Leo Marx (November 15, 1919 – March 8, 2022) was an American historian, literary critic, and educator.
[4] He grew up in New York City and Paris; his father died when Leo was a child.
[5] Marx taught at the University of Minnesota from 1949 to 1958 and then at Amherst College from 1958 to 1977 before joining the faculty of MIT in 1976.
The book explores 19th century American literature and its contrast of the pastoral ideal with the rapid changes caused by emerging technology.
The book was based upon a thesis Marx began at Harvard and took 15 years to finish.