TY - BOOK AU - Brewster,Eugene V. TI - What's What in America AV - BFE151PS PY - 2017/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - United States -- Civilization KW - United States -- Social life and customs N1 - Release date is 2017-03-16; Credulity -- Christian Science -- Osteopathy -- Phrenology -- Physiognomy -- Dreams -- Superstitions -- Stage tricks and occultism -- Ghosts -- Strikes, profiteering and the high cost of living -- The public -- Popularity -- Greatness -- The martyrdom of genius -- Gentlemen, be seated -- Beards -- Gambling -- Wedding bells; Produced by Chris Curnow, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive); Original publication data not identified N2 - "What's What in America" by Eugene V. Brewster is a critical examination of societal trends and superstitions written in the early 20th century. The work discusses a variety of cultural phenomena viewed through Brewster's lens of skepticism, exploring the nature of credulity, self-deception, and the beliefs that take root in the American consciousness, including health fads and pseudosciences. At the start of the book, Brewster presents a preface outlining the complexities of American identity, highlighting the paradox of being a diverse yet unified society. He posits that Americans are drawn to various unorganized 'isms', such as Christian Science and phrenology, suggesting these credulities are indicative of a deeper social disarray. He introduces the themes of the book, indicating a series of essays that will dissect these ideologies, addressing the interplay of superstition, belief in the supernatural, and the sometimes absurd popularity of certain fads in the quest for understanding and meaning within the rapidly changing landscape of American life at the time. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54370 ER -