Sticky reputations
the politics of collective memory in midcentury America
"Sticky Reputations focuses on reputational entrepreneurs and support groups shaping how we think of important figures, within a crucial period in American history - from the 1930s through the 1950s. Why are certain figures such as Adolf Hitler, Joe McCarthy, and Martin Luther King cemented into history unable to be challenged without reputational cost to the proposer of the alternative perspective? Why are the reputations of other political actors such as Harry Truman highly variable and changeable? Why in the 1930s was it widely believed that American Jews were linked to the Communist Party of America but by the 1950s this belief had largely vanished and was not longer a part of legitimate public discourse? This short, accessible book is ideal for use in undergraduate teaching in social movements, collective memory studies, political sociology, sociological social psychology, and other related courses"--
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Measured pace
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
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This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-4158-9498-2
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL25231034M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
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Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.