In With the New: Enlightenment, Worldchanging, and the South

Here's this week's selection of books recently added to the library's collection.

The Twilight of the American Enlightenment: The 1950's and the Crisis of Liberal Belief, by George Marsden

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States stood at a precipice. The forces of modernity unleashed by the war had led to astonishing advances in daily life, but technology and mass culture also threatened to erode the country’s traditional moral character. As award-winning historian George M. Marsden explains in The Twilight of the American Enlightenment, postwar Americans looked to the country’s secular, liberal elites for guidance in this precarious time, but these intellectuals proved unable to articulate a coherent common cause by which America could chart its course. Their failure lost them the faith of their constituents, paving the way for a Christian revival that offered America a firm new moral vision—one rooted in the Protestant values of the founders.

A groundbreaking reappraisal of the country’s spiritual reawakening, The Twilight of the American Enlightenment shows how America found new purpose at the dawn of the Cold War.

Worldchanging, Revised Edition: A User's Guide for the 21st Century, by Alex Steffen

Five years after the initial publication of Worldchanging, the landscape of environmentalism and sustainability

has changed dramatically. The average reader is now well-versed--even inundated--with green lifestyle advice. In 2011, green is the starting point, not the destination. This second edition of the bestselling book is extensively revised to include the latest trends, technologies, and solutions in sustainable living. More than 160 new entries include up-to-the-minute information on the locavore movement, carbon-neutral homes, novel transportation solutions, the growing trend of ecotourism, the concept of food justice, and much more. Additional new sections focus on the role of cities as the catalyst for change in our society. With 50 percent new content, this overhauled edition incorporates the most recent studies and projects being implemented worldwide. The result is a guided tour through the most exciting new tools, models, and ideas for building a better future.

The American South and the Atlantic World, Ed. by Brian E.Ward, Martyn Bone, and William A. Link

An examination of three different areas of the culture of the South in the United States: the Atlantic world, the nineteenth century, and consumer culture.