James T. Patterson has 3 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is Grand Expectations.
Grand Expectations
Summary
Grand Expectations weaves the major political, cultural, and economic events of the period into a superb portrait of America from 1945 through Watergate. Read with warmth by Robert Fass, who previously narrated Oxford’s Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood, this history portrays the amazing growth after World War II rallied an upbeat mood and grander and grander expectations as the era progressed. As one of four new volumes offered by Audible, Grand Expectations brings to audio one part of an elegant American history that was conceived of and originally edited by C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter more than 50 years ago. Please note: The individual volumes of the series have not been published in historical order. Grand Expectations is number X in The Oxford History of the United States.
©1996 James T. Patterson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
Restless Giant
Summary
Following up Grand Expectations in the Oxford History of the United States, Restless Giant provides a crisp, concise assessment of the 27 years between the resignation of Richard Nixon and the election of George W. Bush, in a sweeping narrative that seamlessly weaves together social, cultural, political, economic, and international developments. In exploring a wide range of cultural, social, and economic concerns, Patterson and engrossing narrator Robert Fass show how the persistence of racial tensions, high divorce rates, alarm over crime, and urban decay all led many writers to portray this era as one of decline. Restless Giant is the 11th volume of the Oxford History of the United States, which includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times best seller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The Atlantic Monthly has praised it as “state of the art” and “the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship.”
©2005 James T. Patterson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy
Summary
Many people were elated when Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in May 1954, the ruling that struck down state-sponsored racial segregation in America's public schools. Thurgood Marshall, chief attorney for the black families that launched the litigation, exclaimed later, "I was so happy, I was numb." The novelist Ralph Ellison wrote, "another battle of the Civil War has been won. The rest is up to us and I'm very glad. What a wonderful world of possibilities are unfolded for the children!" Here, in a concise, compelling narrative, Bancroft Prize-winning historian James T. Patterson takes listeners through the dramatic case and its 50-year aftermath. A wide range of characters animates the story, from the little-known African-Americans who dared to challenge Jim Crow with lawsuits; to Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Justice himself; to Earl Warren, who shepherded a fractured Court to a unanimous decision. Others include segregationist politicians; Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson, and Nixon; and controversial Supreme Court justices, such as William Rehnquist and Clarence Thomas. Most Americans still see Brown as a triumph - but was it? Patterson shrewdly explores the provocative questions that still swirl around the case. Could the Court - or President Eisenhower - have done more to ensure compliance with Brown? Did the decision touch off the modern civil rights movement? How useful are court-ordered busing and affirmative action against racial segregation? To what extent has racial mixing affected the academic achievement of black children? Where, indeed, do we go from here to realize the expectations of Marshall, Ellison, and others in 1954? The Pivotal Moments in American History series seeks to unite the old and the new history, combining the insights and techniques of recent historiography with the power of traditional narrative. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2001 James T. Patterson (P)2011 Audible, Inc.