Michael Kazin: Historian of American Politics and Social Movements
Author. Scholar. Public intellectual.
A Georgetown University historian, Emeritus editor of Dissent, and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His books have received the Elise Boulding Prize and been named Editor's Choice by The New York Times Book Review.
Essays & CommentaryAs a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Nation, Dissent, and other publications, Michael Kazin brings historical perspective to the political debates of today.
BooksMichael Kazin has written seven books and edited three on subjects ranging from the American left, populism, movements for labor and for peace, and the potential and limits of democratic politics.
WHAT IT TOOK TO WIN
“Outstanding.”
—James T. Kloppenberg, Commonweal
"Kazin’s account of the party’s history should be essential reading for anyone hoping to chart its future."
—Eric Foner, The London Review of Books
AMERICA DIVIDED
“A knowing and highly readable narrative”
—Evan Thomas, Washington Post
WAR AGAINST WAR
“Kazin ends War Against War with a salute to those who search for peace. He deserves praise for portraying that quest with clear-eyed honesty and rigor. Maybe that kind of clarity could help keep us out of wars to come.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
THE POPULIST PERSUASION
“Michael Kazin provides a rich and thoughtful account of the evolution of populist rhetoric on the left and the right in American politics in the past century.”
—The New Republic
“Kazin shows populism’s canny ability to mix homespun rhetoric and political savvy. The book explains something very important in American life with scrupulous fairness and a keen eye for the humanizing detail.”
—Wall Street Journal
AMERICAN DREAMERS
“One of the left’s most eloquent spokesmen, Kazin presents his book as an unapologetic attempt to give the left a history it can celebrate”
—Beverly Gage, The New York Times
THE CONCISE PRINCETON ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN POLITICAL HISTORY
“Offers accessible, thorough, and enlightening coverage of political history in the U.S. from colonial times through the ‘conservative ascendancy’…Highly recommended.”
—Booklist
A GODLY HERO
“Instructive, illuminating–engagingly written. . . . Bryan emerges from Kazin’s new biography as the founding father of the modern Democratic Party and maybe even of modern American politics.”
—The Boston Globe
BARONS OF LABOR
“Kazin's book is about far more than the construction industry: it also illuminates the social and political history of San Francisco. . . . Gracefully written and adorned with evocative portraits of local political and labor leaders, Barons of Labor is absorbing reading as well as a fine piece of history.”
—The Nation