Reinventing Richard Nixon: A Cultural History of an American Obsession (CultureAmerica) - Tapa dura

"Compelling and important. . . Provides valuable insight into the party's recent past and what it might mean for the future."--Bob Kolasky, IntellectualCapital.com"An important and artfully told story about the intersection of personalities, political ambition, and the world of ideas. Baer shows us how they fit together. His history of the New Democrats is essential to understanding the dynamics of the 2000 election campaign."--E. J. Dionne, Jr., author of They Only Look Dead and Why Americans Hate Politics "Anyone who wants to understand the origins of the Clinton presidency, and, more broadly, the development of a political 'third way' between the old liberalism and conservatism, will want to read Baer's important book. It's indispensable for understanding politics today."--John B. Judis, senior editor of The New Republic and author of The Paradox of American Democracy "This fascinating analysis is of international as well as domestic significance."--Martin Kettle, U.S. bureau chief, The Guardian "Lucidly written and meticulously researched, Reinventing Democrats could well be the Democrats' road map to power--and a guidebook for anyone who wants to understand politics in the new century."--Howard Fineman, Chief Political Correspondent, Newsweek "In this book we finally have a definitive--and sympathetic--account of how the Democratic party retreated from the liberalism of the late 1960s and early 1970s and became the more centrist party capable of winning the White House in the 1990s."--Michael Barone, senior writer at U.S. News & World Report and coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics "This is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the stunning political success of Bill Clinton. Baer makes a convincing case that the New Democrats, with Clinton at the helm, pose a challenge not only to Republicans but also to the liberal ethos that has guided the Democrats since the days of Franklin Roosevelt."--Steven M. Gillon, author of The Democrats' Dilemma: Walter F. Mondale and the Liberal Legacy "Indispensable."--The American Prospect"A thorough study of the DLC phenomenon."--Richmond Times-Dispatch "A detailed, accessible, and useful account of how an important political institution made friends and influenced people."--Washington Monthly "Easily the meatiest new book on the Democrats."--Washington Post "The first formal history of how the Democratic Party transformed itself. . . An important contribution to the literature on American politics."--The Indianapolis Star "Baer provides important new research analyzing the rise and fall and rise again of the DLC, an important party within a party. . . . The book is a thorough study of the DLC phenomenon. . . ."--Congress & the Presidency "Baer tells the story of the formation and development of the Democratic Leadership Conference (DLC). The story is worth telling for its political implications alone: The DLC served as a springboard for the Clinton presidency and as a source for the rejuvenation of the Democratic Party after the 1994 Democratic nightmare. Baer is an adept storyteller, offering a rich supply of historical detail, insider observations and interviews, and analyses of DLC political strategies. As history the book is engaging and well worth reading. It would serve as an excellent supplemental text in courses on U.S. political parties. . . . Baer has written an excellent and insightful book. Anyone who wants to understand the contemporary Democratic Party would do well to read his informative and engaging text."--Perspectives on Political Science

Nixon's the One! proclaimed his campaign paraphernalia. ""Tricky Dick!"" retorted his detractors. From presidential savior for conservative America to bete noire for the political Left, the Richard Nixon persona has worn many masks and labels. In fiction and poetry and pop songs, in television and film, no other national political figure has so thoroughly saturated our public consciousness with so many contrasting images.Focusing on the process of Nixon's continuous reinvention, Daniel Frick reveals a figure who continues to expose key fault lines in the nation's self-definition. Drawing on references ranging from All in the Family to Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, he shows how Nixon has become one of America's most durable and multifaceted icons in the ongoing and fierce debates over the import and meaning of the last sixty years of national life.Examining Nixon's autobiographies and political memorabilia, Frick offers far-reaching perceptions not only of the man but of Nixon's version of himself - contrasted with those who would interpret him differently. He cites reinventions of Nixon from the late 1980s, particularly the museum at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, to demonstrate the resilience of certain national mythic narratives in the face of liberal critiques. And he recounts how celebrants at Nixon's state funeral, at which Bob Dole's eulogy depicted a God-fearing American hero, attempted to bury the sources of our divisions over him, rendering in some minds the judgment of ""redeemed statesman"" to erase his status as ""disgraced president.""With dozens of illustrations - Nixon posing with Elvis (the National Archives' most requested photo), Nixonian cultural artifacts, classic editorial cartoons - no other book collects in one place such varied images of Nixon from so many diverse media. These reinforce Frick's probing analysis to help us understand why we disagree about Nixon - and why it matters how we resolve our disagreements.Whether your image of Nixon is shaped by his autobiography ""Six Crises"", Oliver Stone's surprisingly sympathetic film ""Nixon"", John Adams' landmark opera ""Nixon in China"", or by the saga of Watergate, ""Reinventing Richard Nixon"" expands on all perspectives. It shows how, through these contradictory mythic stories, we continue to reinvent, much like Nixon himself, our own sense of national identity.