The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan - The Invisible Bridge

Political skills get overlooked when they show up in strange packages. That is certainly the case with Ronald Reagan. When he first ran for governor in 1966, he was derided as a "B" actor as if it were his acting chops that determined his success as a politician. Steve Jobs was known for ability to impose the reality distortion field which allowed him to create visionary products that people hadn't believed where possible. Ronald Reagan had a similar ability in the political realm. He created an American mythology which highlighted this nation as goodness personified, filled with loving, compassionate people that had been corrupted by cynical elite. This elite had foisted upon an innocent America the bloated sinister Federal government that if tamed would bring America back to its Arcadian past.

This message was particularly potent at in the anxiety of the mid-seventies. This was a time of Watergate, Patty Hearts, economic stagnation and the OPEC oil embargo. America was on the ropes. It needed a heroic figure who could lead them out of darkness and into the light of their romanticized past. No one could do that better than Reagan.

`The Invisible Bridge' does a fine job conveying this period's wacky, chaotic, depressing and violent essence. To understand how Reagan could be a Vietnam and Nixon booster during this period and still be wildly popular with the common folk, that background must be deftly portrayed. Pearlstein also provides a plausible explanation for why Reagan had such confidence and charisma. He was driven to build a construct of himself that was the opposite of his drunken, itinerant father. This construct embellished certain aspects of his life while diminishing others and weaved them together into a compelling narrative.

Pearlstein doesn't shy away from the ugly backlash to the civil rights movement during this period. He is particularly vivid in showing how the issue of school busing revealed Northern racism that erupted in Boston when the courts enforced it in that liberal city. And he digs up a quote from a gubernatorial candidate running in Mississippi who said the NAACP stood for "Niggers, Apes, Alligators, Coons and Possums."

However, he doesn't incorporate white backlash into his central argument. In Reagan's Arcadian America, racism had been overcome with the Civil War. In this view, the lingering after-affects were merely the product of a relatively small number of racists with whom Reagan didn't identify. He had convinced himself that he didn't have a racist bone in his body. This was very convenient because it allowed him to claim that the evil Federal government foisted unnecessary remedies to racial discrimination on people who had long ago eschew their racist past. Reagan was a champion to Southern whites because he had convinced himself that he supported their cause as a conservative not a racist. White voters elsewhere choose to take Reagan at his word.

Reagan's racism is that of most white Americans. It is the kind of racism that sees individual African-Americans as worthy of friendship or respect while decrying policies that would create more opportunity and equality for African-Americans as a whole. This argument goes something like this, `since individual blacks were able to overcome hardship, then so should the rest of them. It is a sign of character defect that they can't.'

The policies Reagan championed as President helped impoverish black people by cutting social services, promoting harsher sentences for drug crimes and blatantly ignoring the problems of urban America. Ferguson is a direct result of the kind of racist blind eye Reagan promoted and allowed whites to comfortably embrace. I wish Pearlstein had tackle this issue head on. I'm sure he would have offered great insight and clarity.

It's hard not to be impressed with Rick Perlstein. In his third book in a trilogy, Perlstein combines impressive scholarship with a fine eye to the telling detail. The writing is lucid, brilliant, witty; every sentence is a fencing touch. By now the facts of Reagan's climb to power are well known, enshrined in a thousand hagiographies, which do no justice to anyone involved on either side. Most historians are content to simply recycle through the same old statements: this many electoral votes there, this anecdote here, this bill passed, this meeting held. Perlstein goes beyond this.

More than that, Perlstein avoid the pitfalls so common to historical writing, the tendency to recite facts and do nothing else. Perlstein, in a non-partisan way, tells us not just what happened, but why it happened; when he speaks to us of *how* it occurred, what we hear are not the dry recitations of received wisdom but the vital meat of *what actually happened*. This is history in the realest sense, in the best sense, a literal "finding-out," a narrative.

The surprising tendency of partisan hacks to find offense in a nutshell and quarrel in a mirror should surprise no one. Conservatism was an intellectual movement once, and the intelligent conservative will find nothing here false. When Perlstein began his trilogy on the rise of conservatism, he found its luminaries ready to talk: they'd all too often been forgotten or had their parts simplified in a long, triumphal narrative arc. Their struggles, losses, and victories had been reduced to the stuff of vaudeville; like anyone, they wanted an honest recounting of their story, not in a way designed to serve any particular party but as a lesson to the ages.

