Transforming America: Politics and Culture During the Reagan Years

by Robert M. Collins

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231124010
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	07/30/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert M. Collins is the William H. Byler Professor of Social and Behavioral Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and is the author of More: The Politics of Economic Growth in Postwar America and The Business Response to Keynes, 1929-1964.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction1. Malaise
2. Enter Ronald Reagan, Pragmatic Ideologue
3. Reaganomics
4. Greed is Good? The American Business System in the Eighties
5. Social Problems, Societal Issues
6. The Postmodern Moment
7. Culture War
8. Combating the Evil Empire
9. Winning the Cold War
10. The Eighties Legacy: The Recentering of Politics and CultureNotes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Donald T. Critchlow

Robert Collins's Transforming America deserves to be placed high on the pile of must-read books. Collins captures the charm, tenacity, and accomplishments of Reagan, the man and president, bringing judicious insight to a decade that changed America forever.

— Donald T. Critchlow, Saint Louis University

David Farber

Master historian Robert Collins has written a brilliant, balanced account of the Reagan years. His chapters on Reaganomics and business in the 80s are a tour de force and his analysis of Americans' simultaneous embrace of a permissive culture and a conservative politics is as compelling as it is fascinating.

— David Farber, author of Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America's First Encounter with Radical Islam

Michael Flamm

A gifted economic historian, Robert Collins has produced a clear and compelling analysis of a critical era and a controversial figure.

— Michael Flamm, Ohio Wesleyan University

Editorial Reviews

A masterly synoptic account of the Reagan years (including two chapters on the Cold War)... that is especially good on domestic issues.... Collins is the rare historian who is literate in economics and public policy. He combines this knowledge with a writing style that is direct and understated. Indeed, it is hard to tell from his scrupulous prose what his own ideological leanings may be. Although he does not shrink from criticizing Reagan or his record, Collins confidently dispatches many of the well-entrenched criticisms of the Gipper that most historians roll over for, and in a way that does not read like a pro-Reagan brief.

Claremont Review of Books - Steven F Hayward

Any student of the period would benefit from having this book both for general reference and for a lively, informative read.

American Studies - John Matlin

Transforming America is an engaging, readable account of an important decade.

— Jerome L. Himmelstein

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

Any student of the period would benefit from having this book both for general reference and for a lively, informative read.

— John Matlin

American Studies

A masterly synoptic account of the Reagan years (including two chapters on the Cold War)... that is especially good on domestic issues.... Collins is the rare historian who is literate in economics and public policy. He combines this knowledge with a writing style that is direct and understated. Indeed, it is hard to tell from his scrupulous prose what his own ideological leanings may be. Although he does not shrink from criticizing Reagan or his record, Collins confidently dispatches many of the well-entrenched criticisms of the Gipper that most historians roll over for, and in a way that does not read like a pro-Reagan brief.

— Steven F Hayward

Claremont Review of Books

An astute account of politics and culture during the Reagan years.

— Nicholas Wapshott

New York Sun

Any student of the period would benefit from having this book both for general reference and for a lively, informative read.

John Matlinn Studies

Transforming America is an engaging, readable account of an important decade.

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society - Jerome L. Himmelstein

An astute account of politics and culture during the Reagan years.

New York Sun - Nicholas Wapshott