No Place of Grace: Antimodernism and the Transformation of American Culture, 1880–1920

No Place of Grace: Antimodernism and the Transformation of American Culture, 1880–1920 by Lears, T. J. Jackson. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780226401904.

T. J. Jackson Lears draws on a wealth of primary sources — sermons, diaries, letters — as well as novels, poems, and essays to explore the origins of turn-of-the-century American antimodernism. He examines the retreat to the exotic, the pursuit of intense physical or spiritual experiences, and the search for cultural self-sufficiency through the Arts and Crafts movement. Lears argues that their antimodern impulse, more pervasive than historians have supposed, was not "simple escapism," but reveals some enduring and recurring tensions in American culture. "Its an understatement to call No Place of Grace a brilliant book. . . . Its the first clear sign Ive seen that my generation, after marching through the 60s and jogging through the 70s might be pausing to examine what weve learned, and to teach it."—Walter Kendrick, Village Voice "One can justly make the claim that No Place of Grace restores and reinterprets a crucial part of American history. Learss method is impeccable."—Ann Douglas, The Nation