Gwen Kay

Tightening and Loosening Masculinity's (k)Nots: Masculinity in the Hearst Press during the Interwar Period

Histories of masculinity have documented changes in the definition of American masculinity across centuries, but not decades. This article examines prescriptive and proscriptive statements about mens behavior as they appeared in William Randolph Hearsts American Weekly during the interwar period (1918–1940). Written by professionals and providing summaries of current research, the American Weekly provided authoritative accounts of masculinity to a mass audience. In the early 1920s, reason was explicitly masculine and central to the construction of masculinity, and gender differences were routinely attributed to mens superior evolution. By the late 1930s, reason was implicitly masculine, the breadwinner role was central, and gender differences relied on the known, but unstated, superiority of men.

America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918, Second Edition: Crosby, Alfred W.: New York: Cambridge University Press 352 pp., Publication Date: September 2003

(2004). Americas Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918, Second Edition. History: Reviews of New Books: Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 82-82.

Stir it Up: Home Economics in American Culture

Congress responded with a restrictive immigration law intended to prevent anarchists from entering the United States. When deporting suspected anarchists, the government used membership in suspect organizations as justification, thus necessitating the maintenance of what would become the dreaded blacklist of subversive organizations. As the blacklist evolved, especially after the advent of the Cold War, Goldstein observes that while massively publicized, it was nevertheless subsumed in confusion and lacked clarity. What was not clear was exactly how many groups were on the list (it was about three hundred), how they were chosen for the list (there seemed to be a lack of clear criteria), and the official purpose of the list. The reality of the blacklist’s use, however, soon extended beyond loyalty proceedings to include all levels of government, whether local, state, or federal. It was employed to remove organizations’ tax-exemption status, to deny the issuance of passports, to prevent employment in the private sector, to deny individuals their earned veteran’s benefits, and to disallow individuals or families access to public housing, to note a few examples. Despite its confused nature, the blacklist was nevertheless considered perhaps the most valuable tool in the arsenal of those participating in what was deemed McCarthyism. Because there has never been such an in-depth study of the attorney general’s blacklist, this volume is an important scholarly contribution. As written, however, the book would be of interest only to an academic audience and, furthermore, to one that has some expertise or specialization in the topic. It would not be of interest to a general audience. While not necessarily a criticism, the writing is very academic and as such can be at times tedious. One problem is the extensive, or excessive, use of acronyms (more than eighty of them), which sometimes makes reading the book quite confusing. Nevertheless, this study is an important and much-needed contribution to our understanding of the development, maintenance, and use of suspect-organizations lists.

The Deadly Truth: A History of Disease in America

cussions o i issues and compromises that previous scholars have covered in detail. Herkin personalixes and highlights the most-prominent delcgatcs, but she chiefly centers on the presidency, on federalism, and o n Congress. Apart from a thumbnail outline of the resulting document, Berkin gives little or n o attention to issues connected to the judicial branch (other scholars have attempted to ascertain the degree to which convention delegates expected judges to invalidate unconstitutional laws), the constitutional amending process, or even slavcry. Berkin’s discussion 01’ the presidency arguably underestimates the degree to which the Founders used language arid designed the institution to be capable of growth, especially in times of war. Berkin does add context t o the convention’s work by foiusing on Washington’s inauguration and by including a state-by-state description of convention delegates. A Hrilliunt Solution is a suitable, but hardly inspiring, synopsis of existing scholarship appropriatc for lay readers. The volume has a n index. but with no footnotes or bibliography and little to say about the philosophical origins ol‘ the document, it is of scant value to scholars already familiar with the brilliance of the Framers’ Constitution.