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A Chance to Harmonize: How Fdr - NEW
US $8.73
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eBay item number:277000198662
Item specifics
- Condition
- Brand
- Unbranded
- MPN
- Does not apply
- ISBN
- 9781639365715
- Book Title
- Chance to Harmonize : How FDR's Hidden Music Unit Sought to Save America from the Great Depression--One Song at a Time
- Publisher
- Pegasus Books
- Item Length
- 9 in
- Publication Year
- 2024
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Item Height
- 1.1 in
- Genre
- Music, History
- Topic
- United States / 20th Century, Genres & Styles / Folk & Traditional, Social History
- Item Weight
- 16 Oz
- Item Width
- 6 in
- Number of Pages
- 272 Pages
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Pegasus Books
ISBN-10
1639365710
ISBN-13
9781639365715
eBay Product ID (ePID)
18061244570
Product Key Features
Book Title
Chance to Harmonize : How FDR's Hidden Music Unit Sought to Save America from the Great Depression--One Song at a Time
Number of Pages
272 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2024
Topic
United States / 20th Century, Genres & Styles / Folk & Traditional, Social History
Genre
Music, History
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1.1 in
Item Weight
16 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Reviews
The first full-length study of one of the New Deal's most ambitious cultural initiatives. A Chance to Harmonize , as well as giving a picaresque account of a remarkable archival project, offers a corrective to the male-dominated narratives of the folk-song field. So much of what we know of American grassroots music, now a cherished part of our national heritage, comes from the efforts of these unheralded pioneers, who worked in the field and on the fly. A Chance to Harmonize , at last, gives them their due., Shows how [patriotic songs] acquired their powerful symbolism and how they became ways of suppressing dissent... Clips of Smith, Berlin and even Richard Nixon singing the title song add another dimension to Kaskowitz's account of the song, and the way politicians and the American public have used it over the decades are also part of the story., Praise for Sheryl Kaskowitz "Probing and insightful...illuminating and thoughtful. An engaging portrait of how the song infiltrated patriotism, business and sports.", Kaskowitz offers a spellbinding account of the New Deal's Music Unit, a 1930s government project that aimed to foster solidarity among out-of-work Americans through folk music. Kaskowitz backgrounds the bureaucratic maneuvering and evolving ideology of the Music Unit with a sweeping on-the-ground narrative of the Great Depression's hardest hit regions. It's an exhilarating slice of American history., What could be more ambitious, fraught, potentially disastrous, and deeply inspiring than the New Deal's creation of planned, cooperative homesteads for victims of the Great Depression? The idea that folk music was the key to it all. And yet such was the mission of the Resettlement Administration's semi-clandestine Music Unit, which Sheryl Kaskowitz rescues from obscurity in this lively, nuanced chronicle. In her skillful telling, the story of the Music Unit--and especially the trials and triumphs of two crucial women, the brilliant Margaret Valiant and the implacable Sidney Robertson--becomes an absorbing, dual meditation on the political uses of music and on the New Deal's groundbreaking, messy entanglements with American folk culture., Kaskowitz tells the fascinating and largely forgotten story of the 'music unit,' a New Deal initiative that was both short-lived and under-the-radar. Aficionados of American music will be familiar with the work of Alan Lomax, head of the Archive of American Folk Song, who sent a team to California to record the songs of Dust Bowl refugees living in work camps. Kaskowitz shows us that the music unit was a direct precursor to Lomax and a missing link in the birth of the American folk music revival., In A Chance to Harmonize , Sheryl Kaskowitz vividly illuminates a unique moment in American history, when an agency of FDR's New Deal brought music and hope to struggling homesteaders, and reaped musical riches in return, sewing the seeds of the American Folk revival. The Music Unit's demise provides a telling lesson for our own times: it was shut down after only two years by conservatives in Congress who deemed it 'socialistic.', A heartening account of music's ability to create cooperation and community and restore dignity and hope. Kaskowitz brings to vivid life the history of the Resettlement Administration's Special Skills Division, which developed art activities on American homesteads., In the depths of the Great Depression, the US government embarked on an enigmatic mission to lift the spirits of the nation with music. Sheryl Kaskowitz's chronicle of the hidden history of the Music Unit and its cross-country search for American folk songs is rich in detail and rife with fascinating characters. A Chance to Harmonize is a deeply sympathetic account of how ordinary Americans, at the worst of times, sought solace and strength in music, and a clarion call for the intangible power of art., A model of song biography. From the mountains to the prairies to the White House to the ballpark, Kaskowitz's 'surprising history' offers a compelling journey into the complicated and contradictory American soul., Who knew that a book about government bureaucracy could create such an incredible adventure story? Sheryl Kaskowitz manages to do just that. Captivatingly written and exhaustively researched, A Chance to Harmonize brilliantly illuminates this critical yet often overlooked moment in American cultural history.
