Too Good a Town: William Allen White, Community, and the Emerging Rhetoric of Middle America Contributor(s): Agran, Edward G. (Author) |
|||
ISBN: 1557285217 ISBN-13: 9781557285218 Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions Published: July 1999 Annotation: For fifty years, William Allen White, as a reporter and later as the long-time editor of the Emporia Gazette, wrote of his small town and its Middle Western values. By tailoring his writing to the emerging urban middle class of the early twentieth century, he won his "gospel of Emporia" a nationwide audience and left a lasting impact on the way Middle America defines itself. Investigating White's life and his extensive writings, Edward Gale Agran explores the dynamic thought of one of America's best-read and most-respected social commentators. Agran shows clearly how White honed his style and transformed the myth of conquering the Western frontier into what became the twentieth-century idea of community building. Once a confidante of and advisor to Theodore Roosevelt, White addressed, and reflected in his work, all the great social and political oscillations of his time -- progressivism; isolationism and internationalism; prohibition; and, later, the civil rights movement. Again and again, he asked the question "What's the matter?" of his times and townspeople, then found the middle ground. With great care and discernment, Agran gathers the many strains of White's messages, demonstrating one writer's pivotal contribution to our idea of what it means to be American. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures - Biography & Autobiography | Historical - Biography & Autobiography | Editors, Journalists, Publishers |
Dewey: B |
LCCN: 98-19839 |
Physical Information: 0.83" H x 6.09" W x 9.04" L (0.94 lbs) 239 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 1851-1899 - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Sex & Gender - Masculine |
Features: Illustrated |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: For fifty years, William Allen White, first as a reporter and later as the long-time editor of the Emporia Gazette, wrote of his small town and its Mid-American values. By tailoring his writing to the emerging urban middle class of the early twentieth century, he won his "gospel of Emporia" a nationwide audience and left a lasting impact on he way America defines itself. Investigating White's life and his extensive writings, Edward Gale Agran explores the dynamic thought of one of America's best-read and most-respected social commentators. Agran shows clearly how White honed his style and transformed the myth of conquering the western frontier into what became the twentieth-century ideal of community building. Once a confidante of and advisor to Theodore Roosevelt, White addressed, and reflected in his work, all the great social and political oscillations of his time--urbanization and industrialism, populism, and progressivism, isolationism internationalism, Prohibition, and New Deal reform. Again and again, he asked the question "What's the matter?" about his times and townspeople, then found the middle ground. With great care and discernment, Agran gathers the man strains of White's messages, demonstrating one writer's pivotal contribution to our idea of what it means to be an American. |
Customer ReviewsSubmit your own review |
To tell a friend about this book, you must Sign In First! |