American Dreams: Review

The thesis of Brands American Dreams, a book about the post-war era and beyond, is that the Dream at the heart of the American experience did not find fulfillment in the euphoric sense of victory following the conclusion of WWII.[footnoteRef:1] Americans continued to dream, and often confronted various issuessuch as segregation, poverty, and the best way to spread democracy abroadbut by the 21st century they had also seemingly lost a sense of who they were as Americans. They lacked a coherent, cohesive identity, a sense of unity, a central purpose. The cultural changes of the post-war era had driven many Americans apart, and with the election of Obama, there was a sense of hope among some that unity and identity could be restored, and the all-powerful American Dream restored. [1: Henry William Brands,American Dreams: The United States Since 1945 (New York: Penguin Press, 2010), ix.]

Brands purpose in writing the book is to show how various American dreams have come to fruition in the US since 1945however, he also wants to show that these various dreams have led to conflict among the dreamers, as generation follows generation. For example, he begins his book with a depiction of the atomic bomb being tested in the American Southwest: it is a stunning moment that would change the course of history, as the US would use it twice on Japan in a show of power that could not be matched by any other nation on earth. This helped to secure Americas dominance in the post-war worldbut it also affected how Americans saw themselves and what they chose to pursue. Some wanted a return to traditional valuesothers wanted big changes. The culture began to shift dramatically in the 1960s after the assassination of the Kennedys, MLK Jr., and Malcolm X. For example, following MLKs assassination, there was the largest wave of riots to date and President Johnson, in an attempt to keep the peace, declared a national day of mourning in Kings honorbut it was simply too late.[footnoteRef:2] Few people had embodied the kind of Dream that these men embodiedKing, especially. His I Have a Dream Speech had profoundly touched on a central nerve in America with

His murder saw that nerve now exposed and bleeding profusely. JFK had touched on the Dream of American prosperity and peace with his pledge to get the US to the moon, to face down the Soviet spread of Communism, and to prevent nuclear war. His murder exposed the conflict simmering in the US below the surface. The same can be said of the murders of Bobby Kennedy and Malcolm X. Brands does not go into much detail on Malcolm Xs assassination having as much significance as MLKs, but it certainly did contribute to the sense of Black Nationalism that arose thereafter. Dreamers were coming into conflict with one another, with...…the Dream was really anything more than propaganda in the first place.

The main themes and ideas of the work are thus rooted in describing the problems that plagued America after WWIIthe tension of the Cold War, the violence of revolution, the role of the CIA in regime change, the arrival of liberal ideals, and the problems of terrorism. It shows how people like Carter tried to overcome some problems, but ran into more obstaclesi.e., Carters turn away from dtente with the Soviet after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which played right into the hands of the neoconservatives.[footnoteRef:8] [8: Henry William Brands,American Dreams: The United States Since 1945 (New York: Penguin Press, 2010), 211.]

Overall, the book is very approachable and quite easy to read and follow. It is not necessarily a book meant for academics but more for students and amateur historiansfor the average person who enjoys looking through new lenses at the past and what the threads of history can mean when interpreted through a sharp pair of eyes like those possessed by Brands. It is insightful, but it is likely only to appeal to people already interested in the past. In terms of bias, Brands does not seem to hold any: his views are objective and his writing is free of authorial intrusion. He is simply letting the story tell itself.

Bibliography

Brands, Henry William.American Dreams: The United States Since 1945. New York: Penguin