Critique de Grand Expectations par Josh

Meh, reads like a textbook. It's a conventional account of the era with a focus on major political actors, but it doesn't contain any great insights and didn't really change my view of the era in any meaningful way.

Random notes: * Patterson repeats the book's title many times - every time an American or group of Americans is disappointed in this era it's because of their GRAND EXPECTATIONS. * At one point he makes the dubious claim that the U.S. became the least racist country in the world during this era. This reflects a generally conservative view that racism WAS a problem in the U.S., but the passage of the civil rights act it was largely eliminated.