Homeownership in the United States peaked at 69 percent in 2004. It has declined steadily over the last decade to less than 66 percent in 2012, prompting speculation that for many in the next generation, the American Dream will be elusive.
Eric John Abrahamson’s new book, Building Home: Howard F. Ahmanson and the Politics of the American Dream looks back at the policies, institutions and entrepreneurs who helped increase the homeownership rate in the United States from a low of less than 44 percent in 1940 to nearly 62 percent in 1960.
Using the biography of Howard F. Ahmanson, the most successful of the savings and loan entrepreneurs in this era, the book explores the collaboration between business and government in the postwar years to achieve important social goals, including an increase in the rate of homeownership.
The book is scheduled for publication on February 28, 2013. Copies or e-books can be ordered from the University of California Press or leading online booksellers.