In this work, Robert E. Brown applies the fruits of modern historical scholarship toward an understanding of Beard's groundbreaking and controversial work. With a perspective of forty years, Brown attempts to separate the valid from the bogus in this work.

"One could almost use the word momentous, or the word epoch-making though epoch-ending might be more to the point ...I don't see how anyone henceforth can repeat the old cliches which Beard put into circulation forty years ago."--Frederick B. Tolles, Swarthmore College. "American historians, particularly those who have given lectures or written books based on the Beard thesis, ignore Brown's book at their peril."--American Historical Review. Originally published in 1956. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"One could almost use the word momentous, or the word epoch-making though epoch-ending might be more to the point ...I don't see how anyone henceforth can repeat the old cliches which Beard put into circulation forty years ago."--Frederick B. Tolles, Swarthmore College. "American historians, particularly those who have given lectures or written books based on the Beard thesis, ignore Brown's book at their peril."--American Historical Review. Originally published in 1956. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.