TitleLeading
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Synopsis
The remarkable story of a hidden New Deal program that tried to change America and end the Great Depression using folk music, laying the groundwork for the folk revival and having a lasting impact on American culture. In 1934, the Great Depression had destroyed the US economy, leaving residents poverty-stricken. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt urged President Roosevelt to take radical action to help those hit hardest--Appalachian miners and mill workers stranded after factories closed, city dwellers with no hope of getting work, farmers whose land had failed. They set up government homesteads in rural areas across the country, an experiment in cooperative living where people could start over. To boost morale and encourage the homesteaders to find community in their own traditions, the administration brought in artists to lead group activities--including folk music. As part of a music unit led by Charles Seeger (father of Pete), staffer Sidney Robertson traveled the country to record hundreds of folk songs. Music leaders, most notably Margaret Valiant, were sent to homesteads to use the collected songs to foster community and cooperation. Working almost entirely (and purposely) under the radar, the music unit would collect more than 800 songs and operate for nearly two years, until they were shut down under fire from a conservative coalition in Congress that deemed the entire homestead enterprise dangerously "socialistic." Despite its early demise, the music unit proved that music can provide hope and a sense of belonging even in the darkest times. It also laid the groundwork for the folk revival that followed, seeing the rise of artists like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Odetta, and Bob Dylan. Award-winning author and Harvard-trained American music scholar Sheryl Kaskowitz has had the unique opportunity to listen to the music unit's entire collection of recordings and examine a trove of archival materials, some of which have never been made available to the public. A Chance To Harmonize reveals this untold story and will delight readers with the revelation of a new and previously undiscovered chapter in American cultural history.
Item description from the seller
Seller feedback (8,303,050)
- r***0 (615)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseRecommended Seller with very fast shipping, excellent communication as the seller responded to all my messages, the book came exactly as advertised and was packaged very well. Another great thing, was I changed my mind and asked to return it and the seller quickly responded to my message and allowed me to return it without any hassle. Also, great prices and I would buy from again. Thanks for a great transaction!!
- 0***a (553)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThis item arrived as described, fast and packaged very well . I only received half of my order on one day so I contacted the seller who and with fast and a great help. I received the rest of my order a few days later due to the carrier missing the third box in his vehicle. I am a very happy customer who has done business with in the past multiple time and will do business with again in the future. I trust and like this seller. You will be happy with the value and condition of your purchase.
- u***a (258)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseI have purchased from them many times. This time, and on occasion I have had an issue with the product, but the seller is graceful about correcting errors. They do a huge volume and sometimes have sent the wrong book or one of their multiples that does not match the description. With swift communication, the seller always resolves the issue. The shipping speed & packaging is excellent. I will continue buying from this seller!Moving Pictures - Mass Market Paperback By Terry Pratchett - ACCEPTABLE (#256674790061)
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Seller feedback (8,303,050)
- r***0 (615)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseRecommended Seller with very fast shipping, excellent communication as the seller responded to all my messages, the book came exactly as advertised and was packaged very well. Another great thing, was I changed my mind and asked to return it and the seller quickly responded to my message and allowed me to return it without any hassle. Also, great prices and I would buy from again. Thanks for a great transaction!!
- 0***a (553)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThis item arrived as described, fast and packaged very well . I only received half of my order on one day so I contacted the seller who and with fast and a great help. I received the rest of my order a few days later due to the carrier missing the third box in his vehicle. I am a very happy customer who has done business with in the past multiple time and will do business with again in the future. I trust and like this seller. You will be happy with the value and condition of your purchase.
- u***a (258)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseI have purchased from them many times. This time, and on occasion I have had an issue with the product, but the seller is graceful about correcting errors. They do a huge volume and sometimes have sent the wrong book or one of their multiples that does not match the description. With swift communication, the seller always resolves the issue. The shipping speed & packaging is excellent. I will continue buying from this seller!Moving Pictures - Mass Market Paperback By Terry Pratchett - ACCEPTABLE (#256674790061)