For those persons who care about facts and understanding, this book is recommended, very highly. Unfortunately, nowadays, too many conservatives have left their intellectual moorings. The American conservative tradition has become a mere market share, like Iowan canoe aficionados, lesbian bicyclists, and people who write fanfiction about Navajo spiders or some other damn thing.

It's a segment to peddle goods to, a demographic to be pleased, a subculture to be sated, not a dynamic, groundbreaking tradition. The folks who make up *that* conservatism are the folks bitching about this book. For them, I'm afraid, nothing will ever be enough; to them, this book will basically be a stone. It's a sad and hilarious fact that there are people who, if it thundered too loud during a rainstorm, would blame liberals. How strange that so many should be so offended by a story of their own victory! It's a compelling, honest work about the rise of conservative politics in America, written by a first-rate brain with a first-rate pen.

Rick Perlstein's new book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in American politics and history. Heroically researched and brilliantly written, Perlstein interweaves Reagan's biography-a story of a chaotic family life and a self-created redemption-with a sweeping portrayal of the social and cultural breakdown of the 1970s.

In Perlstein's telling, Reagan's optimism, forged in response to his alcoholic father and self-martyring mother, was the perfect match for an American public reeling from Watergate and Vietnam. What also emerges, though, is Reagan the consummate politician-a canny strategist intensely aware of his every public movement. While Perlstein's honest portrayal has upset Reagan's mythologizers, I came away with a much better appreciation of both Reagan's remarkable skill and his deep flaws.

To the description of Reagan's rise, Perlstein adds his signature style of politics-meets-mass-culture history, combining detailed accounts of the 1976 presidential primary with sweeping portrayals of the American psyche of the mid-70's. Very entertaining in its own right, Perlstein's romping tour through textbook battles, newspaper letters, movies, and various fringe self-hel movements also has a serious point: what seems in retrospect like obvious and inevitable political re-alignments usually strike unexpectedly, having fermented below the surface of "respectable" opinion. Reagan's ability was to sense and channel those subterranean cultural currents, and Perlstein's book is the best account of how he did it.

I read Perlstein's book Nixonland on 20 Jan 2009. This volume, The Invisible Bridge, takes up where that book left off and relates in fascianting detail the steps of Nixon to his doom. Reagan at all times refused to say anything derogatory about Nixon and one gets the idea that he would have ignored Nixon's crimes. Then the book, relying on newspapers, magazines, and books of the time, tells of the fascinating events which led up to the 1976 Conventions. The book has no source notes but the source notes are on line and are "clickable" which makes the source notes even more useful. There are detailed accounts of the exciting things going on in the years 1972 to 1976. I was very aware of those things as they went on but was surprised that so much seemed new to me--either I forgot what I once knew, or I did not follow the news as carefully as I thought I did.. The faults and strengths of Reagan are made clear, as one stands in amazement at the gullibility of the people who thought Reagan was a great man. One also reflects that there was in the Republican party at that time a respectable liberal wing--which has now been totally expelled from any power in that party. In other words, the kooks of 1964 have completely taken over that party

As someone old enough to have lived through the history Rick Perlstein has written about in all three of his books, I have been amazed that he has the insight to understand this crazy period of American history that created the even-nuttier times we live in now.

Back in the 1970s, when I was professionally involved in politics in California, i had the opportunity to meet then-governor Reagan. "Amiable dunce" was my opinion, but I also noted that when he talked to you, he made you the only other person besides himself on the planet. That ability to connect, with an audience of the general American politically-illiterate, was the secret of his success.

Perlstein's book finally explains why I was always scratching my head, that people could buy the man's baloney the way they did. There's a lot of insight here. It's no wonder the droolers of the Right are giving it one-star reviews, they don't like being shown up for the fools they are.

If you want to understand how we got to the mess we are in now, you need to read this book. And the other two. Perlstein is the best contemporary political historian currently working and writing.

Rick Perlstein has trod on conservative sacred ground with this book. Hence, the 1-star reviews; almost all are disgruntled Reaganite wingnuts, and many have gone so far as to peddle totally bogus plagiarism theories.

That said, those theories get their ground for a reason -- no hardcopy endnotes.

And, that's part of why it's not a 5-star book. Sorry, partisan Dems. (That said, I vote Green when I have the chance.)

I don't give a fig if Perstein has online endnotes. I'm reading the hardcopy book and I want my endnotes there. If he or his publisher thought it made the book too long, then split it into two volumes.

Also, it's missing explanatory end-of-page footnotes as well. Those, if they exist online, would be even more useless there than teats on a boar hog.

