The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics

by Bruce J. Schulman

"A sprightly, neatly detailed and enlightening history...this is an important contribution to modern American social history and the literature of popular culture." ( Publishers Weekly )

Sweeping away misconceptions about the "Me Decade," Bruce Schulman offers a fast-paced, wide-ranging, and brilliant examination of the political, cultural, social, and religious upheavals of the 1970s. Arguing that it was one of the most important of the postwar twentieth-century decades, despite its reputation as an eminently forgettable period, Schulman reconstructs public events and private lives, high culture and low, analyzing not only presidential politics and national policy but also the broader social and cultural experiences that transformed American life. Here are the names, faces, and movements that gave birth to the world we now live in-from Nixon and Carter to The Godfather and the Ramones; from Billie Jean King and Phyllis Schlafly to NOW and the ERA; from the Energy Crisis to Roe v. Wade. The Seventies is an astutely provocative reexamination of a misunderstood era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Politics, Sociology, 20th Century, Cultural

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Bruce J. Schulman is an American historian specializing in 20th-century U.S. political and economic history. He is the William E. Huntington Professor at Boston University and served as the Harmsworth Professor of American History at The Queen’s College, Oxford, from 2022 to 2023. Schulman is currently writing the volume covering 1896–1929 for the Oxford History of the United States.
A graduate of Yale University (BA, 1981) and Stanford University (MA, 1982; PhD, 1987), Schulman began his academic career at UCLA before joining Boston University in 1994. He has held leadership roles, including directing the American and New England Studies program and chairing the History Department. He currently leads the Institute for American Political History at BU.
Schulman has authored three books and written for The Washington Post and Politico. His teaching has been recognized with awards such as UCLA’s Luckman Distinguished Teaching Award (1993) and the American Historical Association’s Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award (2006).

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this book was inconsistent in its approach to the overlooked decade of the 1970s. There were sections which were fascinating as we saw government morph into the age of Nixon, music evolve into punk and disco (now there are two conflicting styles!!!), and the flower power of the 1960s disappear for a more reality based culture. But the author had has own biases which I won't even try to outline and they affected the presentation of the material and made for sections that were painfully dry and pedantic.

It is not to say that this book is not important since it basically gives an overall view of the decade, regardless of what I felt were weaknesses. It was just a little disappointing.

[Jackson Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seventies is written well enough to be popular history; it's researched and thoughtful enough to be a college textbook.

Author Bruce Schulman claims the 1970's were more influential than the 1960's and substantiates his argument. He shows how disparate events developed into trends that influenced the rest of the century. The book is engaging to read, both for its social and political history.

I give the book only four stars because the book underplays, I think, the effects of the Women's Movement and the predominant hedonism of the decade. I recommend the book to anyone interested in the1970's.

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a confession to make. I've been enlightened and now need to do some serious penance. Back in the 70s, I was a chauvinistic, misogynistic, homophobic racist. I must repent of my sins. I just thought I hated disco and liked good rock and roll music, but now, thanks to Mr. Shulman, I see the errors of my ways. Shulman points out how those who shunned disco were guilty of a host of society's evils. (73-75) Or maybe I'll just revert to my redneck and anti-elite ways and ask, "what do you expect from a professor in tweed at from the northeast?" Of course, in this way, I'm sounding a lot like Richard Nixon who hated the Northeastern elite! (24) Bruce Shulman teaches at Boston University.



Now, despite what you might think by my opening comments, I mostly enjoyed this book. Although I disagree with some of his comments on disco, and also felt that he looked disdainfully on the South, Shulman provides a good cultural and political history to that decade in which I came of age (I became a teenager just a few days into the decade and had a bachelor's degree slapped on my wall by its end).

