The Invisible Bridge
The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan
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- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
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نقد و بررسی
Starred review from June 2, 2014
Perlstein (Nixonland) snuffs out any nostalgic glow in this massive and wide-ranging portrait of 1973 to 1976, from Watergate to Ronald Reagan’s challenge to Gerald Ford for the Republican presidential nomination. Full of the tragic, the infuriating, and the darkly funny, Perlstein captures the frantic nature of the period: Hank Aaron enduring racist slurs and death threats as he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record; the kidnapping of Patty Hearst; the fall of Saigon; and Chevy Chase mocking the hapless Gerald Ford on Saturday Night Live. This was an America that seemed dominated by “suspicious circles”—the skeptics and cynics that led much of America’s cultural and political discourse in the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate. But Perlstein pulls together the threads that hinted at a conservatism in flux and ready for revolution, from violent battles over busing in Boston to anti-Equal Rights Amendment activism, but most of all, Ronald Reagan: his unwavering optimism in America, his carefully constructed image, and his growing appeal to mainstream America. As Perlstein notes in this outstanding work, “America had not yet become Reagan’s America,” but these were pivotal years that laid the groundwork for Reagan’s presidential triumph in 1980. Agent: Tina Bennett, William Morris Endeavor.
September 1, 2014
The third installment in a series of four books focusing on the American political and social climate of the 1970s, Perlstein (Nixonland) opens this volume with the end of the Vietnam War and finishes with Ronald Reagan's failed attempt to gain the Republican nomination in 1976. Perlstein demonstrates how a nervous nation disenchanted with politicians (owing to Watergate, Vietnam, and tensions with "Red China") and in throes of social change was becoming primed for a leader like Reagan and a new, modern conservatism. At times, it seems the author is stretching for a connection between certain events and Reagan's rise to power, and, overall, Perlstein paints a convincing picture. Occasionally, long descriptions of seemingly out-of-place topics are a bit jarring but they aren't bothersome enough to detract from the narrative. Particularly engaging are the author's recounts of Reagan's deft political moves, charm, and willingness to find faults in a nation unwilling to look for them. This is certainly one of the most thorough political investigations of this time frame and an important read for scholars of this period. VERDICT Recommended for readers of political science, American history, presidential history, those interested in Watergate, and those concerned with the beginnings of the oil crisis.--Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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