Frederick Lewis Allen was one of the pioneers in social history. Best known as the author of Only Yesterday, Allen originated a model of what is sometimes called instant history, the reconstruction of past eras through vivid commentary on the news, fashions, customs, and artifacts that altered the pace and forms of American life. The Big Change was Allen's last and most ambitious book. In it he attempted to chart and explain the progressive evolution of American life over half a century. Written at a time of unprecedented optimism and prosperity, The Big Change defines a transformative moment in American history and provides an implicit and illuminating perspective on what has taken place in the second half of the twentieth century.

Allen's theme is the realization, in large measure, of the promise of democracy. As against the strain of social criticism that saw America as enfeebled by affluence and conformity, Allen wrote in praise of an economic system that had ushered in a new age of well being for the American people. He divides his inquiry into three major sections. The first, "The Old Order," portrays the turn-of-the-century plutocracy in which the federal government was largely subservient to business interests and the gap between rich and poor portended a real possibility of bloody rebellion. "The Momentum of Change" graphically describes the various forces that gradually transformed the country in the new century: mass production, the automobile, the Great Depression and the coming of big government, World War II and America's emergence as a world power. Against this background, Allen shows how the economic system was reformed without being ruined, and how social gaps began to steadily close.

The concluding section, "The New America," is a hopeful assessment of postwar American culture. Allen's analysis takes critical issue with many common perceptions, both foreign and domestic, of American life and places remaining social problems in careful perspective. As William O'Neill remarks in his introduction to this new edition, The Big Change is both a deep and wonderfully readable work of social commentary, a book that gains rather than loses with the years.

Lewis and Sarah Allen encourage and exhort believers to approach life's adversities in a biblically grounded way by leaning on Christ and committing to his church.

Frederick Lewis Allen was one of the pioneers in social history. Best known as the author of Only Yesterday, Allen originated a model of what is sometimes called instant history, the reconstruction of past eras through vivid commentary on the news, fashions, customs, and artifacts that altered the pace and forms of American life. The Big Change was Allen's last and most ambitious book. In it he attempted to chart and explain the progressive evolution of American life over half a century. Written at a time of unprecedented optimism and prosperity, The Big Change defines a transformative moment in American history and provides an implicit and illuminating perspective on what has taken place in the second half of the twentieth century.Allen's theme is the realization, in large measure, of the promise of democracy. As against the strain of social criticism that saw America as enfeebled by affluence and conformity, Allen wrote in praise of an economic system that had ushered in a new age of well being for the American people. He divides his inquiry into three major sections. The first, 'The Old Order,' portrays the turn-of-the-century plutocracy in which the federal government was largely subservient to business interests and the gap between rich and poor portended a real possibility of bloody rebellion. 'The Momentum of Change' graphically describes the various forces that gradually transformed the country in the new century: mass production, the automobile, the Great Depression and the coming of big government, World War II and America's emergence as a world power. Against this background, Allen shows how the economic system was reformed without being ruined, and how social gaps began to steadily close.The concluding section, 'The New America,' is a hopeful assessment of postwar American culture. Allen's analysis takes critical issue with many common perceptions, both foreign and domestic, of American life and places remaining social problems in careful perspective. As William O'Neill remarks in his introduction to this new edition, The Big Change is both a deep and wonderfully readable work of social commentary, a book that gains rather than loses with the years.

Prohibition. Al Capone. The President Harding scandals. The revolution of manners and morals, Black Teusday. These are only an inkling of the events and figures characterizing the wild, tumultuous era that was the Roaring Twentys. Origionaly published in 1931, Only Yesterday traces the rise if post-World War I prospecritly up tothe Wall Street crash of 1929 aganst the colorful backdropof flappers, speakeasies, the first radio, and the scandalous rise of skirt hemlines. Hailed as an instant classic, this is Frederick Lewis Allen's vivid and definitive account of one of the twentieth century's most fascinating decades, chronicling a time of both joy and terror--when dizzing highs were quickly succeeded by heartbreaking lows.

While asthma can't be cured, it can be treated and controlled so that your child can enjoy a healthier, more active life. In this important guide, the experts at the top-ranked children's hospital in the United States clearly explain what asthma is and how parents, caregivers, and young patients can manage it successfully. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Guide to Asthma features the most up-to-date information on the disease and the keys to optimal preventive treatment-controlling environmental conditions that trigger symptoms, making a proactive medical treatment plan, and consistently putting it into action at the first sign of trouble. You'll discover how asthma is diagnosed, what the common triggers are, how to select the best asthma medicines, and how to protect your child in and away from your home to help him or her live a fulfilling childhood that is as symptom-free as possible. This book:
* Reveals how to manage acute and emergency episodes of the disease
* Explains how to asthma-proof your home
* Addresses sports and exercise issues for children with asthma
* Discusses the special needs of toddlers and teens
* Features a series of vignettes about children with asthma
* Includes educational materials and resources, including community support

Allen argues that two major but problematic French medieval literary works (Andreas Capellamus's late 12th-century Latin De Amore and Jean de Meun's encyclopedic continuation of the Romance of the Rose, written in French in the 1720s) are central to the courtly tradition, and follow the disruptive

Frederick Lewis Allen (July 5, 1890 Boston, Massachusetts - February 13, 1954 New York City) was the editor of Harper's Magazine and also notable as an American historian of the first half of the twentieth century. His specialty was writing about what was at the time recent and popular history. His best-known book was Only Yesterday, a book chronicling American life in the 1920s. (wikipedia.org)

"Vividly and with great skills he marshals the men, the mountebanks, the measures, and the events of ten years of American life and causes them to march before us in orderly panathenaic procession."--Saturday Review