The 70s is often seen as a lost decade, squeezed between the optimistic 60s and the opportunitistic 80s. Interestingly, as Shulman recalls, the 60s which had begin with the Kennedy Camelot ended with the widowed queen of Camelot (Jackie) marrying a rich Greek tycoon, twice her age. (4) Shulman strives to interpret several wide cultural shifts that occured between the 1969 and 1984. In this work, he explores music, books, television and movies, economics and politics. Several things are happening. America loses a broad cultural consensus as the era of special interest groups begin to rise. Many of these are explored such as ethnic groups which not only included an interest in African-Americans (black power movements to the mini-series "Roots"), but also Hispanics, Italians, Irish, etc. In addition, the 70s saw women's issues rise to the forefront (remember the Rigby/King tennis match and the ERA), age groups (America began graying in the 70s and the elderly became a major political force in which Tip O'Neil referred to as the third-rail in American politics: Touch it and die! [86]), and the gay rights movement. In addition, there were shifts in region. Shulman refers to the decade as the “Southernization of America." (256) There were also religious shifts. Although religion became more important, it also became more personal and less able to lift up a common vision for society. There were also great changes in the American economy. The era gave rise to the “rustbelt" as factories in the northern parts of the country closed. The inflation of the late 70s caused Americans to begin to use credit (why put off buying when it will cost more tomorrow). Also, due to regulation changes, Americans began to look at saving differently and investing became more important than savings (which were being eaten up by inflation). And finally, the era saw the end of the old liberalism in American politics which saw the government as a force for the good with certain obligations to help those unable to help themselves to a new era that bemoaned any government involvement. Shulman discusses the tie between government involvement and civil rights in the 60s and how it took the decade for a new conservative coalition to arise out of the old conservative coalition. Racial prejudices slid into the background as the new conservatives found other issues to excite their cause.



Although I took offense at Shulman's defense of disco, I must say that I think there is a lot to ponder in his view of the roles region, religion and race played in the shifts in American politics during this era. However, the nature of this book requires that it be very subjective and one could draw other conclusions (like I did with my opposition to disco). I do recommend this book for anyone interested in a trip down memory lane.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a generally interesting and engaging look at the 1970s. Schulman's main point is that while popular memory gives the 1960s a huge legacy, the 1970s were a more important decade with several lasting changes to America. These changes include: the feminist movement, the growing importance of the South to the nation's politics and culture, the rising tend of small government conservativism, the rise of religious envangelicalism, and the shift from integration to diversity.

It's generally a good book with some nice points along the way, but Schulman keeps getting in his own way. He's often too damn strident in making his arguments, undercutting his points. He says that Jimmy Carter tried to dismiss Hubert Humphrey be calling him Hubert Horatio Hornblower. I mean, it was clearly a misstatement that he immediately corrected. Schulman also said that the Loretta Lynn song "Coal Miner's Daughter" was an example of "southern chauvanism." Seriously? Taking pride in your heritage is automaticaly chauvanism? He says Lynyrd Skynrd "loved the governor" in Sweet Home Alabama, which isn't actually how that line goes. Or that in the film Rambo, Stallone goes up against at redneck, racist sheriff. Do we ever see the sheriff ever interact with any minorities, let alone be racist to any? How is he a redneck - of is being a bad guy lawman automatically let him in the club?

Also, Schulman defines the 1970s as 1968-84, which - I get. I get not sticking with a specific time period to discuss cultural changes. By his chapter on the Reagan adminstration is the longest in the book. Combine that with the bit on the 1960s at the start, and maybe 80% of this book on the 1970s is actually on the 1970s.

Still, there is a lot to like here. Schulman notes how Nixon waged a stealth war against government, not fighting it directly but undercutting it and delegitimizing it. For instance, he actually doubled funding for the NEA and then doubled it again - but engaged in devolution of funds so it was spread around the nation more instead of going to its traditional hangouts, like New York modern art museums. He supported a minimum guaranteed income in order to gut welvare. He saw the rising tide of conservatism and getting their support was the point of the "Silent Majority" speech. He furthered it with things like putting John Connolly in his cabinet. Songs like "Okie from Muskogee" and the 1970 NYC hard hat riot were examples of it as well. Even Watergate helped conservatives but discrediting the government.

Civil rights saw a shift from integration to diversity. The Bakke decision backed this as did the rise in bilingual education. There was a new black middle class, but many were left behind. Black people had lost faith in integration, with the Boston busing riots. The musical shift of Sly Stone & the funk of George Clinton show a more Afro-centric cultural direction. Ditto for blaxploitation movies and rap. Disco was the last great integration cultural movement, and had a big backlash against it.

