One of the nation's leading historians offers a groundbreaking and provocative chronicle of America's political history since the fall of Nixon... read full description
reviews
Jul 10, 2008
brian
rated it: 
i have this theory that whoever is president in your formative years, whoever is president when you are at a certain age, remains, to some degree, the standard of what a statesman should look like. (sucks for kids now, huh?)
i remember, as a child, laying in my den and reagan's grandfatherly, comforting presence spilled all over the room night after night. (little did i know that that confused and endearing succession of "i can't remember" was in reference to something prett More...
i remember, as a child, laying in my den and reagan's grandfatherly, comforting presence spilled all over the room night after night. (little did i know that that confused and endearing succession of "i can't remember" was in reference to something prett More...
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Dec 06, 2011
Christopher
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When I first saw that Sean WIlentz, the respected historian of book "The Rise of American Democracy," was publishing a history of the past 30 years of political history, I was very excited and bought it as soon as it was available. Now, having just finished it, I am very disappointed in it. Whereas his previous book was meticulous and painstakingly detail oriented, with nearly one footnote for every paragraph written, this book is short and offers very little in terms of footnotes. Wi
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Sep 07, 2011
James
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Sean Wilentz chronicles the political history of the United States from 1974 through the election of 2000, with an epilogue that carries the story through 2008, summarizing the principal consequences of the administration of George W. Bush. He argues that Ronald Reagan was the dominant political figure of the era, bringing into its own a conservative revolution that had its origins in the 1964 presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater.
Wilentz suggests that the Reagan administration wa More...
Wilentz suggests that the Reagan administration wa More...
Jul 02, 2009
Dave
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If you are looking for an explanation of what's happened and why in the past 30 years this book is for you!
I've searched my own mind in the course of the present economic crisis to try to recall just when we embraced this culture of greed. I knew there was a fundamental change, just couldn't pin it down. Thought deep down that basic changes began when Reagon became President. Then I found this book and all my suspicions were confirmed, only worse.
Then in the course of More...
I've searched my own mind in the course of the present economic crisis to try to recall just when we embraced this culture of greed. I knew there was a fundamental change, just couldn't pin it down. Thought deep down that basic changes began when Reagon became President. Then I found this book and all my suspicions were confirmed, only worse.
Then in the course of More...
Aug 06, 2011
Tommy
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Wilentz, a critic of Reagan's during his Presidency and later a member of the Gore campaign, seems an odd choice to write this book, but he is up front about his own biases and makes a compelling case in his introduction that historians have ignored this important period for far too long. Wilentz should indeed be praised for his remarkable detachment through most of the book. His discussion of the liberals fall from power and the Reagan Administration is balanced and he praises the former Pres
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Feb 24, 2011
Adam
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Was given this book as a gift by a friend (a Democrat) expecting it to be a positive account of Reagan. Of course that is not the case as I kept waiting for some praise that is non-existent. Still an interesting historical account that is biased to the left. Still it made me think and question a lot of what I know about Reagan. I suppose that is better than just reading a book that praises him the whole time and doesn't allow me, the reader, to learn anything new. Overall, a decent book if you k
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Nov 09, 2011
Alistair
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Not the most objective of books, perhaps this is a book that should have been left for another few years and writen by a another historian, Sean Wilentz was never going to be able to be unbiased.
As some one liberal minded myself and have come of age in the late 80's I found this to be a very good read. Being able to personally relate to many of the key events does provide a level of introspection that other political history books set before 1982 fail to provide.
The book did give me some new per More...
As some one liberal minded myself and have come of age in the late 80's I found this to be a very good read. Being able to personally relate to many of the key events does provide a level of introspection that other political history books set before 1982 fail to provide.
The book did give me some new per More...
Dec 26, 2009
Sean
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The narrative in Age of Reagan is engaging; but the book is, nonetheless, disappointing. Author Sean Wilentz, (a Democrat, a witness during the Clinton impeachment proceedings, and an adviser to Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign) gives the impression in his introduction that the reader should not necessarily expect a steady stream of criticism toward Reagan and, perhaps, may reasonably expect some favorable commentary. He writes:
"The conclusions I have reached dif More...
