the Rothschilds. Unlike their peers in finance and trade, the Guggenheims amassed their fortune through mining and refining precious metals. Meyer's belief in family unity propelled his seven sons, led by Daniel, to expand their mining and smelting empire. However, as family solidarity waned and the original brothers passed away, the lack of male heirs became detrimental. In the third generation, Harry Guggenheim, Daniel's son, attempted to lead the family into new ventures like aviation and publishing but ultimately witnessed the decline of their business. Concurrently, the name "Guggenheim" evolved to symbolize art rather than industry, with Solomon and Peggy Guggenheim championing modernism and abstract expressionism in America. Solomon's museum has played a vital role in disseminating Western art globally. The family's legacy continues through notable members like publisher Roger Straus II and archaeologist Iris Love. Through meticulous research, Irwin Unger and Debi Unger present a remarkable story of the Guggenheim family's rise to prominence.