Self-exploration was a trend in what's known as the "Me Generation." There was an end of common culture and the white ethnic revival. The elderly mobilized, as the AARP went from 1.5 million in 1969 to 12 million in 1980. Florida became a retirement home. Mainstream Protestant denominations went down. Christian music and books became more common. As did New Age stuff.

There's the rise of the South, with Jimmy Carter, the NC Triangle, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The term "Sun Belt" was coined in 1969. Cowboys became America's Team. The population went up by 40% from 1970-90, while only 20% for the entire US. There were less unions down there and more right-to-work laws. These laws restricted union fundraising and banned the closed shop. Business went South. Conservatism went from prep school/Wall Street variety to populaist and anti-establishment. Redneck culture was commercialized.

Carter called for a balanced budget and engaged in de-regulation of banking, airlines, trucking, and communications. Credit cards became computerized in 1973, making that a lot easier. Credit card spending was $14 billion then, but shot up to $66 billion by 1992. Overall debt went from $167 billion in 1975 to $315 billion by 1979. Credit cards didn't cause that - the Great Inflation did. Money market funds rose, as did groups like Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Merrill Lynch.

The decade had paranoid political films, anti-corporate punk rock - but also corporate rock (beginning with Peter Frampton)

Feminism: Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Fischer was the hook. In 1970, 30% of moms of young kids (age 6 or younger) worked, but it was over half by 1985. "Our Bodies, Ourselves" became the Bible of the female health movement. In the early 1970s, mainstream media mocked feminists and newsmen like Eric Severeid denied there was any repression of women. But changes were coming. In the DNC, you went form 13% to 40% of delegates from 1968-72. For the RNC, it was 17% to 30% in that same period. The 1970s saw rape laws reformed - it no longer required a witness and a need to prove forced was used. Cross-exam of a women's sexual history was ruled out. Hospitals improved services for rape. 1977 saw the Take Back the Night movement emerge. The pay gap was based more on job types, as a registered nurse earned less than a truck driver or a social worker less than an unskilled construction worker. ERA failed, losing Bible Belt and Mormon Belt states (and Illinois). The 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston provoked a backlash, as anti-feminists organized for it, too. By 1980, gender politics were politically polarized. There were books like Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying" on female sexuality and songs like "Love to Love You Baby." Opponents accused feminists of being lesbians, and NOW's defensive reply cost them support from actual lesbians. America's masculinity template began to shift from John Wayne to Alan Alda. It was OK for men to show emotions and fathers should be less disciplinarians and instead more like Kramer vs. Kramer. Gay rights movement began.

The New Right came from William Buckley Jr., Barry Goldwater and the direct mail efforts of Richard Vigeurie. Anti-elitism and family values were two key themes. For the latter, they opposed sex ed and gay rights. The IRS efforts to take tax exemptions from religious schools poked the bear. The tax revolt actually had liberal roots (check out the SDS 1962 manifesto) but was sparked on a lot by inflation.

Reagan came to power. His "Reagan Doctrine" was about supporting "freedom fighters" rather than sending in US troops. Organized labor continued its decline. He deligitimzed government, continuing what Nixon had begun. The phrase yuppie fit activist-turned-investment banker Jerry Rubin. The term yuppie had a big backlash. Privitization was big, as private sector took over things like security. Residential community organizations took over many government functions, like plowing, park maintanence, and garbage removal.