Plus, he doesn't totally find the "there" there of Reagan. Certainly not for the number of pages invested. (That said, neither did Edmund Morris.)

And, the book, besides the possibility that it either could have been written in 200 fewer pages, or else with more depth and in two volumes, does have errors, too.

No whoppers, but, as one example?

Perlstein regularly calls Congressman Mo Udall "Senator." Regularly. And, more jarringly, once, he gets it right. Can't blame an editor, Rick; this is something you should have gotten right yourself.

Well, we can also blame an editor, after Perlstein got it wrong.

Were it not for all the 1-starring Reaganites, I'd almost 3-star it.

I learned more than I bargained for with Rick Perlstein's "The Invisible Bridge." Along with seeing exactly how Ronald Reagan parlayed his limited acting skills into a hugely successful political career, this book also provided a wealth of information about the social transformations that the United States experienced during the 1970s—the sort of rightward cultural upheaval that probably made the Reagan ascendancy inevitable. Perlstein has done an incredible amount of research (and, yes, he has credited all of his sources online), but, more importantly, his writing style is exciting enough to keep me riveted for all of these many pages. I'll never watch "The Exorcist" the same way again.

Rick has a real narrative style in describing politics and culture from Watergate to the run up to the 1976 campaign. I’m particular interest to me is the how Reagan was able to use the discontent in his party and the country to fuel his rise to influence.

There are many truths about Reagan and Perlstein writes objectively about them. Reagan's rabid fans can't allow them themselves to contemplate the truth as it ruins their image. Shirley's book is a love fest that skirts around these truths and makes it more of a fan club love fest.

Think about it, Reagan plagiarized a Reader's Digest story and passed it off as fact to Medal of Honor attendees. He and his GOP majority in the senate abandoned the Marines in Beirut got a year and a half- leaving them open to three separate attacks. His response about the security gate lying on the ground? Says it's no different than remodeling your kitchen! His economy was a boom and bust which included a major stock market crash, unemployment that stayed over 7% through Oct 1986 and shot back up as soon as he left office, deregulating the S&L's which led to a major crash. Reckless deficit spending by him and his GOP majority in the senate. Underfunding and cutting corners on the Challanger project leading to the explosion. Supporting terrorists like Hussein, the Contras, and the up and coming Taliban. The admin was well-aware of the threat to the plane to Lockerbie and ignored it. One can go on and on. These Reaganites brush them aside as if it didn't matter and blame Carter, much as they blame Clinton for everything bad about the Bush admin.

Another truth was he was not a family man. His children rarely visited and were quite critical of his absentee parenting. He was not a church goer except when going to right wing fundraising functions. My favorite which would preclude him from getting the nomination today- he enforced gun control out in California (and later out of office).

I find it funny that the Shirley/Reagan fans claim they can't read the end notes online yet can write this review online.

Ronald Reagan has always been a tough one for biographers. Famously, Edmund Morris was almost drived mad despite unprecidented access to President Reagan. Lou Cannon covered Reagan and did a good lob on the basic facts about Reagan. Perlstein, however, is the first biographer to really capture the optimistic, friendly but shallow essence of Reagan -- best understood via his times rather than some sort of psychological decoding of his early years or worshipful political tomes about the 1980's.

If there is any fault to Invisible Bridge it might be a bit too much wallowing in Watergate before we get to the main subject. Still, Pearlstein's take on Reagan's stedfast support of Nixon when other Republicans were fleeing his White House as if it was on fire is telling and a key to Reagan's character in which clever illusion is more interesting than plain old reality. The essence of Reagan is here amidst all of the hurly-burly and political battles of the times. I did not know Reagan, but at least I met him. Perlstein did, not know him personally but seems to understand him better than most of Reagan's political allies who built him into a political brand at the expense of the reality of this man.

Somewhat interesting but very biased. The author is very liberal and clearly looks down his nose at conservatives. He quotes Elizabeth Drew every other page for what purpose I do not know, except maybe to further his liberal agenda. Having lived during this period of history and having been active politically at that time, I know the author is off base on numerous points.

Evan Thomas's "Being Nixon" psychobabble? No thanks. Tim Weiner's "One Man Against the World" vituperations and fulminations? Please, not today. But Perlstein? Anytime. And I am a hard-core Cheney neo-con. This book is the perfect antidote for the long summer. Highly highly entertaining and informative. Brings you back to the good old days.

