Pleasant, but rather random history of US from post civil war to 1900. I enjoyed the capsule histories of Tammany Hall, Grover Cleveland, JP Morgan/Rockefeller, WJ Bryan and so forth- and glad to have read them, but author is at pains to point out how this is another win for capitalism. Ummm... ok. sometimes i guess that seemed true (vs. what? uncapitalism? socialism? communism? liberalism?) but it didn't particularly hang together for me as a theme. ( )

A stunning reminder that the obsession with capitalism, lack of welfare, corrupt politicians, stolen elections, voter suppression, and immoral court rulings were as recognizable and called out in the US of the 1800s as they are today. ( )

Excellent book that gets into the nuts and bolts of how capitalism grew in America in the second half of the 19th century. Covers urban and rural, rich and poor, capital and labor - does a wonderful job at touching on every way it impacted the norms of American life, government, cultural, and the economy. Only wish is that the author put forth stronger arguments/thesis about the bonuses/negatives these impacts had. ( )

Excellent, really brings the Gilded Age to life.
Various chapters discuss everything from politics to business to labor to city life, etc...
The highlight is a train chase scene. A freakin' train chase! ( )

Brand is an excellent writer. He has excellent style and pacing. American Colossus is an enjoyable read.

However, he is a lefty with all that entails. Like most, he has a checklist of subjects to cover whether or not they are germane to the topic at hand. The topic is the Gilded Age and the author's belief that there exists a dichotomy between capitalism and democracy. His characters and setting were the Capitalist Revolution, the great capitalists, the political leaders, and the reactions for and against them. Brand's brief treatment of gays didn't even bother linking to the overall subject in any way. The decline of the African-American status after Reconstruction was tenuously linked to the greater capitalist changes, mostly through the person of Booker T. Washington. Outside the Washington link, the other stories were not conducive to the subject matter or forwarding the narrative. I do feel he could have come at this from a different angle or different treatment and made their inclusion into the narrative more relevant, but that he didn't do so is a strike. If you're going to include it, do it right. The changes in the status of women were included in the general narrative by and large and not in asides or subsections like the gays and African Americans. It is evident that this information was more pertinent than the others and therefore more successfully included.

Finally, the author states from the beginning that democracy and capitalism are at odds at the most fundamental level and therefore contradictory. He states this as a fact and not as a belief. I do not share this belief, but I find it refreshing that it was stated in a straightforward manner. As Brand goes through his narrative every so often he has to circle back and attempt to tie his thesis in with the events. I did not find those attempts successful. Most seemed "bolted on." You can see the seams.

I appreciated that he didn't paint caricatures. Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, Grant, Roosevelt, etc. were treated as well-rounded human beings with complex motives. Regardless of how one views them, they DID contribute greatly to America and the world at large.

As a layman's narrative, I believe this is a good introduction to the Gilded Age. ( )