Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-279) and index.

Introduction: Interior, exterior. -- pt. I. Education, 1916-1950. Radical roots ; The twilight of waspdom ; The new American political tradition ; The historian as social scientist. -- pt. II. Engagement, 1950-1965. The Age of reform and its critics ; The crisis of intellect ; The paranoid mind. -- pt. III. Eclipse, 1965-1970. Rebellion from within ; Conflict and consensus -- redux ; The trials of liberalism ; A world full. -- Bibliographic essay: In search of Richard Hofstadter. -- Sources: Archives, interviews, and correspondence. -- Students of Richard Hofstadter.

Description based on print version record.

Richard Hofstadter (1916-70) was America?s most distinguished historian of the twentieth century. The author of several groundbreaking books, including The American Political Tradition, he was a vigorous champion of the liberal politics that emerged from the New Deal. During his nearly thirty-year career, Hofstadter fought public campaigns against liberalism?s most dynamic opponents, from McCarthy in the 1950s to Barry Goldwater and the Sun Belt conservatives in the 1960s. His opposition to the extreme politics of postwar America?articulated in his books, essays, and public lectures?marked him.