Fine sentence style, but there are few primary sources truly engaged. The re-reading of Reagan's auto-biography was particularly weak and overly obvious. I am struck that so few took issue with the flights of fancy inherent to re-reading a wistful statement in an auto-biography, already a construction of identity, and then converting the wist to drear and dreck with barely any analog from the period under discussion (say, RR's boyhood) appended ... perhaps an easily acquired article from the prohibition era. A lack of seriousness mars the enterprise, but, again, he can create lucid pictures, however reaching.

There are many great historians writing today, but Perlstein is among the most interesting. Not only does he use the traditional sources of archives, letters and contemporary accounts, but, by including a sense of the pop culture and media environment of the day, readers can get a better sense of what it was like for those who lived through the times about which he writes. You don't just see history in the grand, panoramic picture (though that's there too), but you also see how individuals were told about events in real-time by newspapers, television reports and even how events and attitudes showed up in movies and novels.

This book--all three of his books, in fact--are essential reading for understanding important shifts in America's political direction and should be read by all those interested in those changes, whether they support them or not.

Outstanding and highly entertaining book about the early 1970's, one of the low points in American social history, and the transformation of the Republican Party into its modern form. The third in Perlstein's series on the development of the right-wing in modern American politics. It details Watergate, the fall of Nixon and his shameless efforts to save himself, along with the rise of Ronald Reagan, who successfully took up Nixon's tactic of pandering to people's baser instincts: selfishness, racism and jingoism. Reagan, the genial and charismatic fabulist, ultimately succeeded, of course, while Nixon, the brooding loner with a chip on his shoulder, failed, but they represent two steps on the road to today's Tea Party politics.

Reading "The Invisible Bridge" took me right back to the era when my own political sensibilities were formed and fixed. Yet he reminded me -- through clever use of excerpts from Letters to the Editor, TV interviews, and insiders' information -- about many cultural events I'd forgotten. If you lived through this time, you owe it to yourself to read this book to remember how our world came to be. If you're younger, and wonder why our nation is the way it is today, Rick Perlstein does a masterful job explaining it. He proves over and over how the St Ronnie of GOP myth is in no way like the man himself. Fun, engaging, truthful, and well worth the time. Enjoy this book -- I certainly did.

It is difficult, in any historical narrative, to be both massive and elegant. And yet Perlstein does this again and again. With “Invisible Bridge,” he has made a case for how history works when it does its job. He begins by doing what he promises. Imagine! In 856 pages, Perlstein unpacks every aspect that surrounds “the fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan.” This is his wager and he makes good on it. But “Invisible Bridge” is as much prophetic text as historical tome. The mass of it is straight revelation: who we have become, and are now, as citizens (to the extent we still understand ourselves as citizens, in 2014). Perlstein’s exhaustive, mesmerizing history of American political and popular life, between 1973 and 1976, is the work of a classicist. There is a quietly oracular quality to his narrative. This for me was especially powerful, as these three years have become as important as any will be in the life I know as mine. Of course, I did not know that then. It is on this account, among others, that I feel enormously indebted to “Invisible Bridge.” And to Perlstein, for caring about my life.

One American girl comes of age too soon on the California Coast. 1973-1976.

Who cares?

Rick Perlstein. Various levels of care are apparent throughout “Invisible Bridge.” For one, there’s a scrupulousness to detail that jogs the memory and opens what was lost. As a writer he is as intensely engaging and scrupulous as he is elegant. And yes, massive. I’m reminded of Philip Seymour Hoffmann. No person, no “mass,” better embodied its fusion with elegance, or showed how inhabiting a character, and its narrative, could be not only revelatory, but beautiful. That we’ve lost Hoffmann is a tragedy.

Thank God for Perlstein, every inch Hoffman’s peer in artful history that reveals us to ourselves as still American, still flawed, still fully alive.

I lived through the period covered here, so I did not learn a whole lot. But, I recommend the book to younger readers because it coves far more than just Nixon and Reagan. Many other important event of the period from 1973-1976 are covered in depth. Sometimes too much in depth for me. I do need to warn readers that this book has not been fact checked well. Truman died during the Nixon Christmas bombing of North Vietnam in 1972; it was LBJ who died in Jan. 1973. Of far less importance: Kate Smith always sang "God Bless American" as long back as World War II. Perstein gets it wrong early in the book, and correct near the end. There's may more minor mistakes, but I think the point has been made.

This is one of those books that people who continue to idolize Ronald Reagen will hate viscerally. It clearly shows that during Nixon's fall, no one was more tone deaf than Reagen, supporting the disgraced president with self serving ideological cynicism at every turn, up to and including Ford's disgraceful absolute pardon to Nixon.

