Godfrey Hodgson Livres

"As a young White House correspondent during the Kennedy and Johnson years in Washington, D.C., Godfrey Hodgson had a ringside seat covering the last two great presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, two men who could not have been more different. Kennedy's wit and dashing style, his renown as a national war hero, and his Ivy League Boston Brahmin background stood in sharp contrast to Lyndon Johnson's rural, humble origins in Texas, his blunt, forceful (but effective) political style, his lackluster career in the navy, and his grassroots populist instincts. Hodgson, a sharp-eyed witness throughout the tenure of these two great men, now offers us a new perspective enriched by his reflections since that time a half-century ago. He offers us a fresh, dispassionate contrast of these two great men by stripping away the myths to assess their achievements, ultimately asking whether Johnson has been misjudged. He suggests that LBJ be given his due by history, arguing that he was as great a president as, perhaps even greater than, JFK. The seed that grew into this book was the author's early perception that JFK's performance in office was largely overrated while LBJ's was consistently underrated. Hodgson asks key questions: If Kennedy had lived, would he have matched Johnson's ambitious Great Society achievements? Would he have avoided Johnson's disastrous commitment in Vietnam? Would Nixon have been elected his successor, and if not, how would American politics and parties look today? Hodgson combines lively anecdotes with sober analyses to arrive at new conclusions about the U.S. presidency and two of the most charismatic figures ever to govern from the Oval Office."--Publisher's description

Focusing on the past twenty-five years, Godfrey Hodgson critiques the prevailing belief that free-market capitalism is essential for political and cultural democracy. He examines the rise of "the conservative ascendancy" in America, revealing its significant influence on the political landscape. This work promises to be a crucial political history, challenging established views and exploring the implications of capitalism's dominance in shaping American politics.

Set against the backdrop of 1955 Paris, the narrative follows Bernard Cornfeld, who transforms his modest beginnings into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise by leveraging American expatriates and servicemen as sales agents and customers. With a catchy pitch, "Do you sincerely want to be rich?", Cornfeld's story illustrates a blend of ambition and clever marketing strategies. The book, crafted by an award-winning team from the London Sunday Times, offers a captivating exploration of American entrepreneurial spirit and the complexities of his business tactics.

The book explores the transformative period in American history from the end of World War II to Richard Nixon's resignation, with a particular emphasis on the 1960s. It challenges prevalent myths about this era, presenting the concept of a "liberal consensus" in the 1950s, where conservatives accepted liberal domestic welfare policies while most liberals aligned with conservative Cold War containment strategies. Through this lens, it offers a nuanced understanding of the political landscape during these pivotal years.

Martin Luther King left an indelible mark on 20th-century American history through his leadership of the non-violent civil rights campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s. The election of Barack Obama as America's first black president in November 2008 has spawned a renewed interest in King's role as an agent and prophet of political change in the United States. Writing with verve and clarity but also with acute insight, Godfrey Hodgson traces King's life and career from his birth in Atlanta in 1929, through the campaigns that made possible the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to his assassination in Memphis in 1968. Hodgson sheds light on every aspect of an extraordinary life: the Black Baptist milieu in which King grew up, his theology and political philosophy, his physical and moral courage, his insistence on the injustice of inequality, his campaigning energy, his repeated sexual infidelities. Martin Luther King is a rounded and fascinating portrait of a Christian prophet and the most brilliant orator of his age, the central message of whose life and ministry was that Americans would never be fully free until they accepted that black and white Americans must be equal.

"As a young White House correspondent during the Kennedy and Johnson years in Washington, D.C., Godfrey Hodgson had a ringside seat covering the last two great presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, two men who could not have been more different. Kennedy's wit and dashing style, his renown as a national war hero, and his Ivy League Boston Brahmin background stood in sharp contrast to Lyndon Johnson's rural, humble origins in Texas, his blunt, forceful (but effective) political style, his lackluster career in the navy, and his grassroots populist instincts. Hodgson, a sharp-eyed witness throughout the tenure of these two great men, now offers us a new perspective enriched by his reflections since that time a half-century ago. He offers us a fresh, dispassionate contrast of these two great men by stripping away the myths to assess their achievements, ultimately asking whether Johnson has been misjudged. He suggests that LBJ be given his due by history, arguing that he was as great a president as, perhaps even greater than, JFK. The seed that grew into this book was the author's early perception that JFK's performance in office was largely overrated while LBJ's was consistently underrated. Hodgson asks key questions: If Kennedy had lived, would he have matched Johnson's ambitious Great Society achievements? Would he have avoided Johnson's disastrous commitment in Vietnam? Would Nixon have been elected his successor, and if not, how would American politics and parties look today? Hodgson combines lively anecdotes with sober analyses to arrive at new conclusions about the U.S. presidency and two of the most charismatic figures ever to govern from the Oval Office."--Publisher's description

History; 20th century; economy; sports; Roosevelt; Olympic Games; Hitler; Nazis.

This book provides a unique insight into the 20th century from the point of view of its defining theme - the role of ordinary people in shaping history. First hand accounts illustrate the events which have had the greatest impact

Includes ten sketches of European cities, each of which has contributed something to the ferment, the still dangerous brew of European civilization. Each will have something, even if only a distinct and rich way of life of its own, to contribute in the future.

Kniha poskytuje jedinečný pohled na dvacáté století z hlediska svého určujícího tématu - měnící se úlohy lidu. Publikace je věnována tomu, jak události působí na život lidu a jak lid sám formuje vlastní budoucnost od nových obzorů, poskytovaných technikou na úsvitu století, až po naše rostoucí obavy v očekávání nového tisíciletí. Na základě této knihy vznikl stejnojmenný dokumentární seriál britské televizní společnosti BBC. Seriál převzala také Česká televize. Kapitoly: Čas naděje-Přelom století, Vražedná pole-Zkušenost první světové války, Rudá vlajka-Do Ruska přichází bolševismus, Prohraný mír-Meziválečná léta, U pásu-Důsledky hromadné výroby, Sportovní horečka-Rostoucí přitažlivost sportu, Fronta na chleba-Léta hospodářského úpadku, Velký únik-Svět filmu, Panská rasa-Vláda nacistů v Německu, Totální válka-Zkušenost druhé světové války, Báječný nový svět-Léta studené války, Rozmach-Léta rozkvětu, Svobodu ihned-Boj za nezávislost.