Author: Louis Menand
In his follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Metaphysical Club, Louis Menand offers a new intellectual and cultural history of the postwar years.
The Free World “is a sweeping survey that looks at how and why perceptions about the US, both domestically and internationally, changed so completely during these years,” said a review on goodreads.com.
“This is a smart, fascinating and serious book of intellectual history. Menand is a sprightly and clear writer,” it added.
David Oshinsky said in a review for The New York Times: “The evenhanded approach of Menand is like a breath of fresh air. The Free World sparkles. Fully original, beautifully written, it covers the interchange of arts and ideas between the United States and Europe in the decades following World War II.”
Oshinsky added: “Menand is no cheerleader; his assessment of America’s failures can be withering. But his larger point, backed by a mountain of research and reams of thoughtful commentary, is that American culture ascended in this era for the right reasons.”