Mad as Hell: The Crisis of the 1970s and the Rise of the Populist Right - Hardcover
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” The words of Howard Beale, the fictional anchorman in the 1970s hit film Network, struck a chord with a generation of Americans. From the disgrace of Watergate to the humiliation of the Iran hostage crisis, the American Dream seemed to be falling apart.
In this magisterial new history, Dominic Sandbrook re-creates the schizophrenic atmosphere of the 1970s, the world of Henry Kissinger and Edward Kennedy, Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Landry. He takes us back to an age when feminists were on the march and the Communists seemed to be winning the Cold War, but also when a new kind of right-wing populism was transforming American politics from the ground up. Those years gave us organic food, disco music, gas lines, and gay rights—but they also gave us Proposition 13, the neoconservative movement, and the rise of Ronald Reagan.
From the killing fields of Vietnam to the mean streets of Manhattan, this is a richly compelling picture of the turbulent age in which our modern-day populist politics was born. For those who remember the days when you could buy a new Ford Mustang II but had to wait hours to fill the tank, this could hardly be a more vivid book. And for those born later, it is the perfect guide to a tortured landscape that shaped our present, from the financial boardroom to the suburban bedroom: the extraordinary world of 1970s America.
In this magisterial new history, Dominic Sandbrook re-creates the schizophrenic atmosphere of the 1970s, the world of Henry Kissinger and Edward Kennedy, Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Landry. He takes us back to an age when feminists were on the march and the Communists seemed to be winning the Cold War, but also when a new kind of right-wing populism was transforming American politics from the ground up. Those years gave us organic food, disco music, gas lines, and gay rights—but they also gave us Proposition 13, the neoconservative movement, and the rise of Ronald Reagan.
From the killing fields of Vietnam to the mean streets of Manhattan, this is a richly compelling picture of the turbulent age in which our modern-day populist politics was born. For those who remember the days when you could buy a new Ford Mustang II but had to wait hours to fill the tank, this could hardly be a more vivid book. And for those born later, it is the perfect guide to a tortured landscape that shaped our present, from the financial boardroom to the suburban bedroom: the extraordinary world of 1970s America.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
--Dwight Garner, The New York Times "An entertaining yet substantial book about a wince-inducing era. When it comes to the Seventies, Sandbrook knows the way we were, even if we wish we hadn't been."
--The Dallas Morning News "A rich stew. . . . Sandbrook brings a fresh perspective [and a] knack for blending social, cultural, and political history."
--The Boston Globe
"A terrific read. . . . Sandbrook brings the 1970s back to vivid life in Mad as Hell, his entertaining, opinionated take on the politics, economics, and cultural signifiers of a decade he views as the incubator of today's right wing."
--The Christian Science Monitor "A sweeping and compelling look at the rise of the populist right. . . . Sandbrook is brilliant in how he ties these events together and offers candid portrayals of presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan. . . . He illuminates pieces of our history, affording us a deeper understanding of their resonance in our own time."
--The San Diego Union-Tribune
"A useful contribution. . . . Sandbrook knows the territory well and analyzes it with understanding and sympathy."
--The Washington Post "Impressive and evenhanded. . . . Sandbrook is a muscular writer with an eye for the telling detail. . . . This is the best history I've yet read of the '70s."
--Brian C. Anderson, Commentary "A lively and lucid narrative history of the '70s. . . . Sharply etched."
--Tulsa World "Sandbrook's swashbuckling, capacious account of 1970s populism--aptly titled Mad as Hell--captures the inchoate fury that seemed to permeate the nation. . . . The book offers striking vignettes from the rise of a populist insurgency."
--Bookforum
"Throughout this incredible book there are insights, observations, and the intricate crafting of words and phrases that leave the reader breathless. . . . Characters, including Henry Kissinger, Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell, and Spiro Agnew, float through its pages likes escapees from some mad gypsy circus. Somehow, Sandbrook has captured all of the history missteps and bumps in the road that made the 1970s one of the most intriguing decades ever. This is historical reporting by a gifted writer at the top of his game."