[Simon Purdue · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Bruce Shulman’s all-encompassing history of the forgotten decade of the 1970s, he sheds light on what was a defining era in American politics and society. Using primarily cultural sources Schulman’s primary thesis suggests that the 1970s was an era in which the melting pot ideal finally gave way to a more centrifugal society, in which diversity was prioritised above integration and Americans found that their interests were better served within their separate spheres of identity rather than as a consummate whole. Groups ranging from African Americans, to the white working class, through to various Christian organisations and even the elderly, found that the fragmentation of society and ultimately a form of cultural separatism best served their interests. This essentially marked the end of the national unification project peddled during the War years, and started a ‘turning inward, and the process of separation which many argue has led to the cultural divisions that define modern America. For the first time since the 1930s, Schulman argues, White ethnicity was revived and the concept of citizenship was once again given equal footing with heritage. America, Schulman suggests, was once again a culturally pluralist nation.
Furthermore, Schulman notes that the 1970s marked a significant shift in the geographical center of political power in the US, arguing that the rise of the sunbelt and the relative decline of the northeast and the Dixiecrat South saw the political spectrum shift rightwards and towards a new Republicanism that began under Nixon and would reach its pinnacle in the election of Regan. Schulman details the evolution of anti-government sentiment that led eventually to the tax revolt across the nation and the culmination of small government conservatism that dominated the early years of the 1980s. Schulman also unwittingly outlines the ways in which the shift in American culture and politics in the 1970s laid the groundwork on which Trumpism would rise almost half a century later, and although the author could not have been aware that the decade would have such a lasting and fundamental impact on the American political landscape, his book makes essential reading for anyone who wants to historicise and contextualize Trump’s America.
All in all Schulman provides a fairly comprehensive history of the decade, but his ‘standard text’ has some large gaps which historians are only now beginning to fill, namely the rise of a new white nationalism in the 70s and the birth of the new far right counterculture. The movement was far from insignificant, and would later be responsible for some of the most jarring moments in modern American history (Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Oklahoma City to name but a few) and as such it does seem like a glaring and almost deliberate omission by the author. However Schuman’s use of cultural sources and accessible language nonetheless make this an easy and informative read that sheds light on America’s forgotten decade.

[Thomas M Brizendine · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author's mostly liberal social and political opinions of the late sixties and eighties with a little commentary on the seventies. Playing fast and loose with the facts (one passage specifies an event that the author claims in the next sentence to have a result in the previous year) to 'prove' his opinions, this book fails at being a historical narrative. In fact, it is so far over into opinion vs fact I cannot bring myself to add it to a "History" bookshelf; it's more at home on my "Historical Fiction" shelf.
It focuses mostly on Nixon and Reagan using negative language whenever possible and only with a begrudging admission of facts that are simply too big to be glossed over. Carter is also highlighted in clumsy and disjointed attempts to elevate the memory of his presidency.

Don't get me wrong, the book does deal with some aspects of the seventies, but has major gaps and omissions. If you're looking for something dealing primarily with looking objectively back at the seventies, this book isn't for you.

[M.L. Rio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read but a little unbalanced; popular culture is basically glossed in one chapter about music (and pretty much exclusively the disco/punk dichotomy), while there are several dense chapters of economic and political minutiae which become very dull very quickly. The chapters also seem to exist pretty much independently of one another, and apart from the cause/effect relationship between the rise of the Sunbelt and the rise of conservatism and a couple of odd paragraphs about the connection between Rambo and Ronald Reagan Schulman doesn't really bother to connect significant individual cultural movements (feminism, for example) with the larger ideological shifts of the nation. 2.5 but Goodreads still hasn't given us half stars, so I rounded up.

[Ella Shelton · Rating 2 out of 5]

bias was so exaggerated it was almost hilarious. i finished the book not convinced that schulman actually believed his thesis that the 70s were a decade of cultural significance as he spends a healthy chunk dissing reagan into the dirt. some interesting criticism on music, but i think this undertaking was too ambitious and he would have been better off focusing his argument on media rather than economics and politics.

[Paige McLoughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book on the seventies, the decade where things went south, to where we are today. I read these and other toxicology post-mortems from this decade because that is where the bad turn to our present happened. We haven't escaped that decade yet in the year of our lord 2021. If you want to really know how the world works, you should pay attention to the political economy of this decade that instantiated the long backlash.

Reread on 11/18/2025

This book is a popular history of the seventies and covers the pop culture and major political milestones and movements of the decade. I find it an interesting decade because of its economic aspects which fostered a growing backlash against progressive movements of the late sixties the forces of progress and backlash contended for power, but at the time, a corporatist coup was taking place that would align with Nixon's silent majority to roll back the New Deal and begin to unwind the progress and liberatory movements from the sixties. This book was written in the early 2000s at the apogee of US power and the Washington Consensus; only in the 2020s can we see the corrosive effects of the neoliberal order installed as a direct result of the machinations of the "me decade" and how the reactionary currents culminating in Reagan's dark victory were the beginning of our undoing..

