Three Centuries of Harvard, 1636-1936 - Paperback

by Samuel Eliot Morison (Author)

This one-volume history of Harvard is not so much a summary of Samuel Eliot Morison's monumental work [The Tercentennial History of Harvard College and University, 1636-1936] as it is an entirely fresh handling of his vast material.

With a mind saturated in the lore and tradition at his command, Professor Morison has sat down to tell the whole story of Harvard informally and briefly. Documentation and all the learned apparatus of scholarly research are therefore omitted; but the same genial humor, the same ability to see the human implications of past events, that characterize his larger, multi-volume series on Harvard are preserved in this. The result is a marvelously entertaining volume, the history of Harvard that everyone has been waiting for, a model of vitalized historical writing.

Back Jacket

'Morison's volume is rich in details as to the customs and manners of three centuries. Precise and luminous strokes tell the story of Commencement and Class Day, with punches and without; of institute and Hasty Pudding; of Porcellian and A. D. and Pi Eta and D. U.; of Navy Club and Med. Fac.; of boating and baseball and football. Always the dominant influence has been of Bostonian wealth and family; but, even in the most puritanical times, it has been high spirited.'--New York Times