"The conclusions I have reached dif More...
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Oct 04, 2008
Cat
rated it:
My book reviews dropped precipitously over the last several months due to my ill advised decision to attempt Tristam Shandy & Tom Jones- both of which are 18th century brit lit well in excess of 500 near unintelligible pages.
I decided to switch gears into United States politics when I read a review of Sean Wilentz's "The Age of Reagan: A History 1974-2008." Willentz wrote the amazing Chants Democratic: New York City and the Rise of the American Working Class, 1788-1850, in More...
I decided to switch gears into United States politics when I read a review of Sean Wilentz's "The Age of Reagan: A History 1974-2008." Willentz wrote the amazing Chants Democratic: New York City and the Rise of the American Working Class, 1788-1850, in More...
May 06, 2010
Jim
rated it:
A straightforward narrative political history of the United States from the aftermath of Watergate to the administration of George W. Bush. For Sean Willentz, this is the “age of Reagan,” so named for the influence Reagan exerted and continues to exert. For good or ill (and I think one could make a good case either way), Reagan reshaped political discourse, recast American conservatism, and brought about a paradigm shift in our politics.
Willentz analyzes events from a mainstream lib More...
Willentz analyzes events from a mainstream lib More...
Aug 20, 2008
Aaron
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I am fairly sure that this is not technically a work of history; lacking significant primary sources (Wilentz spurned interviews and Bush has denied access to primary documents going back to the early Cold War), this is instead a polemic on the politics of Wilentz’s life. Had Wilentz approached the book as a memoir-polemic, he may have been on to something. However, by trying to shoe horn half a lifetime of political opinions into a history of Reagan and Reaganism, he has written an oddly hollow
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May 27, 2008
Jesse
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We were all supposed to read Wilentz's path-breaking Chants Democratic in grad school and never did. (Sorry, Robin.) Maybe I will get around to it someday. This encouraged me. Wilentz writes a pretty vivid political history of this period that reads history both backward and forward: in light of the recent revisions of Reagan in the light of Bush (eg he said all these crazy things but didn't really do them, unlike GWB, who both spoke crazy and acted crazy), Wilentz points out that Reagan's peopl
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Jan 11, 2011
Billy
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Sean Wilentz is best known for his political and social histories of 19th century America, most recently The Rise of American Democracy. Why, then, would this Princeton historian tackle the most contemporary of political histories? His motives seep through The Age of Reagan, a work that reads critically but fairly of its main subject. Despite the book’s title—a clear nod to Schlesinger's The Age of Jackson—Wilentz contends that Reaganism cannot be synonymous with conservatism. Instead, Reaga
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Dec 15, 2010
Arnold
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Wilentz provides an engaging narrative spanning the presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43. This narrative is more or less coherent until he reaches Clinton, when the chapters become increasingly long on conclusions and short on analysis. Indeed, the entire Bush 43 presidency is dispensed in the epilogue--remarkable given his conclusion that in many ways, W's two terms represent the culmination of the "Age of Reagan."
Although Wilentz c More...
Although Wilentz c More...
Feb 07, 2010
Ray
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I expected this book to focus specifically on President Reagan and the modern conservative movement, however it's broader than that. Wilentz examines the impacts and legacy of the Presidents from Nixon through G.W. Bush. The author has attempted an element of fairness, praising the good and condemning the bad in each of the past administrations. Of course, since this is a political topic, people with strong party feelings from either side of the aisle will find fault with the authors criticis
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Dec 05, 2009
Benjamin
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Vaguely useful as background, but excessive focus on presidential politics limits the explanatory power of the book. Yes, I'm grateful to learn about behind-the-scenes scheming in the Reagan administration, but a compelling account of the death of corporatized liberalism would be better. Plus, there's just very little surprising here.
Aug 21, 2011
Steven
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Absolute drivel. I didn't even finish it, though I pushed myself many hours past where I wanted to quit it just to see if it would improve. It did not.
The author proclaimed himself to be a democrat and also to be in some ways involved in some of the story, but insisted that he could be impartial. He was far from it.
