The Eighties: A Reader
- ISBN-10
- 020177240X
- ISBN-13
- 9780201772401
- Series
- The Eighties
- Category
- History / United States / 20th Century
- Pages
- 382
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1997-11-02
- Publisher
- Da Capo Press
- Author
- Gilbert Sewall
Description
The America of the 1980s is often caricatured as a time of yuppie greed and self-absorption. But what was driving that decades rampant pursuit of individual pleasure? What were the cultural forces behind Madonna’s ”Material Girl” and Oliver Stone’s Wall Street? These fascinating essays, collected by historian Gilbert T. Sewall from the major books, journals, news reports, and public addresses of the day, survey the tumultuous social change that engulfed the nation--and explain why we are still feeling the aftershocks today.With contributions by such diverse figures as Chistopher Lasch, Lewis H. Lapham, Eric Bogosian, and Hilton Kramer, The Eighties touches on the hallmarks of the age: celebrity culture and hype, exhibitionism and shamelessness, academic ferment, and the lure of money. Kennedy Fraser on the new trend machine. James Q. Wilson on attitudes toward crime, Shelby Steele on African American angst, Tom Wolfe on art objects as religious totems--this lively reader brings together, for the first time, the voices that defined an era.As Sewall so deftly tells it, the story of the 1980s is not merely one of politics or financial chicanery--although both get their due in the book. The 1980s were an era of disquieting attitudes, fantasies, and dreams. As Americans experienced new forms of social anxiety and spiritual crisis, the debate over what constitutes excellence in the arts and in education touched off the so-called culture wars. All of this is evident in the rise of identity politics as well as in films like The Big Chill and feel-good democratic displays of international activism like Live Aid, in the overnight sensation of cocaine-fueled, star-studded nightclubs like New York City’s Limelight, in the flamboyant mood of hit television shows like Dynasty and Dallas, and in the success of The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom’s staunch defense of Western tradition.Invigorated conservatism in politics and society was, paradoxically, accompanied by the ascent of a new establishment of ”tenured radicals,” for whom alternative values and cultural innovation supported lucrative careers. Finally empowered to make the social and political changes they had only dreamed about in earlier decades, these boomers stimulated an acrimonious debate over the nature of the good life and the soul of the nation.With remarkable verve, The Eighties sheds new light on the decade that brought us Ronald Reagan and MTV, a decade that continues to frame some of today’s most vexing political, economic, and cultural debates
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Slavery, Race, and American History: Historical Conflict, Trends, and Method, 1866-1953
By John David SmithSee George D. Terry , “ A Study of the Impact of the French Revolution and the Insurrections in Saint - Domingue ... iiin , 65n , 66n ; John D. Duncan , “ Servitude and Slavery in Colonial South Carolina , 1670–1776 " ( Ph.D. diss .
-
Class Struggle and the New Deal: Industrial Labor, Industrial Capital, and the State
By Rhonda F. LevineNew York : Macmillan , 1940 . Sherman , Howard J. Profits in the United States : An Introduction to a Study of Economic Concentration and Business Cycles . Ithaca , N.Y .: Cornell University Press , 1968 . Shively , W. Phillips .
-
The Watergate Crisis
By Michael A. GenoveseRecounts the events of the Watergate affair; identifies key players; and presents essays on its impact
-
The 1980s
By Bob Batchelor, Scott F. StoddartIn another first , Diahann Carroll joined the cast as Dominique Devereaux , a chanteuse once involved with Blake . Carroll's became the first African American to appear as a series regular on a major serial drama .
-
1927: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of the Jazz Age's Greatest Year
By Thomas S. HischakFrom January 1 to December 31 of 1927, the entries in this book cover every major news event—national and international—of this pivotal year in history.
-
The Vietnam Experience: A Concise Encyclopedia of American Literature, Songs, and Films
By Kevin Hillstrom, Laurie Collier HillstromHal Ashby Screenplay : Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones ; based on a story by Nancy Dowd Principal Cast : Jane Fonda , Jon Voight , Bruce Dern , Penelope Milford , Robert Carradine Year of Release : 1978 ( United Artists ) American ...
-
1969: The Year Everything Changed
By Rob KirkpatrickDennis Wilson of the Beach Boys reportedly hooked up with two of Manson's female followers, and soon Manson and his Family had moved into Wilson's mansion, uninvited. While in prison, Manson had learned how to play guitar from Alvin ...
-
The Sixties
By Richard Avedon, Doon ArbusThe connection between all the rhetoric and all the poetry, between the words of a Black Panther and those of a rock star or a pacifist, between the scars of a pop artist and those of a napalm victim, have haunted and informed the ...
-
Change and Continuity in the 1984 Elections
By David W. Rohde, Paul R. Abramson, John H. Aldrich... Leslie - 11 Kleppner , Paul - 120 , 125 , 130 , 131 Kostroski , Warren Lee - 259 Kramer , Gerald H. - 205 - Ladd ... Jackman , Mary R. - 128 Jackman , Robert W. - 128 Jackson , Andrew - 73 , 292 Jackson , Brooks - 261 Jackson ...
-
Rise of Conservatism in America, 1945-2000 + Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War + Lyndon B. Johnson and American...
By Booker T Washington, Bruce Laurie, Professor of History Ronald StoryRise of Conservatism in America, 1945-2000 + Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War + Lyndon B. Johnson and American...