This book also clearly slices up the mythology that Reagen would have been considered a liberal by today's Tea Party. Nothing could be further from the truth.... Reagen is deservedly the patron saint of the right wing, and for good reason: He sided with every reactionary movement as California's governor.

Though there are some errors the editors should have caught, I will not nitpick and just say that the author has done a Herculean job of piecing together so many historical events to help make sense of what we politically see today; a severely divided country that has long lost its original-intent moral compass, regardless of who becomes president moving forward.

I really enjoyed this book. Very informative and well written. I was born in 1964, so I was very young during the Nixon administration. By reading this, it jogged my memory of what was happening around me at that time. I did not realize that Reagan was even in the picture during Watergate. A great insight into politics.

I have just finished reading Perlstein's third volume on the conservative movement (Before the Storm, Nixonland, The Invisible Bridge) that spans the years from Goldwater's defeat in the 1964 presidential election to Reagan's inability to wrest the Republican nomination from Gerald Ford during the 1976 Republican Convention in Kansas City. I must say I was not impressed with Perlstein's methodology nor his inability to remain objective. He wears his politics on his sleeve and seems to cherry pick the evidence to support his own political leanings. Its a shame because there is much that is interesting in his books (especially if the reader has lived through the period in question. I found myself reminded of many issues (pow bracelets, meat boycotts, indiscrimante bombings in major cities, etc) that i had forgotten about. However, the author has little new light to shed on events and has really done little, if any, original research. He has little new to say. Perlstein has mined much of the newspaper and magazine clippings of the era, but his use of primary resources is almost non-existent and he has ignored a lot of the memoirs and other historical texts that might have given his work a more authoritative feel. Instead, the reader is left with Perlstein's distorted view of the era and must trust in the author's narrative. For example, in Before the Storm, Perlstein mentions JFK's call to Coretta Scott King after Martin Luther King was imprisoned during the 1960 election season. He leaves the reader thinking that JFK , albeit reluctantly, ended up doing the right thing while his opponent, Richard Nixon, was silent. However, a little further digging would show that Nixon actually was working with southern authorities to get King released from jail. But you would not know this from reading Perlstein's account. All three books are filed with these sorts of omissions. Therefore, I cannot recommend any of these books as useful to someone who wants a definitive look at the period in question. I cannot use the term "history' to describe what Perlstein has written. It is more journalism by Internet. Not to mention the multitude of grammatical errors and factual errors that a good editor/fact checker would have found. Very disappointing.

Rick Perlstein makes history feel urgent and alive like nobody else I've ever read. This vivid account of the years surrounding America's bicentennial is cultural history at its best. In NIXONLAND, Perlstein attacked the question, "Why Nixon?" and in this volume, the same question is asked of Reagan. While the cover & subtitle suggests it is about Reagan (and it is, mostly), I learned as least as much about Carter. Fascinating, rollicking fun!

This is the capper to an amazing trilogy. While it is indeed an account of the rise of the modern right, it's also a well-researched, highly readable history of post-WWII America. Dense, yet never a slog. Perlstein is a wonderful writer, with a masterful command of a mindboggling abundance of facts. He has an eye for the telling detail, yet never gets lost in minutiae.

brilliant, entertaining chronicle of that moment in American history when everything seemed to be thrown into chaos and Ronald Reagan emerged out of the madness as the hero selling a simple vision of American greatness. Loaded with surprising insights and forgotten history, given fresh life through the lens Perlstein views this moment in time.

This follow up to "Nixonland" covers United States presidential politics during the period from Nixon's abbreviated second term to Gerald Ford's Republican nomination in 1976. "The Invisible Bridge" was a difficult read for me. It is as full of negativity as the nightly news.

Mr. Perlstein recounts and provides evidence for many of the exaggerations, half truths, and lies that Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and other politicos told during the 1970s. All of the political stories are set against the colorful backdrop of the culture of that bicentennial decade.

"The Invisible Bridge" is at its entertaining best when it veers away from politics. These side trips into other news stories and cultural events are what made this book interesting enough to keep on reading. These excursions include frequent "Doonesbury" references, why "Jaws" and "The Exorcist" were such popular movies, the travails of Patty Hearst, the Manson family, transcendental meditation, and the bicentennial celebration.

While some of the political anecdotes were also entertaining, the 800-plus pages of cynicism just wore me out. And if that was not enough there are more typos in this book than any other I have ever read.

I can't recommend "The Invisible Bridge" to anyone who is not a political junkie.