I was young during Reagan's presidency and was only just becoming politically aware, but even if I was reading this and I wasn't born for another 100 years, it More...
The author proclaimed himself to be a democrat and also to be in some ways involved in some of the story, but insisted that he could be impartial. He was far from it.
I was young during Reagan's presidency and was only just becoming politically aware, but even if I was reading this and I wasn't born for another 100 years, it More...
Jun 17, 2008
Dan
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First-rate political history albeit limited by the "political." More than a bio of Reagan, this is really "The Rise and Fall of Reagan Conservatism." Its time frame (1974-2008) is interesting and heartening for those of us who yearn for a new age. While author Wilentz debunks the notion that Reagan won the Cold War by spending the Soviets into the ground -- in fact, the USSR cut its defense budget after leaving Afghanistan -- he did come to appreciate Reagan's genuine abho
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Jul 09, 2009
Greg
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terrific chronicle of the rise of conservatism and the "voodoo economics" of the Reagan age and it's successors.....
Apr 06, 2009
Craig
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I wasn't expecting such a liberal view of the Reagan years. I was hoping for something a little more balanced?
Aug 01, 2010
Neil
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A really smart and interesting interpretation of what Reaganism has meant for more than 30 years.
Jul 27, 2008
James
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Right: so if you look this title up on Amazon, you'll find that my review is the top one. As of this writing, 42 out of 49 people found my review to be of some use to them.
I could go back to add that this book was pretty good, but Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America freakin' blew my socks off, but so many partisan jerkwads are weighing in with their one-star reviews that I'd rather just let my five-star one stand, warts and all. Besides, Wilentz's book More...
I could go back to add that this book was pretty good, but Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America freakin' blew my socks off, but so many partisan jerkwads are weighing in with their one-star reviews that I'd rather just let my five-star one stand, warts and all. Besides, Wilentz's book More...
Jun 25, 2009
Mike
rated it:
Good book for recent history if a bit skewed. The author uses the term ultraconservative a bit too much (is the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal ultraconservative?) and does not make the connection between Clarence Thomas's hearing and the Clinton impeachment (I teach that it was clear payback). But it was good primer on this stuff. I need to read some critical reviews.
Nov 08, 2009
Brian
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I chose this book because of the good reviews. Sean Wilentz admirably admits his liberal bias at the beginning of the book, but sets himself to the task of writing an objective history. Despite sharing many of his predjudices, I was disappointed to discover that, with each succeeding chapter, his willpower against slanting the story to his way of thinking crumbles. The Age of Reagan has turned me off to "near history". No more Clinton or Reagan books for me for a couple of decades.
Aug 01, 2009
Wilentz has created a balance analysis of the Reagan Administration and the people who served during his time in office. What I learned from this book centered on Reagan's hardline conservatism to the reality of his desires to work behind the scenes to accomplish what he truly hoped to achieve. The chapters on his philosophy, his great commitment to reducing the threat of nuclear weapons, and his involvement in the Iran Contra scandal were eye-opening for me.
Sep 05, 2008
Colby
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More of an overview than an analysis, Wilentz too often reiterates "conventional wisdom" (obviously, without a doubt, etc.), which looks too much like shoddy writing. In his introduction, he makes plane that this will not be a historical piece that does things like interviews, or looks to a lot of alternative sources. And it shows. A good primer, but somewhat disappointing if you're looking for a real critique. The title still deserves some work.
Aug 31, 2009
Rick
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Great book for 30-somethings to give you a different look at the political developments that were occurring when you were trying to figure out what politics was. The author definitely has some left leanings, but putting that side, there was some interesting stuff throughout that I didn't really know about before reading. I enjoyed it.
Sep 06, 2008
John
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A very informative book. I was not able to finish it because it was due back at the library. It is a balanced presentation of Reagan's impact on the country, and as such a bit depressing. We should all know how this happened so we can help to stop it from continuing.
Jul 30, 2008
Michael
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A good history of the time period. I became an adult during this time period and it seems that working to move ahead in business seemed to overshadow events. Now that I'm in education, I don't seem to have as many blanks. This is a good book to refresh my memory.
