It Seemed Like Nothing Happened: America in the 1970s [Paperback]

Peter N. Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1990

"This is the single best book on the 1970s." --Leo Ribuffo, George Washington University "A compelling and persuasive challenge to the journalistic characterization of the '70s as the 'Me Decade.'" --Ruth Rosen, University of California, Davis The title of Peter Carroll's book, It Seemed Like Nothing Happened, ironically reveals the message. The decade of the '70s was far from our common impression of the calm following the turbulent '60s. Instead, it was a time filled with dramatic events and changes. In this unique, comprehensive history of the 1970s, we learn about international developments: the war in Cambodia, Nixon's trip to China, the oil embargo and resulting gas shortage, the Mayaguez incident, the Camp David accords, the Iranian capture of the U.S. embassy and the taking of hostages, and the ill-fated rescue mission. All this signaled a decline in American power and influence. We also learn about domestic politics: Kent State, the Pentagon Papers, Haynsworth and Carswell, the Eagleton affair, the rise of ticket splitting, the Saturday night massacre, Nixon's resignation, the conservative shift in the Democratic Party, and the Reagan electoral landslide. Carroll reminds us of tragedies and occasional moments of levity, bringing up the names Patricia Hearst, George Jackson and Angela Davis, Wilbur Mills and the Argentina Firecracker, Wayne Hays and Elizabeth Ray, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Peter N. Carroll has taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Minnesota, and Stanford University. He is the author of The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A compelling and persuasive challenge to the journalistic characterization of the '70s as the 'Me Decade.'" -- Ruth Rosen, University of California, Davis

"This is the single best book on the 1970s." -- Leo Ribuffo, George Washington University

From the Back Cover

The title of Peter Carroll's book, "It Seemed Like Nothing Happened", ironically reveals the message. The decade of the '70s was far from our common impression of the calm following the turbulent '60s. Instead, it was a time filled with dramatic events and changes.

In this unique, comprehensive history of the 1970s, we learn about international developments: the war in Cambodia, Nixon's trip to China, the oil embargo and resulting gas shortage, the Mayaquez incident, the Camp David accords, the Iranian capture of the U.S. embassy and the taking of hostages, the ill-fated rescue mission. All this signaled a decline in American power and influence. We also learn about domestic politics: Kent State, the Pentagon Papers, Haynsworth and Carswell, the Eagleton affair, the rise of ticket splitting, inflation, recession, unemployment, Watergate, Agnew's resignation, the Saturday night massacre, Nixon's resignation, the pardon for draft evaders, Proposition 13, the politicization of organized religion, the conservative shift in the Democratic Party, and the Reagan electoral landslide. Carroll reminds us of tragedies and occasional moments of levity, bringing up the names Patricia Hearst, George Jackson and Angela Davis, Wilbur Mills and the Argentina Firecracker, Wayne Hays and Elizabeth Ray, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (February 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813515386
• ISBN-13: 978-0813515380
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview of the 1970s, December 9, 2010

By 

S. Moler "Steve Moler" (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: It Seemed Like Nothing Happened: America in the 1970s (Paperback)

This book is an excellent overview of the 1970s. It provides the reader with broad summaries of the decade's major political and social events. The book is very readable, not real technical. I was looking for a book that would give me a broad overview of the decade, to get me started and thinking about the 1970s in broad terms, and this book definitely delivers.