Rick Perlstein est un historien et journaliste américain qui explore la nature du conservatisme américain. Son travail se caractérise par un examen approfondi des événements historiques et des figures qui ont façonné la politique américaine moderne. Avec un sens aigu du détail et un talent narratif, il dévoile les motivations complexes et les forces à l'œuvre derrière des changements politiques décisifs. Ses analyses offrent un regard pénétrant sur la manière dont les idéologies et les mouvements évoluent au fil du temps et influencent la société.
In an astute and surprising history of the 1960s as the cradle of the conservative movement, Perlstein's gutsy narrative history profiles the rise of Barry Goldwater, the rich, handsome Arizona Republican who scorned the federal bureaucracy and despised liberals on sight.16 pp. of photos.
Told with urgency and sharp political insight, this account recaptures America's turbulent 1960s and early 1970s, revealing how Richard Nixon rose from political obscurity to seize the presidency. It begins amid the chaos of the 1965 Watts riots, just months after Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory seemed to signal a permanent liberal consensus. However, by the following year, many liberals were ousted from Congress, and Nixon was poised for a stunning comeback. Between 1965 and 1972, America endured a second civil war, birthing the political landscape we recognize today. The era was marked by figures like Nixon, Johnson, Spiro Agnew, and Hubert H. Humphrey, alongside cultural icons such as Abbie Hoffman and Jane Fonda. Key events include the student protests against the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention. Nixon's promise of national unity belied a divisive governance and a criminal conspiracy culminating in the Watergate scandal. In November 1972, Nixon was reelected in a landslide, setting the stage for his 1974 resignation and defining America's ideological divide. Filled with extensive research and a compelling narrative, this account confirms the author's status as a leading historian.
A dazzling portrait of America on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the tumultuous political and economic times of the 1970s.
"From the bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge comes the dramatic conclusion of how conservatism took control of American political power"--
The first book to present America's most controversial president in his own words across his entire career, this unique collection of Richard Nixon's most important writings dramatically demonstrates why he has had such a profound impact on American life. This volume gathers everything from schoolboy letters to geostrategic manifestos and Oval Office transcripts to create a fascinating portrait of Nixon, one that is enriched by an extensive introduction in which Rick Perlstein puts forward a major reinterpretation of the thirty-seventh president's rise and fall. This anthology includes some of the most famous addresses in American history, from Nixon's "Checkers" speech (1952) and "Last Press Conference" (1962), to the "Silent Majority" speech (1969) and White House farewell. These texts are joined by campaign documents--including the infamous "Pink Sheet" from the 1950 Senate race--that give stark evidence of Nixon's slashing political style. Made easily available here for the first time, these writings give new depth to our understanding of Nixon.