The Flowering of the Third America: The Making of an Organizational Society, 1850-1920

In a provocative new interpretation of a transforming era, 1850-1920, Klein integrates social, economic, and business history and stresses the driving role of technology in creating a complex society of many cultures. As increasing organization made life more fragmented and alienated for ordinary persons, Klein argues, a unifying social thread was provided by a surprising new source: the consumer economy.