In the newest volume in the award-winning Penguin History of American Life series; James R. Barrett chronicles how a new urban American identity was forged in the streets; saloons; churches; and workplaces of the American city. This process of "Americanization from the bottom up" was deeply shaped; Barrett argues; by the Irish. From Lower Manhattan to the South Side of Chicago to Boston's North End; newer waves of immigrants and African Americans found it nearly impossible to avoid the Irish. While historians have emphasized the role of settlement houses and other mainstream institutions in Americanizing immigrants; Barrett makes the original case that the culture absorbed by newcomers upon reaching American shores had a distinctly Hibernian cast. By 1900; there were more people of Irish descent in New York City than in Dublin; more in the United States than in all of Ireland. But in the late nineteenth century; the sources of immigration began to shift; to southern and eastern Europe and beyond. Whether these newcomers wanted to save their souls; get a drink; find a job; or just take a stroll in the neighborhood; they had to deal with Irish Americans. Barrett reveals how the Irish vacillated between a progressive and idealistic impulse toward their fellow immigrants and a parochial defensiveness stemming from the hostility earlier generations had faced upon their own arrival in America. They imparted racist attitudes toward African Americans; they established ethnic "deadlines" across city neighborhoods; they drove other immigrants from docks; factories; and labor unions. Yet the social teachings of the Catholic Church; a sense of solidarity with the oppressed; and dark memories of poverty and violence in both Ireland and America ushered in a wave of progressive political activism that eventually embraced other immigrants. Drawing on contemporary sociological studies and diaries; newspaper accounts; and Irish American literature; The Irish Way illustrates how the interactions between the Irish and later immigrants on the streets; on the vaudeville stage; in Catholic churches; and in workplaces helped forge a multi-ethnic American identity that has a profound legacy in the USA today.
#83409 in Books Daniel Yergin 2012-09-26 2012-09-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.38 x 1.50 x 5.45l; 1.52 #File Name: 0143121944832 pagesThe Quest Energy Security and the Remaking of the Modern World
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A Must Read for young scientists--before the NEA turns your brains into mush!By George MearsFair; factual; and well written. Excellent introduction to the world of energy for any adult; but even more valuable to any budding scientist in engineering; chemistry; biology--or even to the liberal arts majors in political science who only use calculators to compute tips at Starbucks. The geopolitics of the energy industry are huge. Few other books come close to walking one through the various energy alternatives in a readable and informative way while touching on both the positives and the negatives of the various alternatives. While Mr. Yergin hints at the fact that most of the environmental support of green alternatives is based far more on hype and manipulation of politicians and the media than on the economics and the science; I feel that more information on the economics of the alternatives would be helpful to put the real alternatives in perspective. Governments selecting winners and losers based on politics really distorts the incentive system and wastes time and fortunes in the process. But the author did conclude that most of the green alternatives aren't ready for prime time.But the invaluable contribution of this book is in highlighting many of the challenges with the energy alternatives in such a way that it could ignite the entrepreneural energies of young scientists who may have the energies to come up with solutions. Solving a huge problem in one area of energy which really doesn't have the potential to supply energy on a major scale is nice. But solving obstacles to major advances in energy production (environmental breakthroughs; capacity; energy storage; transmission distribution) could be game changers! Such research could end up powering nations and new industries. The individual or teams that can solve the problems around purifying or reusing return fracking fluids containing high levels of salts will and should end up fabulously wealthy because this will provide an alternative to high pressure injection wells that currently are the only realistic option for disposal. And deep high pressure injections wells were first identified as sources of localized tremors in some geologically active areas going back to the 1960s when they were being used throughout the country to dispose of some hazardous wastes.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating readBy Susanna HutchesonThis book is very well written and organized. It's full of the history of energy; especially oil and coal. And it integrates that with the current situation.The author believes we have an adequate supply of oil and he lays out his reasoning. While I was a believer in Peak oil before reading the book; I now can see why we likely have enough for a long time. Not forever perhaps. But a long time. The reason? New and expanding technology that makes finding the oil and getting it easier and more reliable and; more importantly; possible.And what about the future? "What are the prospects for the future? One answer is drawn from an analysis using a database that includes 70;000 oil fields and 4.7 million individual wells; combined with existing production and 350 new projects. The conclusion is that the world is clearly not running out of oil. Far from it. The estimates for the world's total stock of oil keep growing. The world has produced about 1 trillion barrels of oil since the start of the industry in the nineteenth century. Currently; it is thought that there are at least 5 trillion barrels of petroleum resources; of which 1.4 trillion is sufficiently developed and technically and economically accessible to count as proved plus probable reserves. Based upon current and prospective plans; it appears the world liquid production capacity should grow from about 93 million barrels per day in 2010 to about 110 mbd by 2030. This is about a 20 percent increase."Highly recommended.-- Susanna K. Hutcheson4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The Quest - Recent History of Energy; Security; and EnvironmentalismBy StephenThis is must buy. I purchased the CD and Audible versions. The book traces the history of the current forms of energy with the focus on the positive and negative impacts on economics and environment; the politics; and the recent developments of the technologies. Interweave is the discussion on the geopolitics of energy and the environmental movement. Obviously; ever country is different in its energy use and policy actions. I found the sections on the automobile and energy transportation to be the best parts.In general; the author is apolitical. He advocates two principles. First; he does advocate that the use of the market forces to control the development of energy production and transportation as well as the control of the environmental impact. Although there is a need for government to use taxpayer money to fill the gaps were the market does reach (for example the US government seeded self-sustaining cooperatives to provide rural power generation / transportation which greatly improved agricultural and other remote industries as family homes); in general; command economies are inefficient since they are subject to market forces. Second; he advocates the use of all forms of energy: the traditional forms: oil; gas (all forms); geothermal; hydro; and nuclear (no carbon footprint); and the growing alternatives: solar; wind; and biomass. Diversification reduces the community's risk in the market and encourages competition. Gas is cheaper now and 1/2 of coal's carbon footprint but it was not always so. Changing technology and government regulations and it may make coal cheaper to the point it can not be ignored again. Thus; do not convert the coal fire plant but build a gas one. Do not close the nuclear plant or dismantle dams but encourage the wind and solar farms.He is careful to point out to two dynamics with in current energy status.1. Scale. Wind and solar are limited in their scale and predictability. Thus; their value is in being a supplement to the traditional forms that produce are mass scale; all the time; and in all weather such as coal; gas; hydro; and nuclear. When the wind blows and the sun shines; they will provide the energy grid with power and the gas / coal plants reduce production. When the wind dies and sun does not shine; the traditional plants increase.2. All Electric Cars. The prediction of all electric cars is daunting to implement. First; there is no real infrastructure for electric cars when not at home or in the car pool. Even apartment dwellers do not have a place to re-charge and service stations cannot support a large electric fleet quickly with rapid recharge or battery swaps. Second; the electric production may have to double to replace the gas internal combustion engine. The analysis is that hybrid and all-electric will replace gas cars but not completely and not everywhere; especially remote areas with limited energy grids. In these places it is easier to carry your gas versus plugging in.
