Hospital City, Health Care Nation recasts the story of the U.S. health care system by emphasizing its economic, social, and medical importance in American communities. Focusing on urban hospitals and academic medical centers, the book argues that the country's high level of health care spending has allowed such institutions to become vital, if often problematic, economic anchors for communities. Yet that spending has also constrained possibilities for comprehensive health care reform over many decades, even after the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. At the same time, the role of hospitals in urban renewal, in community health provision, and as employers of low-wage workers has contributed directly to racial health disparities. Guian A. McKee explores these issues through a detailed historical case study of Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital while also tracing their connections across governmental scales-local, state, and federal. He shows that health care spending and its consequences, rather than insurance coverage alone, are core issues in the decades-long struggle over the American health care system. In particular, Hospital City, Health Care Nation points to the increased role of financial capital after the 1960s in shaping not only hospital growth but also the underlying character of these vital institutions. The book shows how hospitals' quest for capital has interacted with structural racism and inequality to shape and constrain the U.S. health care system. Building on this reassessment of the hospital system, its politics, and its financing, Hospital City, Health Care Nation offers ideas for the next steps in health care reform.

Contesting claims that postwar American liberalism retreated from fights against unemployment and economic inequality, The Problem of Jobs reveals that such efforts did not collapse after the New Deal but instead began to flourish at the local, rather than the national, level. With a focus on Philadelphia, this volume illuminates the central role of these local political and policy struggles in shaping the fortunes of city and citizen alike. In the process, it tells the remarkable story of how Philadelphia's policymakers and community activists energetically worked to challenge deindustrialization through an innovative series of job retention initiatives, training programs, inner-city business development projects, and early affirmative action programs. Without ignoring the failure of Philadelphians to combat institutionalized racism, Guian McKee's account of their surprising success draws a portrait of American liberalism that evinces a potency not usually associated with the postwar era. Ultimately interpreting economic decline as an arena for intervention rather than a historical inevitability, The Problem of Jobs serves as a timely reminder of policy's potential to combat injustice.

Thrust into the presidency by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson immediately confronted the twin challenges of leading a nation in mourning while ensuring the continuity of government. As one of his first acts, Johnson ordered a secret taping system installed in the White House and began recording his telephone conversations. This three-volume boxed set continues the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs's acclaimed Presidential Recordings series, covering the time period between February 1, 1964, and May 31, 1964. During these dramatic months, LBJ launched his War on Poverty, questioned the viability of the U.S. policy in Vietnam, and deftly managed the progress of a historic civil rights bill through Congress.

Contesting claims that postwar American liberalism retreated from fights against unemployment and economic inequality, "The Problem of Jobs" reveals that such efforts did not collapse after the New Deal but instead began to flourish at the local, rather than the national, level.With a focus on Philadelphia, this volume illuminates the central role of these local political and policy struggles in shaping the fortunes of the city and its citizens alike. In the process, the book tells the remarkable story of how Philadelphia's policy makers and community activists energetically worked to challenge deindustrialization through an innovative series of job retention initiatives, training programs, inner-city business development projects, and early affirmative action programs. Without ignoring the failure of Philadelphians to combat institutionalized racism, Guian A. McKee's account of their surprising success draws a portrait of American liberalism that evinces a potency not usually associated with the postwar era. Ultimately interpreting economic decline as an arena for intervention rather than a historical inevitability, "The Problem of Jobs" serves as a timely reminder of the potential of policy to combat injustice.