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Title: Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus by Rick Perlstein ISBN: 0-8090-2859-X Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub. Date: 01 January, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.48 (25 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating Politics
Comment: Before going any further I will cut to the chase and give 'Before The Storm' a wholehearted endorsement. I came to this book via a personal recommendation and I am very glad that I acted upon the suggestion to purchase a copy of this excellent book.
Briefly the book tells the story of Barry Goldwater's Presidential campaign of 1964 and the incredible political landscape of the early 1960's. Goldwater and his campaign drove a coach and horses through the cosy two party system of American politics. He shattered the consensus that had held the Republican and Democratic parties in the centre and created a rallying point for the right in America.
This is a wonderfully readable book, it is definitely not some dry, weighty political tome. I myself knew very little of the politics of the era and had many 'jaw dropping' moments while reading he book. To European readers the level of America paranoia about communism during the early sixties is quite astonishing and the book brilliantly shows the heights and the depths that madness reached. I read with incredulity about obviously intelligent individuals who managed to convince themselves that what was patent nonsense was fact. For example many believed that not only could America survive a nuclear war but should embrace it in the name of freedom. The book clearly demonstrates that in the name of freedom a great many of these people were prepared to trample underfoot the very freedoms that their founding fathers had enshrined.
I came to this book as a student of the Vietnam War and read with great interest about the prestigious American colleges who eagerly embraced the politics of the right in the early Sixties. However a few short years later almost all of them performed a complete about face and became the most vociferous opponents of the Vietnam War. The book has helped me understand a little better the political background to some of the decision making that led to American involvement in Vietnam.
The Sixties are generally thought of as the ear 'flower power' and 'free love' but I am afraid that is not entirely true and this book exposes that myth. Another interesting facet of the book is the account of Richard Nixon's desperate toiling to win the approval of the Republican party and ultimately the Presidential nomination.
In my view this book belongs squarely in the 'must read' category and any serious student of American politics of the Sixties should certainly put it on their reading list. Those of us with an interest in the Vietnam should make a point of reading the book. If they do not they will leave a gaping hole in their understanding.
I would like to pass along the recommendation I received and urge to read this book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Quality book
Comment: If you are interested in the history of the contemporaty American conservative movement, this is close to a "must read". A real strength is Perlstein's research, especially archived private letters of such notables as William F. Buckley, Henry Regnery, Clarence Mannion, and Goldwater himself. Also, the book covers the roles of some figures of the right whose importance has been largely overlooked, e.g., Regnery, Mannion, and Robert Welch.
However, this book is not without its flaws. Though Perlstein's unorthodox prose rather grew on me, some readers might not be so kind. Also, though it is obvious that Perstein is a man with a sense of humor, he was at times a little too cute for my tastes. Along these same lines, Perlstein wore his liberal political bent a little too much on his sleeves. Finally, I am not sure the book lived up to its billing as telling the story of how American political history was forever changed in 1964. In other words, I think the book is better described as "interesting", as opposed to "important". However, this is a quality book, and I tip my hat to Perstein on his first effort.
Rating: 3
Summary: great story but lean on analysis
Comment: Rick Perlstein is an excellent writer, and here he tells a great story. He attempts to capture the general mood of the time and especially the political climate. This was in the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination; words like "hate" and "extremism" were everywhere. And even though the Cold War had thawed slightly after the Bay of Pigs in '62, that war was still very much on people's minds, still very much a source of fear. And that was another watchword for 1964--"fear." DR. STRANGELOVE played on those fears to humorous effect and highlighted the dangers and absurdity of nuclear war. (As another reviewer has pointed out, Perlstein does, however, spend a bit too much time on an overview of that film, important though it was, and afterwards constantly refers to it.)
This is primarily a story about campaign politics, and Perlstein is at his best when describing the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that made Barry Goldwater the Republican nominee. However, readers should know that Perlstein focuses on political action and organization rather than on the animating ideas behind the movement. In general, this doesn't affect the book, but a full appreciation of what people were doing and why requires treatment of the core ideas. For example, Perlstein devotes much space--and many colorful anecdotes--to the activities of the John Birch Society, the Young Americans for Freedom, and the libertarian Republicans in places like Orange County, California, but we don't really get to see why they were cooperative or antagonistic with each other; and the significance of William F. Buckley's uniting project is lost. (For a treatment of the ideas, I'd recommend George Nash's THE CONSERVATIVE INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENT IN AMERICA.)
I was also disappointed by the absence of any real or substantive analysis. Besides some general introductory remarks, there is nothing that passes for analysis. There isn't even a conclusion; the book disappointingly and abruptly ends in midstream immediately after LBJ's landslide. Thus, the title and subtitle are misleading. What is the "storm"--the consequent rise of conservatism and the triumph of Reagan in 1980? We're never told. And how did Barry Goldwater unmake the American consensus? We get some idea of how he disrupted the reigning Republican consensus of the eastern establishment (but we get no sense of the consequences and how this contributed to the "Reagan Revolution"), and from our twenty-first-century vantage point, we know that many of his ideas are accepted as political orthodoxy today (on the right and left). But just how this happened is left to the reader and his apparently assumed store of political knowledge.
BEFORE THE STORM is more journalism than history, and that's fine. As journalism, the book is interesting, insightful, thought-provoking, thorough, and objective. Perlstein takes us into the trenches and shows us what happened in all possible (but not superfluous) detail. He fleshes out personalities and captures emotions. In short, he tells a riveting story without bias. As journalism, as narrative, the book succeeds.
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Title: The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America by George H. Nash ISBN: 188292620X Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute Pub. Date: 01 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: A Time for Choosing: The Rise of Modern American Conservatism by Jonathan M. Schoenwald ISBN: 0195157265 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr ISBN: 0691096112 Publisher: Princeton University Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $20.95 |
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Title: Barry Goldwater by Robert Alan Goldberg ISBN: 0300062613 Publisher: Yale University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Goldwater: The Man Who Made a Revolution by Lee Edwards ISBN: 0895264714 Publisher: Regnery Publishing Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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