Author Description

This third volume of the history of the University of Wisconsin, Politics, Depression, and War, 1925-1945, continues the history of the famous institution that has become today's University of Wisconsin-Madison. It carries the story forward from 1925 to the end of World War II, as the University was planning for the post-war influx of returning veterans. Volumes I and II, by Professors Merle Curti and Vernon Carstensen, were published in 1949 as part of the University's centennial celebration. In Volume III, E. David Cronon and John W. Jenkins provide a lively and readable account of the significant political, social, and educational transformations between 1925 and 1945, emphasizing the effect of Wisconsin's partisan politics on the University, the growth of the faculty's role in institutional governance, the development of close-knit faculty and student communities, and the ways in which the University maintained and even enhanced its scholarly reputation in a difficult era of history. The authors also look at the expansion of University outreach activities, especially the development of a major instructional center in Milwaukee (later to become the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), extension centers throughout the state, and the new medium of educational broadcasting through the university station, WHA, considered "the oldest station in the nation." Read alone or in conjunction with the first two volumes, this is a thorough and absorbing history for anyone interested in this remarkable institution. Current faculty, alumni, students, and Wisconsin residents will find here a wealth of information enhanced by many historical photographs. An engaging additional feature are the cartoons, caricatures, and sketches from student publications that reveal a student perspective on the people and events of the period.