Books by Alumni: History and current events

Matthew A. Crenson, AM'65, PhD'69, Building the Invisible Orphanage: A Prehistory of the American Welfare System (Harvard University Press). Crenson examines the connection between the decline of the orphanage and the rise of welfare, reviewing the decades-long debate about the merits of family care versus institutional care for dependent children.

Thomas D. Parrish, AB'49, AM'79, Berlin in the Balance, 1945-1949: The Blockade, the Airlift, the First Major Battle of the Cold War (Perseus Books). Chronicling one of the great stories of the early postwar era, Parrish draws on newly available sources to reveal Soviet thinking behind the Berlin blockade and to expose the fears that caused the West's response to the crisis.