[F.C. Schaefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

That much maligned decade, the 1970s, actually had a bigger impact, and a more enduring legacy than the much romanticized, and consequential, 1960s that preceded it. That is the contention of Boston University professor Bruce J. Schulman in his book, THE SEVENTIES: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics. Despite that mouthful of a title, Schulman’s book, coming in at just over 250 pages, is a short and fast look at the clashing politics, personalities and culture of the decade rather than a deep dive. The author makes his points and moves on, backing up his assertions with facts as he sees them, and extrapolating on the go. It’s a good book for younger readers wanting to get a grasp on the recent past, or for those who want to take a less than sentimental journey and brush up on the history they lived through and have now forgotten. But be warned, Schulman laces his book with a lot of opinion, and often falls into the trap of asserting them as facts.

One of the things that I liked about the book was that Schulman does not just confine himself to the numerical years of the decade, but essentially covers events from 1968 to 1984, taking us from the coming of Richard Nixon to the re-election of Ronald Reagan. In this time, America goes from the counterculture to the entrepreneur; from the hippie to the yuppie; from the dominance of the old Rustbelt to the triumph of the Sunbelt; from activism to self discovery; from integration and equality to ethnic diversity; from community activism to homeowners associations; from Rock ‘n Roll to Punk and Disco to Country Pop; from The Graduate to Star Wars to Rambo; from Jerry Rubin, the antiwar protester, to Jerry Rubin, the stock broker. Along the way, Schulman makes some interesting points: how Nixon used fiscal policy to undermine liberal bureaucracies rather than take them on head as later conservatives would; that Watergate was actually a long term triumph for those who wanted to discredit activist government; the ways the crippling stagflation of the late ‘70s changed forever how Americans saved money, making it possible for the Middle Class to become substantially invested in Wall Street through mutual and money market funds, something that would have been anathema to the Great Depression generation; how said inflation fueled the California tax revolt through Proposition 13 in 1978, a revolt that quickly went nationwide, and helped sweep Reagan into the White House two years later; the way the integrationist ideal to the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s splintered into the awakening of ethnic (a word very much in use in the ‘70s) identity and pride, not just among Blacks, but Hispanic, Irish, Polish, and Italian Americans, including a White cultural backlash; the way the American South, long scorned as backward and racist, rose to dominate American life. The latter is the main thrust of the book in the way Schulman details how with the end of Jim Crow, the Old Confederacy became an economic powerhouse, as warmer climates, low wages, and state governments hostile to business regulation brought in huge amounts of investment money, supplanting the Yankee Northeast in influence and power. The election of Jimmy Carter gave rise to Redneck Chic, as the South reinvented itself, and went national. But when the IRS sought to revoke tax exemptions from private Christian schools, it provoked an enormous backlash that gave rise to Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority, and the political climate took a turn. The political right, which had little or no traction in American politics since the 1920s, reinvented itself as a populist movement that echoed the cultural and economic grievances of the working middle class, scorning liberals as elitist, permissive, and unpatriotic, lacking the basic values that made America great. Schulman makes an excellent point in how the New Right, powered by the direct mail operation of Richard Viguerie, proved to be very good at building coalitions, and outworking an often clueless and quarreling liberal opposition. He also gives a good quick history of the Feminist Movement, pointing out the good it did in changing antiquated rape and sexual assault laws, making spousal abuse a crime, and pointing out the basic economic inequality most American women faced while making it plain that they were outworked and out hustled when it came to passing the Equal Rights Amendment by Phyllis Schlafly and her anti ERA crowd. Schulman gives a lot of attention to Reagan’s first term in the final section of the book, where a sneering distrust of government and all of its works, and a fervent belief that the private sector, and free markets, had a monopoly on solutions and wisdom, became the governing consensus. It was, he contends, the ultimate end of the upheavals of the previous decade.

