The Irish Americans: The Rise to Money and Power Book

Schlereth provides a lengthy, but useful and insightful introduction tracing various approaches to American material cultural studies, and defining it as a mode of inquiry with a historical basis. He focuses on historical, rather than art historical material culture, which tends toward the aesthetic rather than the analytic. He divides material culture studies into three chronological phases: Collecting/Classifying, Descriptive/Historical, and Analytical/Explanatory. Following Schlereth's introduction, is an anthology of material cultural essays devoted to theory, method, and implemented practice, concluding with a short bibliographic essay. An exemplary and engaging collection.