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nickjagged's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book of two halves. The front half is a febrile picture of Nixon's political career in the years leading up to the 1968 general election, which bears out Perlstein's thesis of Conservatism as a politics of resentment (as opposed to accounts that center Conservative intellectuals as the driving force of the movement). There is some editorializing, but it feels appropriate given the charged rhetoric of movements, both progressive and reactionary, from 1960 to 1968. Perlstein is in rare form here, balancing the narratives of activism, backlash, and back-room politics to more fully grasp the techniques employed by Nixon to triangulate the perfect path to victory. Then, it all falls apart.
The back half of the book (unintentionally?) illustrates what is elided when centering resentment as the primary force of Conservatism. If resentment is the name of the game, then how do we account for the incongruity of Nixon's domestic policy in his first term? Perlstein devotes barely a paragraph to the creation of the EPA (and almost nothing beyond that regarding Nixon's environmental policy decisions), and seems only willing to discuss welfare reform as a wedge issue Nixon aimed to leverage against the Democratic Party in the 1970 and 1972 elections. These are very interesting cases where policy undercuts clear explanation, offering a chance at a richer understanding of the inflection points between seemingly contradictory ideologies. Perlstein, however, sticks to the interplay between Nixon's foreign policy and the associated domestic reception as the embodiment of his resentment thesis. That, combined with his continued editorializing, produce a fairly inert account of Nixon's first term that fizzles out several chapters before the end.
Worth a look, but not essential.
The back half of the book (unintentionally?) illustrates what is elided when centering resentment as the primary force of Conservatism. If resentment is the name of the game, then how do we account for the incongruity of Nixon's domestic policy in his first term? Perlstein devotes barely a paragraph to the creation of the EPA (and almost nothing beyond that regarding Nixon's environmental policy decisions), and seems only willing to discuss welfare reform as a wedge issue Nixon aimed to leverage against the Democratic Party in the 1970 and 1972 elections. These are very interesting cases where policy undercuts clear explanation, offering a chance at a richer understanding of the inflection points between seemingly contradictory ideologies. Perlstein, however, sticks to the interplay between Nixon's foreign policy and the associated domestic reception as the embodiment of his resentment thesis. That, combined with his continued editorializing, produce a fairly inert account of Nixon's first term that fizzles out several chapters before the end.
Worth a look, but not essential.
polo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A genuinely brilliant book that takes you through this turbulent time in history, tying it all back with elegant insight to Nixon. Fascinating.
reidrussom's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.5
An exhaustive account of the collapse of the New Deal Coalition and emergence of the culture war that we’re still fighting today. I feel like I’ve taken a graduate-level course on the era. But Perlstein is a little to obsessed with details, a little to callous when writing about death, and a over-reliant on a few turns of phrase (I wish I counted how many times “nut-cutter” was used).
pemuth59's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant political dissection of our strangest times and weirdest (but oddly fascinating) president. The book also puts our current political wars in a historical perspective (hint: we're still fighting many of the same battles).
oliverigotti's review against another edition
I need to get back into this. Not as good as becoming nixon
pamiverson's review against another edition
5.0
How Nixon and his campaign engaged in dirty tricks so he had the weakest opponent in the 1972 election. I found it particularly sad because McGovern's campaign was the first one I worked on.
gabesteller's review against another edition
4.0
an aural sprint to finish this 39 hour audiobook in 3 weeks but i did itttttt. Rlly great audio experience actually, Perlstein writing is really sharp with a lot of humor which narrator was totally ~n-sync~ with. Anyway totally fascinating and eyeopening about the origins of the culture war and the sense of victimhood on the right, how fucking bananas the 60's were (way more bananas then now!) and just how different the politics of parts of country were (the Bernie of the 60's George McGovern was from South Dakota!).Also it was the age Minnesotans as prez candidates woohoo! Hubert Humphrey (who my grandma baby-sat for) and Eugene McCarthy (the good McCarthy!)
Admittedly gets a little bogged down in the intricacies of the campaigns but The rest was so good i forgive.
Moral of the story Vietnam was a crime and a humanitarian catastrophe and also rlly bad politics! War sucks dont do it ever! (ever!!!!)
Admittedly gets a little bogged down in the intricacies of the campaigns but The rest was so good i forgive.
Moral of the story Vietnam was a crime and a humanitarian catastrophe and also rlly bad politics! War sucks dont do it ever! (ever!!!!)