1995: The Year the Future Began

by W. Joseph Campbell

Overview

A hinge moment in recent American history, 1995 was an exceptional year. Drawing on interviews, oral histories, memoirs, archival collections, and news reports, W. Joseph Campbell presents a vivid, detail-rich portrait of those memorable twelve months. This book offers fresh interpretations of the decisive moments of 1995, including the emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web in mainstream American life; the bombing at Oklahoma City, the deadliest attack of domestic terrorism in U.S. history; the sensational “Trial of the Century,” at which O.J. Simpson faced charges of double murder; the U.S.-brokered negotiations at Dayton, Ohio, which ended the Bosnian War, Europe’s most vicious conflict since the Nazi era; and the first encounters at the White House between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a liaison that culminated in a stunning scandal and the spectacle of the president’s impeachment and trial. As Campbell demonstrates in this absorbing chronicle, 1995 was a year of extraordinary events, a watershed at the turn of the millennium. The effects of that pivotal year reverberate still, marking the close of one century and the dawning of another.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520273993
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	01/02/2015
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

W. Joseph Campbell is Professor in the School of Communication at American University. He is the author of five other nonfiction books, including Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism (UC Press, 2010).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction to an Improbable Year
1 • The Year of the Internet
2 • Terror in the Heartland, and a Wary America
3 • O.J., DNA, and the “Trial of the Century”
4 • Peace at Dayton and the “Hubris Bubble”
5 • Clinton Meets Lewinsky
Conclusion: The Long Reach of 1995
The Timeline of a Watershed Year: 1995
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

11/17/2014
According to American University professor Campbell, 1995 was an “improbable” year that “effectively marked the close of one century, and the start of another.” Campbell argues that several of the year’s major events would come to define the modern American experience: the births of Netscape, Amazon, and the wiki; the Oklahoma City bombing, which ushered in a “national psychology of fear”; O.J. Simpson’s “Trial of the Century,” notable for introducing DNA testing to the public; the U.S.-brokered peace accords that ended the Bosnian War and revitalized American exceptionalism; and the sexual liaisons between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Though Campbell’s account of 1995 is far-reaching and inclusive in its analysis, it lacks any hint of a unifying structure. What makes these five events more epoch-defining than any other of 1995—for instance, the House Republicans’ passing of the “Contract with America,” the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, or Clinton’s decision to end trade and investment with Iran—and what makes 1995 more significant than any other year of that decade? Campbell’s book, for all its insight, is hindered by its reluctance to take a larger thematic view of history that would justify 1995 as a truly watershed year rather than simply an eventful one. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Well-written and entertaining . . . This book offers brilliantly concise examinations, coupled with a fascinating introduction and concluding time line."

CHOICE

"A worthy, informative, and sporting attempt to convince us that the world we live in was crucially shaped by things that happened in 1995. . . . Campbell’s book draws our attention to the nineteen-nineties. And he’s right when he points out that the decade is pretty much ignored."

New Yorker - Louis Menand

"This book is excellent!"

Internet History Podcast

"Campbell writes a clear-eyed examination of the pop and political happenings of a single year in the 1990s."

Book Riot

"Campbell makes the case that 1995 was a watershed year."

National Journal

"One of the country’s best media watchers has turned his attention to some major reporting debacles, missteps and missed opportunities which have had continuing repercussions over the past 20 years."

Washington Times

"A compulsively readable new book."

Reason - Nick Gillespie

"Deep, exhaustively sourced . . . [engages] the reader's humanity as well as intellect." 

Journalism History

"A remarkable book. . . . Campbell’s intense commitment to his material brings it to life. He’s a persuasive writer with an excellent sense of detail and a knack for narrative. Even those who clearly remember 1995, and know how major events turned out, will find his book illuminating."

National Post

"An eventful year, 1995, and one instructive to look back upon."

Maclean's

"This book is excellent!"

Ícaro|Ícaro|Ícaro|Internet History Podcast

"Makes the case that 1995 was a watershed year."

National Journal - Brian Resnick

"A remarkable book. . . . Campbell’s intense commitment to his material brings it to life. He’s a persuasive writer with an excellent sense of detail and a knack for narrative. Even those who clearly remember 1995, and know how major events turned out, will find his book illuminating."

National Post - Robert Fulford

"Well-written and entertaining . . . This book offers brilliantly concise examinations, coupled with a fascinating introduction and concluding time line."

CHOICE - B. T. Browne

"An eventful year, 1995, and one instructive to look back upon."

Maclean's - Brian Bethune

"Buy the book! It's excellent!"

Internet History Podcast - Brian McCullough

"One of the country’s best media watchers has turned his attention to some major reporting debacles, missteps and missed opportunities which have had continuing repercussions over the past 20 years."

Washington Times - Christopher Harper