The Age of Reagan, 1964-1980: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order (Hardcover)

by Steven F. Hayward (Author) "today. Even before the story of the Goldwater campaign and its significance can be told, it is necessary to understand how 1964 unfolded..." (more)
Key Phrases: progressive administrative state, lifestyle liberalism, billion speech, United States, New York, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Hayward offers his examination, from an unabashedly conservative perspective, of American history from 1964 through the 1980 inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president, in the first part of a two-volume account. Senior fellow at the conservative Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, he argues that liberalism reached its peak in 1964, and that the hollowness of liberal thought, played out in the flawed presidencies of Nixon, Ford and Carter, creating a political atmosphere that allowed Reagan to preside over a fundamental change in the direction of American government. In Hayward's Manichean universe, opposite the rightness of Reagan's conservatism is the wrongness of all things liberal. Labeled with the "l word," among many others, are the war on poverty, feminism, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, d‚tente, New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael, the movie Dr. Strangelove and the "chattering class" of intellectuals. Hayward forwards many provocative opinions, among them that the Vietnam War was a success, delaying the fall of Saigon long enough to convince Communists that Southeast Asia could not be easily won; Hayward also believes that Watergate was an ideological dispute over whether the executive branch or Congress would have supremacy. The author assembles a wide variety of facts; unfortunately, he often includes them indiscriminately and tediously, as in his minute-by-minute description of the 1976 presidential primary. In the end, this is an ultraconservative polemic masquerading as history.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Readers both conservative and liberal can learn much about our times and our leaders from this work."
?Michael Barone, U.S. News & World Report
"A patient and comprehensive account of domestic and foreign policy development is wonderfully useful, and we have Steven Hayward to thank for casting light on Reagan, who arrived at the White House in 1981 with a purposeful gleam in his eye recalling Lenin arriving at the Finland Station."
?William F. Buckley Jr.
"Steven Hayward has given us a fascinating and extremely readable book about a unique era in american politics. His meticulous research and perceptive insights provide an informative and entertaining account of Ronald Reagan's rise from Hollywood to the presidency, as well as an in-depth understanding of the times in which that ascent occurred."
?Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow, the Heritage Foundation
"Steven Hayward gets two big things right in this book: Ronald Reagan and the age he came to dominate. It is a powerful story, carefully researched and well told."
?Peter Hannaford, author and presidential scholar
"The Age of Reagan is enormously engaging. I found myself arguing and thinking my way through its very readable pages."
?Fred Siegel, professor of history, the Cooper Union, and author of The Future Once Happened Here and Troubled Journey: From Pearl Harbor to Reagan
"A brilliant work of political history and analysis. It is the first truly successful effort to treat the phenomenon of Ronald Reagan within a broader historical framework. Most valuable of all is the effort to place the specific events of that epoch in a meaningful and intellectually provocative theoretical context."
?Marc Landy, professor of politics, Boston College, and coauthor of Presidential Greatness -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 848 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles; 1 edition (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076151337X
• ISBN-13: 978-0761513377
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #428,031 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How America Became Conservative, September 6, 2001

By	Bruce Strang (Guelph, Ontario (aka Sector 'R'...where nobody ever delivers)) - See all my reviews

The Reagan Revolution started with Barry Goldwater getting pounded like a disobedient mule back in 1964. That's pretty much common knowledge. Reagan campaigned for the GOP presidential candidate and delivered a well-received prime time televised speech on Goldwater's behalf. From there Reagan went to the Governorship of California and the rest is history. For those who think this is a study of Reagan, should be informed that it is instead the story of what changed America's mood in the years 64-80...a study of the politics, social changes, and what-have-you. Reagan in the early portions maks infrequent, almost cameo appreances.

Steven Hayward charts the death of small "L' liberalism (at the hands of the radical New Left) and the rise of the conservative tide which led to Reagan's victory in 1980. Much of the material has been printed before, but when it is all accumulated and is digested in full, the the effects are mind-boggling.

Thanks to Steven Hayward the history of the US from 1964 to 1980 comes alive in this absolutely brilliant book. As a Canadian, I found much of the material that related to the mid-sixties to early-seventies to be fascinating (even the economic portions were well done...and I'm no wizard with numbers!). Hayward's obvious dislike of the left's 'usual suspects' comes through on every page. Liberals may not like this book, but for the rest of us, it's a mighty fine read.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good political history of the years 1964-1980., October 1, 2005

By	Jeffrey D. Salzer (Diamondhead, MS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very good political history of the United States during the years 1964-1980. However, "The Age of Reagan" is not a biography of Mr. Reagan. Rather, "The Age of Reagan" focuses primarily on the rise of contemporary American conservatism (and related decline of liberalism) within the larger context of American history during the years in question.

Although a fairly long book, Mr. Hayward writes with clarity, and his book was clearly well researched. Mr. Hayward also displays considerable insight in describing and analyzing the battle between liberalism and conservatism at both the abstract and practical levels. The result is a work that is very informative, and that is both easy and enjoyable to read, with one exception: The editing could have been better, and the numerous mistakes in editing are something of a distraction.

In spite of this one defect, I recommend "The Age of Reagan," and look forward to the second volume, which I understand will cover Mr. Reagan's years as President.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Research/Great Reading, November 6, 2001

By	W. J. Smith (Castro Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Steven F. Hayward has done a top notch job researching and reporting about the birth and gestation of the Reagan Revolution. Even though the book describes events that occurred during my adult life, I was amazed at how much about that now bygone era I had forgotten. Thus, Hayward's history became a fascinating journey into my own past half-forgotten past, as well as that of the country. (Having volunteered in the Jimmy Carter reelection campaign, much some of this trip down memory lane was as painful as a bruised shin.) Whether one likes or disdains Reagan, the book is a must for anyone who wishes to understand the unlikely rise of a handsome movie star into a powerful and popular president. The book is thick, but the writing most definitely isn't. Well worth the time for anyone interested in politics and modern American history.