Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore (Oxford History of the United States, vol. 11)

In Restless Giant , acclaimed historical author James Patterson provides a crisp, concise assessment of the twenty-seven years between the resignation of Richard Nixon and the election of George W. Bush in a sweeping narrative that seamlessly weaves together social, cultural, political, economic, and international developments. We meet the era's many memorable figures and explore the "culture wars" between liberals and conservatives that appeared to split the country in two. Patterson describes how America began facing bewildering developments in places such as Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, and Iraq, and discovered that it was far from easy to direct the outcome of global events, and at times even harder for political parties to reach a consensus over what attempts should be made. At the same time, domestic issues such as the persistence of racial tensions, high divorce rates, alarm over crime, and urban decay led many in the media to portray the era as one of decline. Patterson offers a more positive perspective, arguing that, despite our often unmet expectations, we were in many ways better off than we thought. By 2000, most Americans lived more comfortably than they had in the 1970s, and though bigotry and discrimination were far from extinct, a powerful rights consciousness insured that these were less pervasive in American life than at any time in the past. With insightful analyses and engaging prose, Restless Giant captures this period of American history in a way that no other book has, illuminating the road that the United States traveled from the dismal days of the mid-1970s through the hotly contested election of 2000. The Oxford History of the United States The Oxford History of the United States is the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times bestseller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The Atlantic Monthly has praised it as "the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship," a series that "synthesizes a generation's worth of historical inquiry and knowledge into one literally state-of-the-art book." Conceived under the general editorship of C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter, and now under the editorship of David M. Kennedy, this renowned series blends social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly written narrative. A concise assessment of the 27 years between the resignation of Richard Nixon and the election of George W. Bush, weaving together social, cultural, political, economic, and international developments. We meet the era's many memorable figures--most notably, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton--and explore the "culture wars" where liberals and conservatives appeared to cut the country in two. Patterson describes how, when the Cold War finally ended, Americans faced bewildering new developments around the world. In exploring a wide range of cultural, social, and economic concerns, he shows how the persistence of racial tensions, high divorce rates, alarm over crime, and urban decay all led many writers to portray this era as one of decline. But he argues that our often unmet expectations caused many of us to view the era negatively, when in fact we were in many ways better off than we thought.--From publisher description A concise assessment of the 27 years between the resignation of Richard Nixon and the election of George W. Bush, weaving together social, cultural, political, economic, and international developments. We meet the era's many memorable figures - most notably, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton - and explore the "culture wars" where liberals and conservatives appeared to cut the country in two. [In this book, the author] describes how, when the Cold War finally ended, Americans faced bewildering new developments around the world. In exploring a wide range of cultural, social, and economic concerns, he shows how the persistence of racial tensions, high divorce rates, alarm over crime, and urban decay all led many writers to portray this era as one of decline. But he argues that our often unmet expectations caused many of us to view the era negatively, when in fact we were in many ways better off than we thought Part of the series, Oxford History of the United States, David M. Kennedy, General Editor in which Professor Patterson has written several books. This one advances the time frame to the period following the specific events of Watergate and takes the reader into the later 1970's and beyond through the Clinton years. The book presents a comprehensive review of the events with very extensive bibliographic references. It is the work of a skilled and dedicated academician, not a political insider, making it helpful for historical reference but missing the personal insight of other authors who provide memoirs on these events. James Patterson's Bancroft Prize-winning Grand Expectations, the penultimate volume in the Oxford History of the United States, was hailed by The New York Times as ""a spirited, sprawling narrative of American life"" and by The Wall Street Journal as ""a tour de force."" Now, in the finalchronological volume of this acclaimed series, Patterson again offers an authoritative and vibrant history of a turbulent period in American life. Restless Giant provides a crisp, concise assessment of the twenty-seven years between the resignation of Richard Nixon and the election of George W. Bush, in a sw The troubled 1970's Sex, families, stagflation The political world of the mid-1970s Carter, Reagan, and the rise of the right "Morning again in America" America and the world in the 1980's Bush 41 "Culture wars" and "decline" in the 1990's Immigration, multiculturalism, race Political wars of the early Clinton years Prosperity, partisanship, terrorism Impeachment and electoral crisis, 1998-2000. James T. Patterson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 427-435) And Index.