No Place of Grace

T.J. Jackson Lears is a great writer who gives us an informative look into many of the cultural flaws, trials, and undertakings our society has gone through in the past hundred years. These flaws are explained, and opinionated on, in his compelling book, No Place of Grace. In the first section of this book, he writes in great detail about the rise of our culture's modernism and antimodernism- where it came from, when it was molded into a philosophy, and its effect it had on today's culture. He writes about the late nineteenth century, and the cultural authority that took place during this time. He explains to us just how much urbanization of Western culture has changed and influenced how our society lives and thinks forever. The rapid growth of this change was the starting block for all nineteenth century antimodernists. Lears himself shows his great negative view points on the changes modernism made on our culture, and he goes on to demonstrate many of the problems our society suffers because of this modernistic growth. He explains that Americans, as a result to modernism, are always busy with never enough time in the day, and always wanting more that what he has. He discusses, with great disgust, the degeneration of church, industry, and even family. Families became too busy for church, and the idea of hell became more of a children's story than a reality. Businesses now strive for quantity instead of quality; hard work was over-run by efficiency. The technological advances we have grown accustomed to, has made us a society of lazy gluttons. He reminds us that there once was a time when work and family went hand in hand. A farm stayed in the family for generations, and they worked hard together for exactly what they needed to survive. Now that capitalism has grown, and small family businesses have diminished, work and family are kept completely separate. To Lears, Culture is a well known and very interesting issue, for he has written many other books on the very topic. He demonstrates his knowledge on the subject with exceptionally strong arguments, and also shows his very wide knowledge of English. Each word you come across helps you to better understand his point, and he never fails to use a perfectly placed analogy where ever he saw fit, and such vivid imagery throughout to even further the strength of his sound arguments, and help clarify them to any reader lost in the mass of information. I found this book to be very interesting. Hearing the negative sides of our culture's modernistic ways made me feel a lack of integrity and pride from our ever-expanding urbanistic society. Although Lears gave great insight into antimodernistic views, I believe there are so many more positive aspects to urbanization than he leads the reader to believe, and I would have liked to see if the pros and cons are really as unbalanced as he makes it seem. It is, of course, important to know and understand exactly where and when these faults and flaws of America

No Place of Grace, by T. J. Jackson Lears, is an interesting commentary on the movements and schools of thought that rose up in the late nineteenth century. What makes it so interesting isn't the copious first hand accounts that Lears quotes which bring the text to life or the huge amounts of raw information that he serves packed into every sentence; the most interesting fact about this book is that much of the thought and practices that started in the late nineteenth century have affect how think today. Lears tells how urbanization, industrialization, and prosperity all helped change almost everything about the gilded age's culture and the reader can't help but notice how these resultant ideas paved their way into the twentieth century. The work place was transformed to be a workplace to be modeled after an efficient working machine. It was during this period that time clock was invented and people started to use the phrase "on time." It was also during this time when the drug abuse originated. Much like the citizens of Brave New World, people took "holidays" to get away from their efficient working lives consuming narcotics such as opium, heroin, and morphine. Urbanization transformed American from a country that thrived on farming to an urban and industrial country, and with that transformation there was consequently a shift from a producer society to a consumer society. There became a link between progress and material wealth. With all of their prosperity people generally thought society and all the world was constantly moving towards a better state, which made people totally ignore heaven and hell. The movement was so widespread that it even affected the church. Sermons were shortened to be more efficient with time (which I wish is still in effect today). Pastors were regarded as successful by the size of their flock and instead of focusing on their congregation they increasingly focused more on the business world. The idea of relativism took grasp as pastors would not preach hot topics that would raise controversy. As I read all of this I could not help but think of how much it seemed like our culture today. It is truly amazing how the thoughts and ideas of a hundred and fifty years ago could affect us so much, but they have. If you are an American and you take your citizenship seriously I would say that you should read this not only to better understand where the notions that are in your head have come from, but also where our society is going in terms of how these ideas might evolve into other ideas; and what changes should be made to correct the mistakes. No Places of Grace enables you to stand back and look at the origins of thoughts of today and fully grasp either their fallacies or their utter truth, which in my opinion can lead you to greater appreciation for being an American citizen. The choice is yours! Will you take your citizenship seriously and read this book?

