The era of Franklin D.Roosevelt and the New Deal was a time of depression and despair; economic rebirth and renewal; and mobilization for a war in both the East and the West. Richard Polenberg's introduction to this new volume provides an engaging historical and biographical overview of the period by focusing on one of its key actors. The biographical introduction is followed by over 45 topically arranged primary sources that provide students with a rich context in which to understand FDR's multifaceted role as president; reformer; policymaker; and commander-in-chief. The readings thoroughly cover issues of race and ethnicity; profile First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; and explore the New Deal's transformative agencies for their economic and social ramifications and the constitutional revolution they triggered. A chronology; questions for consideration; a selected bibliography; and an index are also provided.
#318252 in Books Sunshine; Glenn S. 2009-08-03 2009-08-03Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .63 x 5.47l; .65 #File Name: 0310292301240 pagesWhy You Think the Way You Do The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great surpriseBy AdamI was looking for a worldview title. I'd already read Sire and Pearcey and Naugle and Nash; and a few others. So I saw this and ordered it; and I quickly found it supplied material necessary for worldview understanding that the other great worldview books didn't quite go into; at least with the scope Sunshine's book does. It is basically an overview history of ideas; from ancient Greece and Rome to now. Worldview analysis will always be about the history of ideas to a good extent; with an emphasis on the practical nature of worldviews themselves. Thus to have this actual overview of the history of ideas is valuable. I really learned new things from this book; and I was also legitimately challenged to see some things differently or more clearly. I put it at the same level as the classic worldview books mentioned above.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Must-Read For Those Who Seek UnderstandingBy Ryan Thomas JohnsonWe've all heard the saying; "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." This book typifies the kind of thinking that is necessary to recover the components of society that we have regretfully lost. "Why You Think the Way You Do" is an incredible exposition of history the ideas philosophies that contributed to the Western worldview. I am so thankful for Dr. Sunshine's honest evaluation clear understanding of history for those like me who struggle to read it.14 of 15 people found the following review helpful. Great ... until it's notBy Frank SteinSunshine does a decent job scanning the surface of the Western worldview foundations. It's fairly plain he's a Christian apologist throughout his worldview weaving; but; at least initially; it rarely detracts from his historical survey. After all; to a large extent; the development of Christianity is the development of Western culture.It isn't until we reach chapter nine; "Modernity and its Discontents;" that Sunshine's subjectivity clouds our reasonably objective and heretofore unimpeded historical sketch. Around p. 166 Sunshine gets strangely hostile to Darwinism and awkwardly defensive of religious faith; generally. You get the sense that the enlightening and entertaining lecture you were hearing just took a turn for the worse and morphed into some weird; cultish diatribe against ... against what? Relax; Dr. Sunshine. Faith is faith and science is science. Be proud and confident in your faith; if you choose to have it -- don't be weird about it. And if you think Darwinism is also a faith -- so what? There are many abstractions propping up the Western worldview that are precisely principles of faith -- who cares? In any case; Sunshine's up-to-that-point entertaining book becomes somewhat off-putting.Adding to the awkwardness are the handful of instances where Sunshine uses "straw man" arguments for positions he dislikes; this happens far too frequently for his book to be taken completely seriously. Nor is Sunshine averse to ad hominem attacks: after offering an amusingly and alarmingly shallow "explanation" of Nietzsche's thought; Sunshine quips that "It is no accident that Nietzsche died in an insane asylum" (178). Are you kidding me; Dr. Sunshine? For better or worse; Nietzsche is one of the most influential thinkers in Western history -- yet an unknown like Sunshine feels the need to attack Nietzsche the man (or invalid) instead of having the stones to substantively confront Nietzsche's thought. Interesting approach; Dr. Sunshine. But I wonder; whose name will endure in the annals of history: Friedrich Nietzsche or Glenn Sunshine?Sunshine also has a crudely amateurish understanding of existentialism. He calls it "nihilism-lite" and claims it "means that we are radically free to determine what we do and who we are" (178). He utterly brushes off existentialism as a consequential mode of philosophical thought. Moreover; he ignores the existential thread that links (theistic) Augustine to its 20th-century incarnation; likewise; he makes no mention of the brilliant theistic existentialist; Kierkegaard. Instead; Sunshine merely notes Woody Allen as a "champion" of existentialism. To Sunshine; existentialism merely means "atheism." That's just woefully wrong.And I have to add this: Sunshine implies that Western morals didn't exist prior to Christianity (209)... By this point in the book; you'll be moving from your "he's a harmless Christian apologetic" to "this guy's using his faith as a launch pad for applying reason."Finally; while the book is decent as an overview of the Western worldview; it's not a scholarly work by any means. It lacks substantive citations; leaving the reader to only assume Sunshine either knows what he's talking about or is simply blowing smoke. Ultimately; it's best used as an informal introduction or orienting reference -- only if one takes his faith-based reasoning with a grain of salt.
