Abstract

Gertrude Himmelfarb aims at a comprehensive analysis of the condition of American society, in respect of its dominating culture, as possible. She attempts to find the causes of this condition, to describe and explain its basic symptoms and to discover the current trends, as well as to appraise their meaning and significance. The author’s book is firmly set in the American realities. This does not mean, however, that its messages may only be of interest to Americans or Americanists. The conflict between the conservative and liberal world outlooks is at present highly vital, in its various hues and on various planes, to all the societies of the ‘West’, including Poland. It for this reason that the theses articulated by Himmelfarb undoubtedly deserve profound reflection.