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America After the Cold War: The First Thirty Years
Listening Length 5 hours and 47 minutes
History is filled with surprises, not the least of which, was the very idea of America. Who would have ever imagined that a scruffy backwater of states could defeat one of the world’s great empires, forge an identity, and become a global superpower? Most surveys of American history show you the stunning rise of America and take you through the Cold War, a story that includes the tumultuous conflict in Vietnam and the cultural upheaval of the 1960s.
The 30 years of contemporary history following the fall of the Soviet Union, however, tend to get short shrift, perhaps because this period of history is still being written, or perhaps because the end of the Cold War is a natural stopping point, an inflection point when one story ends and something new - something unpredictable - begins. Nonetheless, events of today have been profoundly shaped by the past several decades, and one must understand this recent history to understand the world today.
Contemporary life is changing so rapidly that it can be breathtaking to take a step back and look at the cohesive “story” from 1990 to 2019, but this is precisely what America After the Cold War: The First Thirty Years offers. Taught by esteemed professor and Great Courses favorite Dr. Patrick Allitt of Emory University, these 12 fascinating lectures tie all the threads of contemporary life together to give you a rich understanding of the world we live in now.
America has always been something of a paradox - a colony turned superpower, a productivity dynamo with a widening gulf between rich and poor, and a land of the free that has abetted inequality and racial injustice. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it seemed the US was poised for a new era of growth, equality, and peace, yet history is messy. The story of the United States is ongoing, but by synthesizing events and illuminating them within a context, Professor Allitt offers a fascinating exploration of contemporary America.
History is filled with surprises, not the least of which, was the very idea of America. Who would have ever imagined that a scruffy backwater of states could defeat one of the world’s great empires, forge an identity, and become a global superpower? Most surveys of American history show you the stunning rise of America and take you through the Cold War, a story that includes the tumultuous conflict in Vietnam and the cultural upheaval of the 1960s.
The 30 years of contemporary history following the fall of the Soviet Union, however, tend to get short shrift, perhaps because this period of history is still being written, or perhaps because the end of the Cold War is a natural stopping point, an inflection point when one story ends and something new - something unpredictable - begins. Nonetheless, events of today have been profoundly shaped by the past several decades, and one must understand this recent history to understand the world today.
Contemporary life is changing so rapidly that it can be breathtaking to take a step back and look at the cohesive “story” from 1990 to 2019, but this is precisely what America After the Cold War: The First Thirty Years offers. Taught by esteemed professor and Great Courses favorite Dr. Patrick Allitt of Emory University, these 12 fascinating lectures tie all the threads of contemporary life together to give you a rich understanding of the world we live in now.
America has always been something of a paradox - a colony turned superpower, a productivity dynamo with a widening gulf between rich and poor, and a land of the free that has abetted inequality and racial injustice. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it seemed the US was poised for a new era of growth, equality, and peace, yet history is messy. The story of the United States is ongoing, but by synthesizing events and illuminating them within a context, Professor Allitt offers a fascinating exploration of contemporary America.
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published February 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 9, 2020
America After the Cold War: The First Thirty Years is a good introduction to modern US History, but it is clear that Professor Allitt is not entirely comfortable talking about this era. Some of his remarks are superficial, and it is clear that he either did not read, or did not give consideration to, sympathetic or third party accounts of the Iraq and Afghan wars. In that, he seems like a well informed editorialist. To be entirely fair, the views he shares here are views I shared with him a decade ago, even half a decade ago. I've only grown less harshly critical when I studied under, met with, and worked with people involved in those decisions, read their words, and listened to their side. Impractical for most, and this wasn't his key area of expertise anyways.
Allitt himself is a good man, a capable instructor, and knows some parts of this era exceedingly well (though he does have the good excuse of having been alive during the entire period). I suppose that's the root problem. He's a good instructor teaching a course he doesn't have mastery over, and you'll see some issues show up given what he chooses to discuss. I would have liked to hear more about social and economic changes, as well as more on institutional transformations. Maybe some focus on the US' relationship to the external world outside of the field of war?
Honestly, these past thirty years could have been one of his largest courses, in large part due to the sheer enormity and immediacy of these concerns, and very little distance to provide perspective on what is, and is not, defining. Instead we get a handful of lectures, under 6 hours of material, and the feeling like we've taken a first step, rather than received an a complete survey.
It's good, but frustratingly surface-level and outside of the author's principal area of expertise.