Rick Perlstein's vivid portrait of Ronald Reagan upends any of the hagiographies that are peddled every few years. His snapshots of that era tell us more about the time we're living in than anything in today's newspapers. He's the best historian of his generation.

The Invisible Bridge by Rick Perlstein [0575 - Presidential Politics - 12-08-2014]

Author Rick Perlstein's focus in this his third book of political autopsy is the raucous period from the resignation of Richard Nixon to the nominations of Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford as the candidates for President in 1976. Against the background of well-detailed cultural mayhem the author makes an intriguing contrast between the rise of right wing Ronald Reagan and the populist ex-governor Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford, inheritor of the ill feelings from the Nixon pardon, the collapse of South Viet Nam and the burdens of office is portrayed as a man damned by circumstances beyond his control.

For students of the period this 800 page book is a treasure trove of keen insights, newspaper quotes and fascinating political and cultural trivia. Having been an avid reader and an informed voter during the period detailed in the book I bathed in nostalgic reminiscence or perhaps better wallowed in it. Some may feel that this lengthy tome is overkill with too much trivia and arcane facts you will have to decide.

I had previously read and commented on the authors previous two books: "Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus" and "Nixonland". In my remarks on those two books I noted Mr. Perlstein muted dislike for Goldwater and Nixon but acknowledged his efforts at objectivity. In this new book, "The Invisible Bridge" his lack of ardor for Reagan is apparent which may stroke some readers against the grain.

I am disappointed by the lack of footnotes or a bibliography - it greatly reduces the usefulness of this book.

If you want to understand today's politics, read this. Everything old is new again, 40 years later. Perlstein delivers a page-turner of a book that will take you down memory lane while putting a road map for today on your radar.

The period Perlstein covers in the book, 1973-76, was a discrete period in my own life, a time when I was paying close attention, and I thought I remembered everything about it. But Perlstein illuminates the Seventies in more vivid detail than I would have imagined possible. He tells a great story about what was going on in America in those years, but equally important he never loses sight of his larger project, which is to explain how the Right has won, stalling America's progress toward social and economic justice and dragging us backwards to where we are now, on the edge of the abyss. (Those are my words, not his. I don't think Perlstein believes we're on the eve of destruction, though I do, and the unholy alliance between the plutocrats and the culture warriors is a big reason why.) I look forward to, and shudder to anticipate, Perlstein's next book, about the dreadful years when Reagan actually occupied the White House.

And thank goodness for an historian willing to tell the awful truth about Ronald Reagan, whose presidency America has not, and may not ever recover from.

Brilliant! A wonderful and sobering counterbalance to the legendary romantic fantasy about Reagan that comes out of the right-wing noise machine. Beware of folks who give 1 star reviews; clearly they haven't read the book, but have rather parroted the conservative talking points.

Excellent, intelligent, work by one of America's most thoughtful and gifted writers. Beginning with Watergate, Perlstein vividly and compellingly synthesizes our nation's past to reveal the mythological stories America chose and/or needed to believe about itself. Illuminating!

This book is excellent. Meticulously researched and with a wry sense of humor, Perlstein takes us on a trip thru the politics and popular culture of the years the book covers. Anyone born in the late 60's with an interest in history should read this book. It is as much our history as it it Nixon and Reagan's.

Rick Perlstein provides us with the next chapter in the story of the rise of the New Right – and he does so not only masterfully, but also, however depressing the reality of the RW ascent, most engagingly and at times entertainingly. We can't undo the rise of Reagan, but if we want to transcend it, we need to know and understand it. Read history - Make history.

If you want to destroy the United States, this is the book for you. Probably the most divisive book I've ever read. Jews - Good, Christians - Bad. Liberals Good, Conservatives not just bad, but evil. The author hates Reagan, Loves all Democrats. Conservatives say they love the us, but don't. Liberals do. Perlstein loves Obama, saying Michelle loves America. Her quote that Barack's nomination was the first time she was proud to be an American is nowhere in this book. Author is wrong on most particulars, and makes a great deal of errors of fact. Says Christian churches are overflowing, while Christians bemoan the decline in attendance. Well, Perlstein is wrong. "Churched" Christians are declining by all measures -- See the World Christian Encyclopedia, Oxford University Press, 2001. Perlstein apparently has an enormous staff of rabid liberal/progressive researchers or contributors, but has no end notes for sources. The notes are on line at rickperlstein.net (without numbers), assuring him that no one will check his work. Why should they -- his hatred of Reagan and all conservatives is so blatant, why would anyone want to read further? Frankly, I suspect that a lot of Perlstein's "facts" are made up. By the way, Perlstein is dedicated to chronicling the "rise of the conservative movement." Golly, I thought that it started with Washington, who was the nation's first conservative President. One wonders how he would treat Kennedy, who was clearly more conservative than liberal. But, of course I forgot: Democrats are all good, Republicans all bad. Perlstein's world is incredibly simple.

