At the turn of the twentieth century, American men—especially white men—were confronted by a rapidly-changing world that threatened to disrupt systems they had known all their lives. In the face of these social and economic transformations, men from varied class and ethnic backgrounds formed groups in which they found support, companionship, and camaraderie. This story has typically been told through the eyes of middle-class men, but historian-sociologist Len Ellis adopts a different perspective in this revealing work, instead training his lens on the experiences of working-class and elite men in major cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Exploring street corners, pool halls, saloons, boys’ schools, college fraternities, and elite social clubs, this book illuminates largely-forgotten worlds that are surprisingly analogous to elements of our own moment.
