Bruce A. Kimball attacks the widely held assumption that the idea of American "professionalism" arose from the proliferation of urban professional positions during the late nineteenth century. This first paperback edition of The "True Professional Ideal" in America argues that the professional ideal can be traced back to the colonial period. This comprehensive intellectual history illuminates the profound relationships between the idea of a "professional" and broader changes in American social, cultural, and political history.

About the Author
Bruce A. Kimball is Professor of Education at the University of Rochester and is the author of Orators and Philosophers: A History of the Idea of Liberal Education (1986).

Reviews
[T]he best history of American professions to date. This book will become a classic of intellectual and social history. -- Harold Perkin, Northwestern University
a veritable ^Rsumma^I on the professions. -- R Sheldon Rothblatt, University of California, Berkeley
Absolutely wonderful. It cannot fail to become a landmark in the literature not only of professionalization, but also of intellectual history more broadly considered. -- Philip Gleason, University of Notre Dame
[A] useful, densely researched, multilayered work in U.S. cultural and intellectual history. * American Historical Review *
...[A] brilliant book. * Times Literary Supplement *



Book Information
ISBN 9780847681433
Author Bruce A. Kimball
Format Paperback
Page Count 444
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm