
Ours Was the Shining Future
The Story of the American Dream
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Narrated by:
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Dan John Miller
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By:
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David Leonhardt
About this listen
The clear-eyed, definitive history of the modern American economy and the decline of the American Dream, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist behind The New York Times's “The Morning” newsletter.
“With the even-handed incisiveness that has made him one of the country’s most-respected voices on economics, David Leonhardt illuminates the inside history of the players and missteps that have stolen so many Americans’ futures.”—Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE • ONE OF THE ATLANTIC’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Two decades into the twenty-first century, the stagnation of living standards has become the defining trend of American life. Life expectancy has declined, economic inequality has soared, and, after some progress, the Black-white wage gap is once again as large as it was in the 1950s. How did this happen in the world’s most powerful country? And what happened to the “American dream”—the promise of a happier, healthier, more prosperous future—which was once such an inextricable part of our national identity?
Drawing on decades of writing about the economy for The New York Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Leonhardt examines the past century of American history, from the Great Depression to today’s Great Stagnation, in search of an answer.
To make sense of the rise and subsequent fall of the American dream, Leonhardt tells the story of the modern American economy as an ongoing battle between two competing forms of capitalism: one that envisions prosperity for most, and one that serves the individual and favors the wealthy. In vivid prose, Ours Was the Shining Future traces how democratic capitalism flourished to make the American dream possible, until the latter decades of the twentieth century when, bit by bit, the dream was corrupted to serve only the privileged few.
Ours Was the Shining Future is a sweeping narrative full of innovation and grit, human drama and hope. Featuring the trailblazing figures who helped shape the American dream—Frances Perkins, Paul Hoffman, Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy, A. Philip Randolph, Grace Hopper, and more—this engaging history reveals the power of grassroots democratic movements from across the political spectrum. And though the American dream feels lost to us now, Leonhardt shows how Americans—if they commit themselves to transforming the economy, as they did in the past—have the power to revive the dream once more.
©2023 David Leonhardt (P)2023 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“In recent years, the poison of despair has spread through our body politic. David Leonhardt’s sweeping tale of grassroots leaders who changed America offers an antidote. America can change, because America did change. This book is an anti-funk tonic that will inspire you to stop shaking your fists and start rolling up your sleeves.”—Anand Giridharadas, author of The Persuaders
“With the even-handed incisiveness that has made him one of the country’s most-respected voices on economics, David Leonhardt illuminates the inside history of the players and missteps that have stolen so many Americans’ futures. Ours Was the Shining Future is both a cause for outrage and a plea for hope.”—Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money
“In a fearless, trenchant diagnosis, David Leonhardt shows how Republicans and Democrats alike are complicit in the decline of the American dream. This important book shows how a renewed commitment to public investment, collective bargaining, sensible immigration policies, and civic activism can invigorate our economy and rejuvenate our democracy.”—Michael J. Sandel, author of Democracy’s Discontent
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land of opportunity
- By Anonymous User on 03-16-25
By: Yoni Appelbaum
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Age of Revolutions
- Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
- By: Fareed Zakaria
- Narrated by: Fareed Zakaria
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Populist rage, ideological fracture, economic and technological shocks, geopolitical dangers, and an international system studded with catastrophic risk—the early decades of the 21st century may be one of the most revolutionary periods in modern history. But they are not the first. Humans have lived, and thrived, through more than one great realignment. What makes an age a revolutionary one? And how do they end?
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A “Historical”, Neo-Liberal Defense of Biden
- By Timothy on 04-18-24
By: Fareed Zakaria
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Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated
- The Collapse and Revival of American Community
- By: Robert D. Putnam
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans' changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and how social structures - whether they be PTA, church, or political parties - have disintegrated. Until the publication of this groundbreaking work, no one had so deftly diagnosed the harm that these broken bonds have wreaked on our physical and civic health, nor had anyone exalted their fundamental power in creating a society that is happy, healthy, and safe.
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Long Long book
- By William S. Gross on 11-13-17
By: Robert D. Putnam
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Money, Lies, and God
- Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy
- By: Katherine Stewart
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Why have so many Americans turned against democracy? In this deeply reported book, Katherine Stewart takes us to conferences of conspiracy-mongers, backroom strategy gatherings, and services at extremist churches, and profiles the people who want to tear it all down.
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Describes a well funded international fascist cult
- By marwalk on 03-24-25
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Strongmen
- Mussolini to the Present
- By: Ruth Ben-Ghiat
- Narrated by: Chloe Cannon
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Ruth Ben-Ghiat is the expert on the "strongman" playbook employed by authoritarian demagogues from Mussolini to Putin. In Strongmen, she lays bare the blueprint these leaders have followed over the past 100 years, and empowers us to recognize, resist, and prevent their disastrous rule in the future.
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Fascism expert talks fascism
- By sparky on 12-04-20
By: Ruth Ben-Ghiat
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Mad House
- How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
- By: Annie Karni, Luke Broadwater
- Narrated by: Karen Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The United States Congress has always been messy and far-from-august, but as Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater show here, in scorching, shocking detail, it has reached some kind of chaotic bottom. The anarchy that reigned over Congress’s lower chamber in the wake of the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building—the election of serial liar and con-man George Santos, revenge porn being shown on the floor of the house, and the theatrical high jinks of Lauren Boebert—all were a sign of decay and dysfunction of the highest order.
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The crazy behind the scenes in DC
- By Charles Staten Island NY on 04-28-25
By: Annie Karni, and others
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Debt - Updated and Expanded
- The First 5,000 Years
- By: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Here, anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: He shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods - that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.
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Transformative to the point of being revolutionary
- By James C. Samans on 08-14-16
By: David Graeber
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Challenger
- A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
- By: Adam Higginbotham
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Chernobyl comes the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster, based on fascinating in-depth reporting and new archival research—a riveting history that flows like a thriller.
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Best book about Challenger so far
- By Bruce Baumbush on 06-05-24
Great perspective over overtime
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History of key U.S. policy and program evolutions and impacts
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The narrating abilities captured the content
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To solve problems, first understand them
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I learned a lot and recommend it to anyone interested in the subject and who has an open mind.
I listened to it on my driving commute and as with “heavier” books like this, I had trouble when I needed to stop and repeat something I wanted to ensure I understood.
Fine presentation.
Recommended.
A Little Heavy for my Commute
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Here’s a gross oversimplification of the book. The far left has become obsessed with identity politics and virtue signaling at the expense of economic issues and winning elections. Economics is not unimportant to those the identity politics warriors profess to be in favor of helping.  So if they really believed the things they claim, they wouldn’t ignore the issues in this book.  it’s not a page turner but the ideas are extremely important. 
 I give very few five stars
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A poignant analysis of our present situation
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Excellent
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Definitely recommend
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Someone should read this in the Harris Campaign
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