What a disappointment this book turned out to be! I looked forward to reading this book because the topic is fascinating and I had hoped for a balanced, nuanced approach to understanding the appeal of modern political conservatism. While this book will appeal to partisans, those of us who are not so ideologically inclined will be left wanting a more balanced approach. Imagine if Rush Limbaugh wrote a history of the Obama Administration and you will get a feel for how this book reads from the other side. Ultimately, Perlstein is a cheerleader for the far left, and if that appeals to you, you will love this book. But for most of us, the book will probably elicit a big yawn.

First and foremost, this book is difficult to read. Many of the sentences are very long with complicated phrasing, and the author uses lots of obscure and/or big words. The author uses the popularity of movies such as The Exorcist and Jaws to infer deep rooted problems in society. The book emphasizes the bad in everyone and everything and the author draws unwarranted conclusions from obscure incidents. I assume the author was not yet born in the early 70's because the book reads like someone who is trying to envision the era by reading old news papers and moldy copies of Time magazine. But if you've got the time, the book is a cool flashback to those days. One tidbit the author uncovers is Jesse Helms' defeat of a man named Galifianakis for the senate in the '60's – could it have been an ancient relative of Zach?

Right Wing Radical "nutjobs" will have their heads explode reading this......as they always are in denial of Facts & truth and history which they can't be bothered with in their blinders on view of the real world in "their" own twisted sense of reality.

but FACTS are FACTS! This book is unreal! FINALLY written proof of the tape of LBJ saying "what Nixon did was TREASON against the American people"...& (R) IL Sen. Everett Dirksen saying "Yes, I know it" !

If people at that time had known that and LBJ had put Nixon behind bars for Treason since Nixon was still just only a US CITIZEN...it would have saved us 30 years of Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Ford Tyranny! Wake up people! stop taking the Red pill! Try the BLUE PILL!

geez....Even John McCain recently said it was TRUE that Richard Nixon actually committed TREASON against the USA by being a CITIZEN interjecting in foreign policy and NOT representing the President at the time...but as a CITIZEN which is and has been illegal to do since John Adams days!!!! Nixon convinced the sides "NOT" to go to the disarmament table and agree to stop the war...but instead told them to NOT end the war before LBJ left office. THOSE ARE HISTORICAL FACTS WHICH EVEN ARE ON "TAPE" of the LBJ administration staff talking to LBJ about it on the Telephone...and NIXONS' library not has finally put the unreal FACTS of this out there for the public to finally see. DENIAL of the facts is what the radical right wing nutjobs do best! especially when HISTORY and FACTS are thrown in their face! They want to then change the subject and say "well what about this and that"! instead of admitting a FACT as TRUTH!

FORTUNATELY IT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN NOT WIPE OUT FROM WIKIPEDIA!.

Well, Mr. Perlstein is certainly an entertaining writer. This was an extremely fun read - super-packed with a trove of wonderful facts and anecdotes expertly mixed into the huge historic/political sweep of those years (1973-1976). Yes, it bogs down in a few places - but overall - an impressive page turner.

I also greatly appreciate that the author admits to being liberal. It helps clarify his agenda and informs every chapter of the book. Mr. Perstein obviously holds a deep contempt for conservative ideas and also the citizens that support them. He even can't imagine how any clear-headed, rational American could follow such a political philosophy.

For those Ronald Reagan lovers out there, he gives the Gipper some surprising respect (although most of his compliments are back-handed). And to be fair, he's tough on other liberal writers of the time for missing (and dismissing) the "prairie fire" that was the rebirth of the conservative movement.

Unfortunately, because of his stated liberal bias, Mr. Perlstein repeatedly makes absurd - and unprovable - cultural leaps to help bolster his thesis. For example he claims the film, The Exorcist, struck a deep chord with the American public because it was obviously a metaphor of the times. To his biased eyes - the movie demonstrated a great cultural battle: the left stealing and converting our innocent children into unrecognizable vulgar aliens - only to be saved by conservatives with their old-timey values. Really?

I was around when it was released. The Exorcist was a must-see film because William Friedkin made a shocking, next-level horror film. And THAT'S the reason we all went to see it. It's fun to be scared.

