The Other Eighties

A Secret History of America in the Age of Reagan

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book The Other Eighties by Bradford Martin, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Bradford Martin ISBN: 9781429953429
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: March 1, 2011
Imprint: Hill and Wang Language: English
Author: Bradford Martin
ISBN: 9781429953429
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: March 1, 2011
Imprint: Hill and Wang
Language: English

In this engaging new book, Bradford Martin illuminates a different 1980s than many remember—one whose history has been buried under the celebratory narrative of conservative ascendancy. Ronald Reagan looms large in most accounts of the period, encouraging Americans to renounce the activist and liberal politics of the 1960s and ‘70s and embrace the resurgent conservative wave. But a closer look reveals that a sizable swath of Americans strongly disapproved of Reagan's policies throughout his presidency. With a weakened Democratic Party scurrying for the political center, many expressed their dissatisfaction outside electoral politics.

Unlike the civil rights and Vietnam era protesters, activists of the 1980s often found themselves on the defensive, struggling to preserve the hard-won victories of the previous era. Their successes, then, were not in ushering in a new era of progressive reforms but in effecting change in areas from professional life to popular culture, while beating back an even more forceful political shift to the right. Martin paints an indelible portrait of these and other influential, but often overlooked, movements: from on-the-ground efforts to constrain the administration's aggressive Latin American policy and stave off a possible Nicaraguan war, to mock shanties constructed on college campuses to shed light on corporate America's role in supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa. The result is a clearer, richer perspective on a turbulent decade in American life.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this engaging new book, Bradford Martin illuminates a different 1980s than many remember—one whose history has been buried under the celebratory narrative of conservative ascendancy. Ronald Reagan looms large in most accounts of the period, encouraging Americans to renounce the activist and liberal politics of the 1960s and ‘70s and embrace the resurgent conservative wave. But a closer look reveals that a sizable swath of Americans strongly disapproved of Reagan's policies throughout his presidency. With a weakened Democratic Party scurrying for the political center, many expressed their dissatisfaction outside electoral politics.

Unlike the civil rights and Vietnam era protesters, activists of the 1980s often found themselves on the defensive, struggling to preserve the hard-won victories of the previous era. Their successes, then, were not in ushering in a new era of progressive reforms but in effecting change in areas from professional life to popular culture, while beating back an even more forceful political shift to the right. Martin paints an indelible portrait of these and other influential, but often overlooked, movements: from on-the-ground efforts to constrain the administration's aggressive Latin American policy and stave off a possible Nicaraguan war, to mock shanties constructed on college campuses to shed light on corporate America's role in supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa. The result is a clearer, richer perspective on a turbulent decade in American life.

More books from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Cover of the book Adventures in the Orgasmatron by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book A Long Day at the End of the World by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Federico Fellini by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book The Zabajaba Jungle by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book 100 Days by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Silverchest by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book The Natural Disorder of Things by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book I Am the Beggar of the World by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Black Mass by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Kiss, Kiss, Pout-Pout Fish by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Dusk by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Where Have You Been? by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Get Down by Bradford Martin
Cover of the book Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma by Bradford Martin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy