In 'Nixonland,' Rick Perlstein masterfully chronicles the tumultuous era of the 1960s and 70s through the lens of Richard Nixon's political rise and moral decline. The book delves deep into the cultural upheaval and societal divisions that marked this period, painting a vivid portrait of a nation in chaos. Perlstein's compelling narrative reveals how Nixon exploited fears and anxieties to secure his power, shaping a legacy that still resonates today. With rich details and gripping storytelling, 'Nixonland' invites readers to explore the complexities of a leader who was both a product and a shaper of his times. Prepare to uncover the hidden forces that shaped modern America and the enigmatic figure at its center.
By Rick Perlstein
Published: 2009
"In the chaos of the 1960s, the American psyche wrestled with its own demons, revealing how the politics of despair and division could lead even the most unyielding to compromise their ideals."
Told with urgency and sharp political insight, Nixonland recaptures America's turbulent 1960s and early 1970s and reveals how Richard Nixon rose from the political grave to seize and hold the presidency. Perlstein's epic account begins in the blood and fire of the 1965 Watts riots, nine months after Lyndon Johnson's historic landslide victory over Barry Goldwater appeared to herald a permanent liberal consensus in the United States. Yet the next year, scores of liberals were tossed out of Congress, America was more divided than ever, and a disgraced politician was on his way to a shocking comeback: Richard Nixon. Between 1965 and 1972, America experienced no less than a second civil war. Out of its ashes, the political world we know now was born. It was the era not only of Nixon, Johnson, Spiro Agnew, Hubert H. Humphrey, George McGovern, Richard J. Daley, and George Wallace but Abbie Hoffman, Ronald Reagan, Angela Davis, Ted Kennedy, Charles Manson, John Lindsay, and Jane Fonda. There are tantalizing glimpses of Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Jesse Jackson, John Kerry, and even of two ambitious young men named Karl Rove and William Clinton -- and a not so ambitious young man named George W. Bush. Cataclysms tell the story of Nixonland: -Angry blacks burning down their neighborhoods in cities across the land as white suburbanites defend home and hearth with shotguns -The student insurgency over the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention -The fissuring of the Democratic Party into warring factions manipulated by the “dirty tricks” of Nixon and his Committee to Re-Elect the President -Richard Nixon pledging a new dawn of national unity, governing more divisively than any president before him, then directing a criminal conspiracy, the Watergate cover-up, from the Oval Office Then, in November 1972, Nixon, harvesting the bitterness and resentment born of America's turmoil, was reelected in a landslide even bigger than Johnson's 1964 victory, not only setting the stage for his dramatic 1974 resignation but defining the terms of the ideological divide that characterizes America today. Filled with prodigious research and driven by a powerful narrative, Rick Perlstein's magisterial account of how America divided confirms his place as one of our country's most celebrated historians.
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“In the chaos of the 1960s, the American psyche wrestled with its own demons, revealing how the politics of despair and division could lead even the most unyielding to compromise their ideals.”
Nixonland
By Rick Perlstein
Discover a world of knowledge through our extensive collection of book summaries.
Rick Perlstein is an acclaimed American author and historian best known for his groundbreaking works on the political history of the United States during the late 20th century. He gained prominence with his first book, "Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America" (2008), which received critical acclaim for its in-depth analysis of the Nixon era. Perlstein has since published other notable works including "The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan" (2014) and "Reaganland: America’s Right Turn 1976-1980" (2020), which provide a rich narrative of the political shifts and cultural changes that defined modern America. His writing style is characterized by meticulous research, vivid storytelling, and a keen eye for the nuances of political discourse, making complex historical events accessible and engaging for a broad audience. Perlstein’s work often explores themes of power, identity, and the evolution of American politics, establishing him as a leading voice in contemporary historical literature.
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