No Place of Grace is a well crafted book which gives us a new prospective into the ever changing American way of thought which has lead America to be what it is today. Some of the main issues that T.J. Jackson Lears focuses on are the antimodernism in early industrial America, religion, politics, neurasthenia, and the psychological impacts that this had on the people after the civil war through the early twentieth century. Lears discusses the issues in such a way that it is quite easy to understand the complexity of the time. He has an amazing grasp on many of the areas of tension in the industrial age as well as a grasp on various social and political issues. His extensive knowledge of the English language makes his writing much more concise. T.J. Jackson Lears' use of interesting facts and quotes gives this book much more flavor and spice. One of the most interesting comparisons that Lears makes is he compares the way that the ideal human body back then was with a bit of a pouch to show leisure and wealth and compares how the idea of wealth and leisure have created a entirely new outlook for Americans. As Lears' fallows the American train of thought he shows how America was a place that was constantly struggling with its self in the realm of the mind with two groups at both extremes pushing their view. One very interesting example of this is the fight over whether certain looked down upon traits such as drinking or anti social behavior was hereditary or of specific to a certain individual. One battle over this was the court hearing of a man who clamed to be "healing" the republican party by fallowing orders from God and killing a man who was causing fractions. This hearing was also very important in the social crisis that the republicans believed was going on. The thought that communists and anarchists were secretly meeting and scheming against the middle class higher class Anglo Saxons and drawing the ever increasing lower class immigrants into their plans was a very disturbing idea to the republicans. The republicans were also very wary of fallowing the European and making the same mistakes that they did. As a republican writer for the New York Tribune wrote "poverty, thrift, prosperity, wealth, luxury, corruptness, degradation, in these seven words the fate of many great empires is told." In order to combat what was considered to be "race suicide" great stores of weapons were stocked up in many of the large cities. With all of these changes came a change in religion. It became more of a happy social time with the consept of hell and of the devil put in the back on peoples minds. This fueled what is called the "modern Doubt". T.J. Jackson Lears fully explains the impactions of the changes in society during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century in an interesting and insightful way. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that is interested in learning about the complete history of America.

"No Place of Grace" is a revealing book that gives insight into a philosophy that has shaped American history in an extraordinary way. T.J. Jackson Lears is an excellent author and shows his thorough knowledge of the philosophy and the culture that gave birth to it. Every sentence in the book is carefully crafted with well-chosen words, as Lears does not waste the reader's time with incomprehensible terminology. He employs rhetorical devices with an ease that gives his writing a fluid rhythm, as his analogies couple words in a way that makes his meaning seem more poignant. By interspersing quotes, the author gives variety and realism to the text. He describes a philosophy, and then brings it to life with the words uttered from philosophers and the common man. Confusing trends are explained and analyzed, helping the reader understand concepts that create the foundations of his own thought. Lears introduces the reader to the post-civil war era which is easily forgotten, sandwiched between two wars that shadow its very real importance. He describes the time as ripe for progress, and hungry for change, which was considered the foremost indicator of the former. Europe watched as industrialism took hold of the American continent, and transformed American life and thought. The world began to be run by numbers on clocks and inventories, and the average businessman and even worker learned to measure value by quantity rather than quality. In this new world, family became tidily separated from the harsh realm of work and was created into some idealistic haven, to which it could hardly live up to. This first section of the book is very well structured, as it describes the history and mentality of a time period, and then analyzes the degeneration of cultural and individual authority that lead to Antimodernism. Religious authority is one of his greatest points of emphasis as his study on the morality of the time leads the reader to conceive the natural succession of Antimodernism. The stiff Victorian moral requirements remained in the changing society, but their foundation in the church was destroyed, leaving no standard by which the regulations derived their authority. Lears' expose on the weakening belief in Hell and the Devil is some of the most interesting analysis I have read, and it left me nodding in agreement and with new-found understanding. He links the increasing fear of pain to the popular opinion that Hell was an outmoded scare tactic of uncultured ecclesiastics. I was struck with the significance and truth in his description of the Victorian mindset that grew to deny the horror and agony of death, and ended up trivializing life and cheapening salvation. The author also investigates the "Neurasthenia" that grew from a "lowering of the mental nerve" and turned the world into an "infirmary rather than a battlefield." As he breaks down the psychology behind the supposed disease and its symptoms, the modern day American cannot help b

This Marxist who belives in God makes a fine statement for the apathy and delirium covering the angst of modern culture. His prose is fluid and his arguments are strong and clear. If you are convinced that technology has stripped you of your soul, you should read this book.