78/100
Allitt himself is a good man, a capable instructor, and knows some parts of this era exceedingly well (though he does have the good excuse of having been alive during the entire period). I suppose that's the root problem. He's a good instructor teaching a course he doesn't have mastery over, and you'll see some issues show up given what he chooses to discuss. I would have liked to hear more about social and economic changes, as well as more on institutional transformations. Maybe some focus on the US' relationship to the external world outside of the field of war?
Honestly, these past thirty years could have been one of his largest courses, in large part due to the sheer enormity and immediacy of these concerns, and very little distance to provide perspective on what is, and is not, defining. Instead we get a handful of lectures, under 6 hours of material, and the feeling like we've taken a first step, rather than received an a complete survey.
It's good, but frustratingly surface-level and outside of the author's principal area of expertise.
78/100
May 21, 2022
What it says on the tin can. A short, and thus obviously at times frustratingly superficial, look at US history over the first three decades since the end of the Cold War. If you're looking for lots of depth and detail, you are of course unlikely to find it in a course this brief, but Allitt offers a good overview.
September 17, 2022
A good (and balanced/non-partisan) overview of the 1990-2020 period. I lived through this and remember most of it pretty clearly, and nothing was jarringly badly presented or missing. For someone in their 20s or early 30s (or not from the US), this is a great overview of the period. For me a lot of tech-specific stuff was even more relevant (crypto wars 2.0 in the 90s, cyberpunks, more about dotcom and Internet infrastructure, rise of SaaS and FAANG, Microsoft antitrust, comeback of Apple, rise of mobile, rise of AI, rise of social media/monopolies, cryptocurrency, crypto wars 3.0), but that's specialty interest.
May 12, 2023
Other Great Courses cover centuries of history in not many more lectures. So why does this particular course, which spans 30 years, seem so frenetic and rushed? Well, a *lot* of significant things happened in these years. And it’s almost as if Dr. Allitt tries to make passing reference to every major event, development, and personality from the last three decades of American history. As such, at times, it seems like he’s just reading a list. An introductory survey of this topic easily warrants twice as many lectures. Overall, this one was a disappointment.
June 10, 2022
Mostly just a list of events, most of which you will already be aware of.
February 1, 2024
I’d come across Professor Patrick Allitt before, whilst working my way through a number of the excellent American history courses available on Audible. Born in England, I continue to find a little incongruous to listen to his Derbyshire lilt talking authoritatively on this subject. But his enthusiasm and obvious knowledge do tend to make his lectures compulsively listenable.
The only issue I have with this set is that the history is just too recent and as a result I found that, for the most part, it simply provided a reiteration of news I’d already absorbed. To be fair, Allitt does a pretty good job of refreshing my memory on this recent period and he also provides some additional insight and analysis new to me. But overall I found this set to provide pretty slim pickings compared to other courses I’ve listened to.
The only issue I have with this set is that the history is just too recent and as a result I found that, for the most part, it simply provided a reiteration of news I’d already absorbed. To be fair, Allitt does a pretty good job of refreshing my memory on this recent period and he also provides some additional insight and analysis new to me. But overall I found this set to provide pretty slim pickings compared to other courses I’ve listened to.
May 12, 2022
Short but insightful; it's fun looking into a mirror of sorts and to reflect on where America has been. As a 26 year old, much of this book covers events that I was either absent for or too young to remember. Other events are among my lived experiences but viewing them in the rear view mirror helps me adjust my perspective for the better. Dr. Allitt is a great narrator and provides balanced, appropriate commentary.
July 1, 2022
A standard overview. Gets 4 stars instead of 3 for being balanced on controversial contemporary topics (education, inequality, race, foreign policy).
October 28, 2022
More a summary than an analysis.
October 30, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. I feel old because I knew most everyone discussed and remember most of the events, but I'd forgotten much of this and appreciated the refresher.
December 6, 2022
A good Birds Eye view of the last 30 some odd years. Thorough in its breadth and superficial in its depth.
March 24, 2023
Interesting synopsis of 1990-2020 (released right before CoVid). Without much distance from later events, it feels more summary than true critical history, but I think this identifies good trends.
July 14, 2023
This isnt what I thought it was unfortunately. I liked the beginning but then the middle and end was all over the place
February 9, 2024
as someone post grad with a political science degree,, I will simply never speak ill of the great courses series
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews