F. Scott Fitzgerald and the American Scene

"What may seem otherwise surprising in a book about the meeting of Fitzgerald and sociology is this books reverence for the literary element. Any of the "new" discoveries always aims at proving that Fitzgerald used fiction as a literary medium before he used it as a social one. In perhaps the most subversive move of all, American Scene uses historicism against itself proudly to affirm the role of the novelistic imagination for a new age and a new American scene."
—F. Scott Fitzgerald Review

“Berman has written extensively on Fitzgerald . . . so the reader should not be fooled by the slenderness of the present volume. Instead, one should recognize and appreciate the intensity of Berman’s focus: the rapidity with which culture can change in little more than a decade, especially when spurred by ideas like social Darwinism, Freudianism, and Marxism. Fitzgerald, though sharply aware of these movements, was rarely committed to any of these ideologies, sometimes to the annoyance of his mentors and supporters. . . . Highly recommended.”
—CHOICE

“An admirable and succinct look at parallels between Fitzgerald’s depiction of American society and social science in general. There is immense value to this book, and the individual chapters will no doubt be cited in future criticism.”
—Kirk Curnutt, author of The Cambridge Introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald and editor of The Critical Response to Gertrude Stein

“A wonderful addition to the source materials for Fitzgerald’s intimate knowledge and rendition of his American scene.”
—Chris Messenger, author of “Tender Is the Night” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Sentimental Identities and Sport and the Spirit of Play in American Fiction: Hawthorne to Faulkner