--Tucson Citizen "First-rate. . . . [Sandbrook] is able to view history panoramically, almost as a living, breathing organism, by collecting and effectively using vast numbers of on-the-ground anecdotes. When it comes time for a future Edward Gibbon to explore the decline and fall of the American Republic, it is quite possible that he or she will zero in on the cultural trends and economic upheavals of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. If that is the case, Mad as Hell will be there as a guiding light."
--Columbia Journalism Review "A shrewd, sparkling politico-cultural history of post-Watergate America. . . . [Sandbrook's] subtle, well-written narrative of wrathful little guys confronting a faltering establishment illuminates a crucial aspect of a time much like our own."
--Publishers Weekly "Intensely readable. . . . Chock-full of insights about the moments those of us who survived the 70s remember all too clearly."
--Sacramento News & Review
About the Author:
Praise for Dominic Sandbrook's Mad As Hell
"Frisky and intelligent. . . . Among the most readable histories of the 1970s I've come across."--Dwight Garner, The New York Times "An entertaining yet substantial book about a wince-inducing era. When it comes to the Seventies, Sandbrook knows the way we were, even if we wish we hadn't been."
--The Dallas Morning News "A rich stew. . . . Sandbrook brings a fresh perspective [and a] knack for blending social, cultural, and political history."
--The Boston Globe
"A terrific read. . . . Sandbrook brings the 1970s back to vivid life in Mad as Hell, his entertaining, opinionated take on the politics, economics, and cultural signifiers of a decade he views as the incubator of today's right wing."
--The Christian Science Monitor "A sweeping and compelling look at the rise of the populist right. . . . Sandbrook is brilliant in how he ties these events together and offers candid portrayals of presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan. . . . He illuminates pieces of our history, affording us a deeper understanding of their resonance in our own time."
--The San Diego Union-Tribune
"A useful contribution. . . . Sandbrook knows the territory well and analyzes it with understanding and sympathy."
--The Washington Post "Impressive and evenhanded. . . . Sandbrook is a muscular writer with an eye for the telling detail. . . . This is the best history I've yet read of the '70s."
--Brian C. Anderson, Commentary "A lively and lucid narrative history of the '70s. . . . Sharply etched."
--Tulsa World "Sandbrook's swashbuckling, capacious account of 1970s populism--aptly titled Mad as Hell--captures the inchoate fury that seemed to permeate the nation. . . . The book offers striking vignettes from the rise of a populist insurgency."
--Bookforum
"Throughout this incredible book there are insights, observations, and the intricate crafting of words and phrases that leave the reader breathless. . . . Characters, including Henry Kissinger, Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell, and Spiro Agnew, float through its pages likes escapees from some mad gypsy circus. Somehow, Sandbrook has captured all of the history missteps and bumps in the road that made the 1970s one of the most intriguing decades ever. This is historical reporting by a gifted writer at the top of his game."
--Tucson Citizen "First-rate. . . . [Sandbrook] is able to view history panoramically, almost as a living, breathing organism, by collecting and effectively using vast numbers of on-the-ground anecdotes. When it comes time for a future Edward Gibbon to explore the decline and fall of the American Republic, it is quite possible that he or she will zero in on the cultural trends and economic upheavals of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. If that is the case, Mad as Hell will be there as a guiding light."
--Columbia Journalism Review "A shrewd, sparkling politico-cultural history of post-Watergate America. . . . [Sandbrook's] subtle, well-written narrative of wrathful little guys confronting a faltering establishment illuminates a crucial aspect of a time much like our own."
--Publishers Weekly "Intensely readable. . . . Chock-full of insights about the moments those of us who survived the 70s remember all too clearly."
--Sacramento News & Review
Dominic Sandbrook was educated at Oxford, St. Andrews, and Cambridge. He taught American history at the University of Sheffield and is a former senior fellow at the Rothermere American Institute, Oxford. Sandbrook is the author of Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism, as well as three best-selling books on modern British history, Never Had It So Good, White Heat, and State of Emergency. He is also a journalist and critic, writing regularly for the London Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, and The Sunday Times, and a columnist for the New Statesman and BBC History Magazine.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherAlfred a Knopf Inc
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 1400042623
- ISBN 13 9781400042623
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages506
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