A Commonwealth of Hope

"Recommended."

"Every so often a book comes along in the academic world that is truly refreshing in the sense that the author makes a good case for his ideas and does so without any political ideology or political correctness lurking in the background... A Commonwealth of Hope: The New Deal Response to Crisis, is one of those rare books."

"Sparkling and engagingly written... Scholars interested in the histories of the New Deal, the federal government, and the Great Depression must read this provocative and elegant book. "

"Optimistic, lively and exceptionally well-written synthesis."

"Elegantly written contribution... Specialists in the period and in American political development will want to read and ponder it, and teachers in those fields might well consider it for class adoption."

"An original and valuable contribution to New Deal literature."

"A welcome addition to the literature on the New Deal. All academic libraries should acquire this book, and it is suitable for the general public as well."

"A Commonwealth of Hope provides a highly readable and illuminating synthesis of some of the best scholarship on the New Deal."

"The most refreshing, insightful, and extraordinarily well-written history of its kind in the last generation. Lawson’s work manifests a new view of the New Deal as representing that latest chapter in the reform tradition of what he terms ‘the cooperative commonwealth.’ His key interpretive points center on the cooperative commonwealth tradition, the significance of ideas, and the planned institutional response of the reformer and New Deal agencies."