Transforming America: Politics and Culture in the Reagan Years

By Robert M. Collins

Book Overview

By the end of the 1980s, the "malaise" that had once pervaded American society was replaced by a renewed sense of confidence and national purpose. However, beneath this veneer of optimism was a nation confronting the effects of massive federal deficits, a reckless foreign policy, AIDS, homelessness, and a growing "cultural war." In Transforming America , renowned historian Robert Collins examines the decade's critical and controversial developments and the unmistakable influence of Ronald Reagan. Moving beyond conventional depictions that either demonize or sanctify Reagan, Collins offers fresh insights into his thought and influence. He portrays Reagan as a complex political figure who combined ideological conservatism with political pragmatism to achieve many of his policy aims. Collins demonstrates how Reagan's policies helped to limit the scope of government, control inflation, reduce the threat of nuclear war, and defeat communism. Collins also shows how the simultaneous ascendancy of the right in politics and the left in culture created a divisive legacy. The 1980s witnessed other changes, including the advent of the personal computer, a revolution in information technology, a more globalized national economy, and a restructuring of the American corporation. In the realm of culture, the creation of MTV, the popularity of self-help gurus, and the rise of postmodernism in American universities were the realization of the cultural shifts of the postwar era. These developments, Collins suggests, created a conflict in American society that continues today, pitting cultural conservatism against a secular and multicultural view of the world. Entertaining and erudite, Transforming America explores the events, movements, and ideas that defined a turbulent decade and profoundly changed the shape and direction of American culture and politics.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231124007
• ISBN13: 9780231124003
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Examination of the Eighties

Robert Collins covers it all in this book, from political economy to culture to foreign policy and the end of the Cold War. One of the most interesting arguments in the book is his observation that America moved both right and left in the 80s; he claims that American politics experienced a rightward realignment while culture paradoxically continued to become more permissive. The chapter on Reaganomics showcases Collins's ability to bring to life reasonably difficult topics without sacrificing analytical rigor, and his exploration of business in the 1980s should not be missed. If you are interested in Ronald Reagan or the history of the 1980s, you would be a fool to skip this book.

Neither Saint Nor Demon

Depending upon to whom you are speaking Ronald Reagan was either the closest thing we've had to a saint, or perhaps the Devil incarnate. I have long held that you don't really begin to understand a time or a presidency until the history books get written. And this book is an excellent example. As the author says in his introduction, he has sought to take seriously the historian's obligation to rise out of [his own views] to see what all sides thought they were up to. Those whose view matches that of Tom Clancy, who dedicated one of his books to Reagan as 'the man who won the war,' will find plenty to support his view. Those who prefer to look at Iran-Contra or the lack of funding for AIDS research will likewise find points to justify their view. It seemed to me that Reagan was the first president to be considered inconsequential, a tool of the people around him. Instead Dr. Collins finds Reagan one of the most consequential and successful presidents of the modern era. I believe he is correct. For better or worse, the Reagan years accompanied masive changes in the political and cultural structure of our country. Dr. Collins has written an excellent chronicle of those years.