The Age of Nixon: A Study in Cultural Power

by Carl Freedman

The fundamental argument this book is, first, that Richard Nixon, though not generally regarded as a charismatic or emotionally outgoing politician like Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan, did establish profound psychic connections with the American people, connections that can be detected both in the brilliant electoral success that he enjoyed for most of his career and in his ultimate defeat during the Watergate scandal; and, second and even more important, that these connections are symptomatic of many of the most important currents in American life. The book is not just a work of political history or political biography but a study of cultural power: that is, a study in the ways that culture shapes our politics and frames our sense of possibilities and values. In its application of Marxist, psychoanalytic, and other theoretical tools to the study of American electoral politics, and in a way designed for the general as well as for the academic reader, it is a new kind of book.

Genres: Nonfiction, American History

295 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2012

Reviews

[Greg Brown]

Interesting look at the currents of Nixon’s personality and why they resonated with a large chunk of the American public. In the process, sheds light on some of the less-discussed parts of his career and life. Not the first or best book to read on Nixon, but unparalleled on the facets it covers.

[Steve]

A fascinating and scholarly look at the enigmatic president from a proto-Marxist perspective. The work suffers from some pointless exposition and definition of terms. It also could stand a good copy-editing; as usual, academics love their own words too much for that.

But by putting Nixon in a larger sociological context in a more skillful way than most other analyses of the subject, this book is invaluable.