You can agree with that or not, this is a very subjective book. Many readers took issue with Schulman’s spirited defense of Disco; I’m not sure I agree with him myself, but it is the kind of contrarian viewpoint that gives one food for thought. I do take issue with his description of country music in the ‘70s as “antiblack” because it was “anticity.” Nixon and Reagan’s actions are often described in unnecessarily pejorative terms, I get it that Schulman is a liberal, it just feels like piling on.

This book came out in 2002, so it does reflect the early part of the second Bush era in which it was written, as many of the cultural and political trends Schulman documents have moved on in very different directions since then. The political divisions of the Me Decade of the ‘70s twisted and turned into the grotesque polarization of the Trump Era. The triumphant conservatism of Ronald Reagan, who spoke of a shining city on a hill, has become a raging mob that attacked the temple of American democracy. But that is subject enough for another book, but for anyone interesting in learning how we got here, Bruce Schulman’s book might give some answers.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very readable survey of the 70s, which is notable particularly because it's such a difficult era to write about, though it should be prefaced with a warning that Schulman's own personal biases and assumptions invade perhaps a bit more than they should. Music is difficult to write about in an historical context (particularly music which is still comparatively recent), but Schulman's distaste for artists like Bowie, Pink Floyd and other similar icons is strange and misplaced, and reads as ahistorical in its context. There's also not much in the way of objectivity expressed when addressing the historical legacies of certain presidents, though perhaps that's difficult to avoid. All told, this was still a brisk and enjoyable read, and it got to many of the issues at the heart of the 1970s.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a course, but it was very good. It's not a very long book, but it is densely packed with information. The way it is organized makes it both interesting and informative. The author dances between the sixties and the eighties, exploring the movements, people, and politics of the seventies.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Schulman makes a convincing case for the transformative power of the seventies over American life- from the ascendancy of the Sunbelt region to the subversion of Richard Nixon. The parallels between the seventies and now are equally fascinating and depressing.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got me back into non-fiction after a long hiatus. And totally explained my mother, which was nice.

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what history should be. Of course I do not agree with everything, but it is thought provoking and entertaining.

[Randy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I have encountered in recent memory a book so heavily lifted from other sources. There are over 50 pages dedicated just to the notes section. It was not what I had hoped it would be.

[Gort · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprehenderit sunt iste quas libero et. Omnis soluta vitae ea eum eos dolorum quibusdam. Eaque omnis voluptatem aut et ut. Dolore repellendus occaecati.

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe that I've had this book on my shelf since graduate school and only just read it. It does an excellent job establishing the relevance of the decade and arguing that although it has been dismissed as a period of irrelevant backlash, it set the stage for the contemporary political landscape. As with Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right, the argument has grown with time- neither Schulman nor McGirr were writing about Trump directly, but their ideas provide a clear bridge to how we got to where we are today.

This was assigned for a class I had to drop in grad school- in the fall of 2007, and I wonder what the conversation would have been like then compared with the post 2016 conversation. I see that it was published in 2001, but I'm guessing it was published before September. I'm also very curious about how the relevance of the book changed almost immediately after it's publication. I imagine it read very differently in April than it did in November.

I love the American Studies components of this book and think it would work very well in my US Since 1945 elective- lots of opportunities to examine popular music, film, television, fashion, etc that would link directly to the argument and give students room to explore. I'll definitely use this in a future incarnation of the course.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever wantes to read about one of the most ignored decades in modern American history, this book is for you. Often, we don't consider the seventies to be one of the great decades. It lives in the shadow of the sixties, and falls short of the good times of the eighties. Yet in this book, we get to see just how important the seventies have been overall. How the attitudes of the seventies influenced the eighties, and much of the following years. This book is thorough, and perusing the notes really shows that, but it's also readable. One note is that the books publication being in 2001 means some conclusions drawn from trends started in the seventies now seem to be a bit off the mark. For instance, one might notice that south seemed to have dwindled in political power in 2008 and 2012, although it seems to have come back to full strength in 2016. In any case, there is a lot of important information here, especially how it connects to present day America, and there's a lot to dispell the myths of the seventies that were born out of the Reaganite eighties. This is certainly worth a read.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schulman's wide-ranging work covers culture, society and politics in what he calls the long Seventies (1969-1984). His analysis of Nixon's subtle reduction the growth of government, Carter's many economic failures, and Reagan's cheerful boosterism of free markets and national defense are solid if not ground breaking. I particularly enjoyed his look at the anti-authoritarian attitudes in music and film. He outlines how the national culture, pushed by a sense of liberation, splintered into the identity politics we still have. The Seventies are easily lampooned as a lost decade full of cheesy pop culture, but many of the trends that began then (the rise of the right, the denigration of government and celebration of entrepreneurship, corporate entertainment, the Sunbelt's dominance) are still with us today.

