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Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America Hardcover – March 15, 2006

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Philip Jenkins (Author)
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4.1 out of 5 stars 15 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; First Edition edition (March 15, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195178661
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195178661
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.4 x 6.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFrom Liberal to Conservative: the 70's Explained
By Eric Vondy on May 16, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Decade of Nightmare chronicles the transformation on 60's liberalism to 80's conservatism. Beginning roughly with the Watergate scandal and continuing through the election of Reagan and into the 80's, Jenkins's sweeps broadly over many of the period's memorable and now forgotten events. The failure of Desert One, Soledad Brother, George Wallace, The Bourne Identity, Anita Bryant, the Wonderland Murders, Granada, Starhawk, NAMBLA, the Scottsboro Boys, and The Illuminatus Trilogy are a mere few of what is touched on. In Jenkins's view other accounts of this time period have not been broad enough focusing on either the political or social histories but not mixing the two, not showing, for example the influence of both conservative politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan and porn star Linda Lovelace had on the growth of conservatism. The public, he says, perceived sexual liberation as leading to porn and snuff films; LSD as leading to the horrors of angel dust; and spiritual experimentation leading to brain washing cults. Far from being the Smiley Face decade, portrayed in films like Dazed and Confused and TV show's like That 70's Show, Jenkins portrays the 70's as a time of stress where the Cold War resurfaced and serial killers were everywhere. This was a decade where Ronald Reagan went from being perceived as an extremist to winning the Presidency. Jenkins provides a context in which to view the major events of the era by reminding us of the forgotten events. For example, the patriotism associated with the US Hockey Team victory against Russia is shown in context with the Iranian hostage crisis, the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, best selling apocalyptic novels, rising inflation, and the unchecked growth of leftist guerillas in Latin America.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsMaking sense of the birth of an era (for better or worse!)
By Eddie Landsberg VINE VOICE on May 20, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Actually this book seems to me as more of a cultural than a political study - - (viewing politics as part of and a reaction to cultural trends) - - hence in describing the transition from the "radically liberal" sixties to the "reactionary conservative" 80's, Jenkins draws not only from the political events of the era, but also pop culture from movies to TV coverage... The overall arguement being is that the transition was sort of a national hangover. Things seemed out of control - - with the economy in the dumps, and a perception of society breaking down, a wave of domestic and international terror and America feeling isolated on the national stage and on the verge of losing the Cold War. - - The book seems to argue both ways the realities of the national crisises, and at the same time media exploitation of issue made to make people scared as well as identify with a culture of "macho" and "shoot 'em up" vs. the cheery idealistic anti-hero. From this perspective we see how Reagan in the eyes of many offering sobering and decisive hope - - whether or not you feel he was the great uniter and saviour of the country or the guy who took from the poor and gave to the rich.

All in all, the image of the 70's as being a "big hang-over from the 60's" has long been a commonly held belief to explain the transition... this is the first book to offer a detailed study of the era beyond mere "oil crisis/inflation/hostages" - - compared to most the images we have of the 70's - - either in our own memories or by watching VH1, this is the first book to really go into detail.

As for what I got out of it -- two words really - - DEJA VU...
which in some ways is reassuring (times of trouble may always feel like the end of the world) and other ways scary.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsFar less partisan than its title
By Marty G. Price on July 6, 2006
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
It's a very good history, but I was still a bit disappointed -- Jenkins stayed on the surface of the grimy realities of the 70's, showing us the cultural phenomena and how that phenomena served to create public reaction, but failing to ask to what extent the political revolution of the 70's served to deliberately and callously exploit that public reaction. Any statesman (or aspiring statesman) is aware of the responsibility to educate the public and to ignore its less enlightened notions. The political hack, on the other hand, panders to the public and pretends to do its bidding (passing outrageous legislation, waving the flag, and often doing the bidding of certain moneyed interests).

Jenkins gets the facts straight -- yes, the U.S. was in a crisis (Johnson and Nixon, both approximately equal parts statesman and hack, left a very mixed legacy). Yes, Carter was idealistic and, under the circumstances, politically inept. Yes, a variety of manic causes, from imaginary rape statistics to 'the breakdown of traditional values' hit the headlines; Jenkins recounts both the real fears and the hyperbolic reactions. (Contemporary panderers in the media and political office seem to have discovered the trivial issue of obesity; it's the same kind of phenomena Jenkins recounts.) And Jenkins explains how the rhetoric of toughness seemed so desirable under the circumstances.

All excellent -- then Jenkins refuses to pass judgment. He does not suggest the possibility of alternative political reactions. The phenomena just 'is' (or was). I suppose I should not complain -- I like reading a work of history rather than a rant. However, I find myself asking if Jenkins is that much of a cultural determinist, and concluding that he may well be. It appears to me Jenkins considers Carter, Reagan, and everything the 70's served to create as inevitable.

Again, great summary of the decade, but seems a rather frozen response to what I would see as still 'live' issues.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent read.

Published 4 months ago by Toni M. Williams
5.0 out of 5 starsA perfect introduction to the topic

This book has fulfilled my expectations. I expected, first, an introduction to the social, cultural and political realities of the 70s and the 80s in the US and, second, the... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Matt Nawrocki from Poland
5.0 out of 5 starsDecade of Nightmares: Book of Surprises

This is an outstanding book.

Typically, we Americans think it is all about Presidents. When we think about the recent past, we say "Carter was an extreme liberal... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Michael Samerdyke
4.0 out of 5 starsGood Walk Down Political Memory Lane

This is a great history lesson for those who are becoming of voting age now. I am afraid however it has a conservative slant to it. Read more

Published on April 24, 2013 by Jim R.
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book about the United States in the 1970's and 80's.

Prof. Jenkins has written another excellent book. This one deals with the United States in the 1970's and 80's. Read more

Published on April 17, 2013 by James Watrous
3.0 out of 5 starsGood not great / can't link to endnotes

Jenkins aims at balance in this study-- Reagan didn't bring down the USSR; Clinton wasn't all that good; Carter wasn't all that bad; at the time, selling arms to Saddam didn't seem... Read more

Published on April 13, 2013 by Kevin Di Camillo
5.0 out of 5 starsvery informative.

I would recommend this to anyone who was of age in the sixties. It certainly explains why the eighties were the way they were.

Published on April 11, 2013 by otter
3.0 out of 5 starsCovers a vast array of material

Philip Jenkins was born in 1952. I was born in 1944. So I lived through all the years he covers in his readable book DECADE OF NIGHTMARES: THE END OF THE SIXTIES AND THE MAKING OF... Read more

Published on March 9, 2013 by Thomas J. Farrell
5.0 out of 5 starsfascinating!

This is a fascinating study of the transition from the 60s to the 70s. There are other more definitive studies but this one is fun! Read more

Published on October 6, 2012 by Rhonda
2.0 out of 5 starsIn the end, too superficial

I kept going back and forth on this book: was it taking a broad brush holistic approach that helped you see things that should have been obvious at the time (yes) or was it a... Read more

Published on May 6, 2008 by rdf

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