Everything is Changing: Contemporary U.S. Movements in Historical Perspective

(Hardback)

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Description

Although women's rights, disarmament initiatives, and other contemporary social movements receive substantial critical attention, no new work on American reformism as a whole has been published since the late 1960s. In this wide-ranging history, David De Leon brings us up-to-date and offers fresh insights on the social transformations that continue to reshape our society. He traces the evolution of modern reform movements, analyzing their leadership, goals, and achievements, and presents selections from speeches and writings that vividly capture the reforming spirit.

Reviews

Everything is Changing is well illustrated . . . DeLeon's writing is interesting and vibrant. He holds the reader's attention by forcing him/her to consider the issue under review. I would encourage all scholars with an interest in the historical perspective of contemporary social issues to read this monograph and insist it find a place in their college/university libraries.-History
Everything Is Changing may be disturbing to some; its themes are controversial and current. De Leon (Howard University), who wrote The American as Anarchist: Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism (CH, Sep'79), and coedited with Howard J. Erlich Reinventing Anarchy: What Are Anarchist Thinking These Days (1979) has compiled a series of essays focusing upon the history of several sociopolitical movements. A stimulating writer and a meticulous researcher, De Leon presents topics that range from ecological issues, racism, and sexual diversity, to the elderly as activists. Accompanying each section of the book are timely drawings or, in some instances, cartoons. There is also an up-to-date bibliography, and there are addresses of "contemporary sources of information" (including activist "political organizations") for the reader to consult. De Leon, admitting that historians cannot be objective or detached social observers, justifies his interpretation of past and present by quoting E. H. Carr, who wrote "historians are a part of history."-Choice
"Everything is Changing is well illustrated . . . DeLeon's writing is interesting and vibrant. He holds the reader's attention by forcing him/her to consider the issue under review. I would encourage all scholars with an interest in the historical perspective of contemporary social issues to read this monograph and insist it find a place in their college/university libraries."-History
"Everything Is Changing may be disturbing to some; its themes are controversial and current. De Leon (Howard University), who wrote The American as Anarchist: Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism (CH, Sep'79), and coedited with Howard J. Erlich Reinventing Anarchy: What Are Anarchist Thinking These Days (1979) has compiled a series of essays focusing upon the history of several sociopolitical movements. A stimulating writer and a meticulous researcher, De Leon presents topics that range from ecological issues, racism, and sexual diversity, to the elderly as activists. Accompanying each section of the book are timely drawings or, in some instances, cartoons. There is also an up-to-date bibliography, and there are addresses of "contemporary sources of information" (including activist "political organizations") for the reader to consult. De Leon, admitting that historians cannot be objective or detached social observers, justifies his interpretation of past and present by quoting E. H. Carr, who wrote "historians are a part of history.""-Choice

Author Bio

DAVID De LEON is Associate Professor of History at Howard University.