Remember the movie rating system was only about five years old in 1973. Films were pushing boundaries and audiences were frantically adjusting their personal shock meters. (A severed horse's head caused a sensation a year earlier in The Godfather - a gritty movie about Italian gangsters that never used the F-word.) Monster/horror movies have been extremely popular with American audiences since the 1920's.

Also, every cultural historian knows that American parents have been dismayed, confused, and weirded-out by teenager behavior for generations. Look at the reaction to Rock and Roll in the 1950's. Or to jazz in the 1920's. This story is not at all unique to the early 1970's.

Yes, the country was taking some body blows during those years (Vietnam, Watergate, Church Commission, Inflation, Gas Lines) - but was it so much worse than what the country experienced in 1968? Or 1963? Probably not. But Mr. Perlstein insists on exaggerating the trauma of those years as a device to understand the appeal of Reagan. In his view: we were just so beaten-and-battered as a country that, instead of confronting the actual problems of a super-power as adults - with clear-eyed rational introspection, a growing majority just decided to chuck any remnants of intellectualism and blindly zombie-walk towards the magical, nostalgic glow of an ex-actor from the 1940's. It's absurd. And, ironically, a simple answer.

So, although I sure love Mr. Perlsetin's prose and entertaining research - I don't buy his flimsy thesis. People at the time, rightly or wrongly, thought conservative principles might (key word: MIGHT) just be the medicine the country needed. And they finally gave old Ronald Reagan (we used to call him Ronnie Ray-gun) and his philosophy a shot in 1980. The real miracle is that the guy was successful beyond all expectations (he won re-election 49-1).

As for Mr. Perlstein placing his vast array of footnotes on a website (and the controversy it sparked): I thought it was a smart, nifty 21st century idea.

Perlstein has a shallow understanding of history, and he overstates the role of "the right." He must know that establishment liberals played their own role in undermining the left. Otherwise, some interesting anecdotes.

I was expecting an unbiased account but the writer just went on a crazy rant about Ronald Reagan. Also, as other reviewers have mentioned, he uses copy, cut, and paste method to write. I quit reading after 100 pages because I want an honest account of history and he made me doubt everything he wrote as being true. Don't waste your money. There are other great writers that present the facts without personal agendas: David McCullough, Ron Chernow, and Joseph Ellis to name a few.

This book is enjoyable but the Kindle version is so riddled with typos that it is sometimes a frustrating experience to read. the store should do better, especially for the relatively high price for this Kindle edition.

I have read the Goldwater book and Nixonland. Both great - my big issue with Invisible Bridge is that Al Downing pitched for the Dodgers when he gave up the Aaron Homerun - not the Reds. What other facts doe Perlstein have incorrect in this book ? In all three books.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but instead of being educated about a part of American history and culture during the '70's, I instead find myself reading an author's sarcastic, sometimes embittered account of that period. I have no strong political biases, but this author writes like a guy who just left an anti-America rally and wants to bring the protest onto the streets. He hates Nixon with a passion, he mocks Reagan, finds sympathy for keepers of the Hanoi Hilton, and ridicules the suffering of American POW's. yes I'm not kidding. On Reagan, he makes a half hearted attempt to expand on the dichotomy of the man. But Perlstein cannot hide his disdain for Reagan and ultimately brings nothing new to the analysis. Hating Nixon I understand. Reagan I don't. If you're still raging mad about the Vietnam war, Watergate, and by the way you are contemptuous of Reagan in all respects, you might enjoy this book. I had to stop reading it. It became so irritating, its tone so strident and sarcastic. A true disappointment, especially given the recommendation from the NYT.

The author must not sleep well at night, tossing and turning as his troubled soul is tormented over and over again by the mere existence of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. At least liberals with Bush Derangement Syndrome or Palin Derangement Syndrome have some contemporary relevance and are not fixated on stuff that happened 40 years ago as if it occurred yesterday. The author has but one tone: Snark. He has but one obsession: Conservatives. He has but one mission: To destroy them. He cannot even leave the POWs alone. This is a highly distasteful fact-free exercise in liberal ranting and is not worth even a moment's attention. He recounts something that occurred then relentlessly piles on quote after quote from liberal media and his own sarcastic little trifles. Shame on the publisher. May I please have my money back?

You might want to investigate the author before buying this book, as he just attempted to claim that the POW/MIA flag is racist. His article that uses a clickbait headline of racism goes forward and makes no argument that the flag is racist. The only thing I found from his clickbait was that he is full of hate and wants to twist history into a version that gives his hatred for America a foundation.