[Haydngoseek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decades are arbitrary distinction, but Schulman does an admirable job trying to craft a coherent narrative around The Seventies. Specifically, he views the decade through the rise of the Sunbelt (and yes, the "Southern Strategy") and its implications for American politics and policy. I do wish there had been more time spent on popular culture; we get a whirlwind tour of music and cinema reflecting the disenchantment of the era, and almost no attention on other corners of everyday life. I guess I was expecting unique insight into the zeitgeist rather than a breezy history tract. The political history is by now well-tread ground that is covered adequately - I do appreciate Schulman's discussion of how Nixon was cynically able to weaken the Great Society without attracting too much political resistance.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to learn more about the 70s from a political, social (non pop culture) perspective, and this book delivered. I enjoyed some chapters more than others, and it sometimes veered into dry territory but all told, I thought it was a succinct, broad view of the decade. The other thing I liked about it was its connection to the following decade - the author did a nice job of illustrating the impact the 70s had on the 80s and other long-term effects of a decade that is usually only remembered for disco, long gas lines and Nixon's resignation

[Maryann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at a library book sale several years ago. I realized I didn't know much about the seventies (any time I existed during them, I was too wee to know what was going on, and much can be said for the early 80s, too). After watching Mrs. America on Hulu about the ERA, I realized how much I didn't know about the seventies. So, this book made sense in line with that show, and it added to my knowledge. Fascinating!

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're looking for a lighthearted nostalgic look at the Me decade, this isn't it. As Jill and several other reviews mentioned, the authors biases are pretty blatant and intrude on the work to an annoying degree. I found it interesting that in the acknowledgements, the author thanks a David Kennedy who, "At an early stage, he steered me away from harsh polemic..." I can only imagine what the early draft looked like.

Anyway, I'd skip this one.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

For wrapping 10 years into less than 300 pages it wasn't bad. I gained some info and left with more than i came with, so I can't complain. I was a bit confused by the last chapter before the conclusion. It was all about President Reagan. Although there were some connections made, I don't think there needs to be a whole chapter dedicated to a 1980's president.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lived this decade. I was researching some of the aspects of Nixon's resignation and our subsequent non-support of South Vietnam. Not the detail I was looking for in Schulman. This is a popular approach to the decade. An okay starting point if you weren't there, but I'd recommend further research. I'd love to have Robert Caro tackle the decade after he finishes LBJ.

[Matthew Barmack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated this book's reminder that our current political/cultural/geographic divisions are not that different than the divisions that were originally exploited by Nixon and Reagan, if not by others even earlier. Further, the book makes a compelling case that the current identity group politics of the left really started in the 1970s. Nevertheless, I found it ultimately unsatisfying because it covered so much ground so superficially.

[Jarred Goodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book reads like a long graduate thesis, at times, especially at the beginning. However, what makes this book solid, in my opinion, is Dr. Schulman's use of pop culture (music and movies) to validate his arguments. He further evolves said arguments from said references further, into changes in government and society, along with demonstrating the 1970s impact on America overall today.

[Chloe Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly informative

I read this book for an essay I needed to write and it was honestly mind blowing to read about the seventies in a new light. I learned probably a semesters worth of work in two days.

[Wendy McBain · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know. Could have been a bit better. A little too much late sixties and early to mid-eighties included. I only scan it every now and then when I need to reference the 70s to see if the author has made notation of the particular issue I'm interested in.