Dazed and Confused: America Confronts the 1970s

by Blaine T. Browne

While historians have revisited every aspect of America history in the tumultuous 1960s, coverage of the following decade is sparse. As America reflects on the 50th anniversary of the 1970s, Blaine Browne reexamines the decade’s major international, political, social, cultural, economic, and intellectual developments, giving special attention to how its developments continue to impact American life. He views the decade as a major transitional era, given the death of many of the promises and hopes of the Sixties, the collapse of the post-World War II consensus, and the uncertainties of a new age in which the America might well not enjoy the preeminent global position it had held for the previous quarter century. Growing fundamental economic challenges, as well as concerns about the viability of the nation’s political leadership and democratic institutions added to these anxieties. A general angst permeated national life. Whether readers are reliving the years when they came of age or exploring the 1970s for the first time, Dazed and Confused will introduce the topics and cast of characters who defined this pivotal decade in American life.

296 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[Steven T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book is mainly a political and economic history with a little on popular culture, e.g. movies, TV, and music. On that score it is pretty good, well written and fairly well researched. Albeit, it seems to have been written piecemeal: there is some need repetition. I was expecting it to be more of a social history, which is what I wanted to read and the title led me to believe it was. There is little of that.

The chapters on politics seem to me the best, which I was least interested in. These changed my opinions of the Presidents in the 70s, none of which I thought particularly well of to begin with. Nixon, as Browne tells it, was almost sociopathic. His policies in Vietnam and in dealing with the economy were totally aimed at political expediency with no moral consideration at all, either for other countries or American soldiers. These policies were effective in the sense of achieving their aimed ends. Nixon was, no doubt, the most intelligent President of the 70s, and one of the shrewdest in all of American history. To his credit he did seek to move towards détente and make headway in that direction.

Ford, Browne thinks, deserves more credit than he is usually given. Although by no means a good or successful president, Ford, it seems to me, comes off as the best. He seems to have understood what the right thing to do was, understood to some extent how it could be achieved, but didn't have the political capital to do so.

Carter was the most moral in the sense of really trying to do the right thing, i.e. what was best for the country and American People. He just didn't understand the problems that well, and even to the extent he did, he didn't understand how to politically deal with them, at least per the picture Browne paints. HIs focus on Human Rights in contradistinction to Nixons realpolitik, veritable Machiavellianism, is admirable. Carter did successfully negotiate the release of the Iranian hostages as well, which Reagan got credit for.

His chapters on popular culture are interesting but odd. He mentions many mumians of the 1970s, some that I'd never heard of, but completely fails to mention others that were very influential, e.g. Billy Joel, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac. He spends several pages discussing Jackson Browne and Patti Smith in detail, which seem to me at best of only minor significance.