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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I have discovered a group of women who refuse to be exploited, are immune to manipulation, and who never settle in the name of love. These ladies know what they want and take what they want by beating men at their own game. Utilizing the secrets exposed in this book, these women gain power, money, and status. Men call them gold diggers, women call them hos, but they call themselves winners. This is the book that society doesn't want you to listen to….
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I spent $24,000 in 4 months
- By B.M. on 10-06-18
By: G. L. Lambert
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The Last Days of Cabrini-Green
- By: Ben Austen, Harrison David Rivers
- Narrated by: Ben Austen, Patina Miller, Harry Lennix, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
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In 1992, the deadliest year in Chicago’s history, seven-year-old Dantrell Davis was shot and killed in front of his elementary school inside the public housing complex Cabrini-Green. What happened to Dantrell led to a truce among Chicago’s gangs, but it also ignited a national panic about poverty and violence in America’s cities. Dantrell’s name would soon be used to demolish all of Chicago’s high-rise public housing, displacing tens of thousands of low-income families.
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Chicago Housibg
- By Ruby on 11-21-24
By: Ben Austen, and others
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MOVE: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy
- By: Curtis Bryant, Kevin Arbouet
- Narrated by: Tariq Trotter
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
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This searing audio documentary brings listeners deep inside the unforgettable story of MOVE, gaining unprecedented access to surviving MOVE members, elected officials from the era, eyewitnesses, and historians to create an indelible portrait of an American tragedy.
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Balanced Examination of History
- By James Peacock on 08-14-24
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
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Caffeine
- How Caffeine Created the Modern World
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
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Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
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Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
By: Michael Pollan
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Mythology: Mega Collection
- Classic Stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mythology
- By: Scott Lewis
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- Length: 31 hrs and 37 mins
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Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
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An interesting set of introductions.
- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
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I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)
- Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
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Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
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I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
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The Strange Death of Europe
- Immigration, Identity, Islam
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Robert Davies
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
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The Strange Death of Europe is a highly personal account of a continent and culture caught in the act of suicide. Declining birth rates, mass immigration, and cultivated self-distrust and self-hatred have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their own comprehensive alteration as a society and an eventual end.
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Fear-mongering
- By Kat Cat on 01-22-19
By: Douglas Murray
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Colorful anecdotes but tiring after a while.
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exactly what I've been looking for
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An important discussion expertly narrated
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Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all.
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Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
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Autocracy, Inc.
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From the Pulitzer-prize winning, New York Times bestselling author, an alarming account of how autocracies work together to undermine the democratic world, and how we should organize to defeat them.
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Everyone should read!
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What listeners say about Ours Was the Shining Future
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- cgm
- 06-26-24
History of key U.S. policy and program evolutions and impacts
Excellent reviews of literature on impacts of USG legislation and challenges we face today. Leohhardt’s text is cogent and persuasive in identifying key dimensions of our problems in cross cultural and domestic contexts. The Audible version was a good listen, too.
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- Anonymous User
- 12-26-23
The narrating abilities captured the content
Love that authors way with words and I love how he takes a structural approach to a story about rise and fall of the American dream and everything it entails. You learn a lot about politics and I have walked away with a broader view of each party and the overall values.
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- Jackson
- 07-01-24
To solve problems, first understand them
Great read on what ails our country and how to fix it! “Be the change you want to see in the world”- Ghandi. That’s what this book aims to do, with history as our guide, how we went wrong, and how to start fixing it.
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- P. Scott
- 12-13-23
A Little Heavy for my Commute
Well-written, interesting history of the background into why America and Americans are so divided and seemingly unhappy.
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Cleve
- 01-22-24
 I give very few five stars
Superior book, I give maybe one five star rating every two or three years. Bad narration though. The reader mispronounces a number of words I assumed all educated people were familiar with. Doesn’t anybody ever check these things? 
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. 
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- Beth
- 11-02-23
A poignant analysis of our present situation
This book was a thoughtful look at the decline of the American Dream over the last half century and examines all that contributed to that decline. From immigration reform to the resurrection of rough-and-tumble capitalism, Ours Was the Shining Future makes compelling arguments on each step toward and aspect of our current economic situation, as well as detailing the decisions that led us to America's current unequal economy and what could be done to make it more just and equal.
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- Brad
- 06-23-24
Excellent
If you are wondering why living standards haven’t risen in 40 years then this book is worth reading. It is very balanced politically and well researched. It also covers many areas like immigration and education in-depth. A very important contribution.
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- Zen Fox
- 06-15-24
Definitely recommend
Good insight into how political coalitions have shifted, especially within the Democratic Party. I am not completely convinced that the so-called Brahmin left is as dominant as the author claims, but he makes a good argument.
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