Joel G. Colton (born Joseph Goldstein; August 23, 1918 – April 17, 2011)[1] of Durham, North Carolina, was a modern history scholar and author.
He taught at Duke University from 1947 until his retirement in 1982, except while serving as director of humanities at the Rockefeller Foundation between 1974 and 1982.
In 2002, it was reported that "First published in 1950, it has been translated into six languages and is used in more than 1,000 colleges and universities as well as many high school advanced placement courses.
(Slotnick's Colton obit) Since its original publication, its reputation continued to grow.
The Washington Post in 1996 called it 'the first book to be elevated to the textbook hall of fame'" [3] He died of congestive heart failure.