The American Paradox: A History of the United States Since 1945

Steven M. Gillon is the Scholar-in-Residence at HISTORY and Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma.

Steven Gillon (PhD Brown University) received his BA in History from Widener University where he graduated summa cum laude with honors in History. He was named the recipient of the Faculty Prize for maintaining the highest undergraduate GPA. He went on to earn his AM and PhD in American Civilization from Brown University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his PhD, Steve spent nine years teaching history at Yale University where he won the prestigious DeVane Medal for outstanding undergraduate teaching. In 1994, he accepted a position as University Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University. Three years later, he returned to the United States at the invitation of the president of the University of Oklahoma to become the founding dean of a new Honors College.

Steve is one of the nation's leading experts on modern American history and politics. He has written or edited nearly a dozen books including Separate and Unequal: The Kerner Commission and the Unraveling of American Liberalism (Basic, 2018) and the New York Times bestseller, The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation (Oxford, 2008). Among his many other books are: America’s Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy, Jr. (Penguin USA 2019); Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation into War (Basic, 2011); 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America (Three Rivers, 2006); Boomer Nation: The Largest and Richest Generation and How it Changed America (Free Press, 2004); That’s Not What We Meant to Do: Reform and Its Unintended Consequences in Twentieth-Century America (W.W. Norton, 2000); The Democrats' Dilemma: Walter F. Mondale and the Liberal Legacy (Columbia University, 1992); and Politics and Vision: The ADA and American Liberalism, 1947-1985 (Oxford, 1987).

Steve's articles have appeared in both academic journals and popular newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Boston Globe. He has been a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post. He has made appearances on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News as a commentator and expert on issues related to modern American history.

Over the past decade, Steve has hosted a number of shows on HISTORY, including the network's flagship public affairs program, HistoryCenter. He has also hosted Our Generation, History vs. Hollywood, and Movies in Time. His last three books have been turned into prime-time documentaries on the network.