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Lead Time: A Journalist's Education – Provocative Essays on American History, Politics, and Culture from Vietnam to Reagan
The essential Garry Wills, Lead Time offers a provocative view of a pivotal era in America from one of our most esteemed historians. In this collection of essays, written between 1968 and 1982, Wills explores American culture, politics, and mores, and demonstrates his astute and always interesting approach to his subjects, including Vietnam, Richard Nixon, Muhammad Ali, Pope John Paul II, and Ronald Reagan. Newly reissued with a new preface, this is a must-read from “a mind that likes to range beyond the usual boundaries of periodical journalism” (New York Times).
- GenresEssays
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
47 people want to read
About the author
Garry Wills
99 books255 followersGarry Wills is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1993.
Wills has written over fifty books and, since 1973, has been a frequent reviewer for The New York Review of Books. He became a faculty member of the history department at Northwestern University in 1980, where he is an Emeritus Professor of History.
Wills has written over fifty books and, since 1973, has been a frequent reviewer for The New York Review of Books. He became a faculty member of the history department at Northwestern University in 1980, where he is an Emeritus Professor of History.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2009
in the interest of full disclosure, i should point out that i'm a big fan of wills. i think he's one of the smartest writers in america today, and i marvel at the depth of his intellect, the beauty of his prose, the range of his curiousity and the discipline of his journalism.
wills is almost always interesting, but the value of this volume is two fold. first, one gets to see him as he refines and experiments with his voice. and second, one gets to see his skills treat a variety of topics - sport, politics, religion - all of which he often covers elsewhere in longer works, but gathered here under one roof. the result is dazzling, if at times, slightly dated and obscure (wills' work is always full of references and rarely does an essay go by without at least one latin phrase, but some of the political pieces are so current-to-their-time that the references to operatives are a little more arcane than one would bargain for).
and i will add one more valuable reason to read - wills' own comments on his pieces from the hindsight of ten or fifteen years - which adds a fascinating layer to these already brilliantly layered works.
in short, a great volume if you are already a fan, or if you want to find a place to introduce yourself to this great essayist.
wills is almost always interesting, but the value of this volume is two fold. first, one gets to see him as he refines and experiments with his voice. and second, one gets to see his skills treat a variety of topics - sport, politics, religion - all of which he often covers elsewhere in longer works, but gathered here under one roof. the result is dazzling, if at times, slightly dated and obscure (wills' work is always full of references and rarely does an essay go by without at least one latin phrase, but some of the political pieces are so current-to-their-time that the references to operatives are a little more arcane than one would bargain for).
and i will add one more valuable reason to read - wills' own comments on his pieces from the hindsight of ten or fifteen years - which adds a fascinating layer to these already brilliantly layered works.
in short, a great volume if you are already a fan, or if you want to find a place to introduce yourself to this great essayist.
January 25, 2014
Four stars for some of the pieces in this collection of 1970s journalism: the essay on Nixon's obsession with Alger Hiss, the Jesuitical character analyses of Jerry Brown, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Wills is at his "Nixon Agonistes" best here and there.
Those of us who weren't following Watergate-era politics closely will need to read this with Wikipedia on hand, since Wills, in writings mainly published in New York Review of Books and other similar periodicals of the time, is constantly dropping obscure names such as Midge Costanza and Bobby Baker.
It's interesting to see how journalistic standards have changed since the mid-70s, when Wills, a sophisticated man of letters, thought nothing of referring to a professional football player as a "Bad Nigger" or to Beverly Sills' obsessive fans as a bunch of hysterical homos. I doubt that any editor these days would allow into print a flat-out assertion that Muhammed Ali (sp.) had a "low IQ".
Those of us who weren't following Watergate-era politics closely will need to read this with Wikipedia on hand, since Wills, in writings mainly published in New York Review of Books and other similar periodicals of the time, is constantly dropping obscure names such as Midge Costanza and Bobby Baker.
It's interesting to see how journalistic standards have changed since the mid-70s, when Wills, a sophisticated man of letters, thought nothing of referring to a professional football player as a "Bad Nigger" or to Beverly Sills' obsessive fans as a bunch of hysterical homos. I doubt that any editor these days would allow into print a flat-out assertion that Muhammed Ali (sp.) had a "low IQ".
January 28, 2014
Garry Wills is one of the sharpest, most perceptive writers on American politics there is. This book collects articles from the period between Watergate and Reagan's first term. Wills is fantastic on Nixon - he really captures the grubby, sordid core of the man. He also profiles all the major figures of this period - Wallace, Jerry Brown, Carter, Ford, Reagan, etc. All fun stuff. There is a great, biting critique of the press' empty-headed adulation of Pope John Paul II in his first visit that got Wills' editor fired. It was a timely read in light of the response to the current pope.
May 25, 2008
this is good but Wills deserves an updated compilation of his best journalistic writing.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews