In their own words: robber barons and radicals - Softcover

In this third volume in a series (Vol. 1, LJ 4/1/95; Vol. 2, LJ 3/1/96), Stiles offers a powerful mix of excerpts from the writings of black and white Republicans struggling to effect Radical Reconstruction in the South, from various political figures wrestling for patronage and principle in Washington to industrialists and robber barons muscling for economic dominance across America. The genius of Stiles's approach is his panoramic view of post-Civil War America fighting for identity on many fronts. The Radicals get much of the space in the excerpts and a sympathetic reading in Stiles's own narrative, but the result is a book of surprising passion. Several figures loom large in the story, especially Mississippi carpetbagger Albert Morgan, through whom Stiles views Reconstruction, and magnate Andrew Carnegie, on whom Stiles builds the tale of brass-knuckled big business. Teachers will find many uses for Stiles's compilation. Recommended for school libraries.?Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia
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