About the Book
Restless Giant is a magisterial interpretation of American history between 1974, when the crisis of Watergate imperiled the nation, and November 2000, when the bitterly contested presidential election marked an all-time low in confidence in the electoral process. James T. Patterson, whose earlier contribution to the Oxford History of the United States, Grand Expectations (1996), won a Bancroft Prize for History, offers in this follow-up volume a vivid narrative of this quarter century which did so much to shape American life today. A host of memorable characters, notably Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, sought to transform the nation. Conservatives, including a resurgent Religious Right, battled liberals in 'culture wars' that appeared to cut the country in two. The frightening Cold War finally ended, whereupon Americans faced bewildering new developments in international relations. Though a military colossus, the United States discovered-in Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq-that it was far from easy to direct the outcome of overseas events. Restless Giant explores a wide range of cultural, social, and economic concerns. Many of these-abiding racial tensions, rising income inequality, dismal inner-city schools, tasteless popular entertainment, an ever more exuberant materialism-drove critics to label these years as an 'Era of Conflict', an 'Age of Limits', and an 'Era of Decline'. Patterson, highlighting the buoyancy of American culture, is not so pessimistic. The economy, having wallowed in 'stagflation' between 1974 and 1982, later surged ahead. By 2000, most Americans lived far more comfortably than they had in the 1970s. Thanks to rising tolerance and a powerful rights consciousness, many groups-racial and ethnic minorities, Catholics and Jews, women, the handicapped, senior citizens, gay people-encountered considerably less bigotry and discrimination than they had in the past.
About the Author :
James T. Patterson is Ford Foundation Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University. One of the most highly respected historians of contemporary America, he is the author of Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974, which won a Bancroft Prize, and Brown v Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy.
Review :
"First-rate history by a first-rate historian....A splendid book that will come to be regarded as indispensable to everyone who cares about the history of this country."--Charles Peters, The New York Times Book Review
"This splendid and readable new book is the latest volume in that ambitious series, 'The Oxford History of the United States....Patterson has risen magnificently to the task of describing and analyzing this rich and confused period....Restless Giant is extraordinarily sharp in its repeated references to and use of American popular culture... He is excellent in his coverage of the rise of the ultra-conservative right."--Paul Kennedy, Washington Post
Book World
"Patterson is at his best in recreating the spirit and feel of presidential elections and the legislative and diplomatic achievements--as well as the scandals--of our nation's chief executives....Patterson is a careful historian. Bending over backward to offer his readers a range of perspectives on the phenomena he explores, he appears to be a genuinely fair and balanced scholar....For its thorough and reliable recounting of the period's main developments,
'Restless Giant' is well worth reading."--Eric Arnesen, Chicago Tribune
"Dazzling and erudite, the book thrums with the buzz of ideas coming together....Detached, dispassionate, and drawn to detail, Patterson writes in taut, vivid language, and with illustrative examples on every page. He keeps his judgments terse and defensible."--David Greenberg, American Prospect
"Patterson is a fine historian....Continuing where he ended his prior contribution to the series (Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974), Patterson again combines narrative and analysis in his assessment of an important era in U.S. history. The result is a good survey of the political, economic, foreign policy, social, and cultural trends and events during the presidencies of Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.... For all
libraries."--Library Journal
"A worthy addition to the highly acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series. A crisp, engaging narrative for readers seeking an easy grasp of the key developments at home and abroad during the last quarter of the 20th century. Patterson's balanced analysis of contending interpretations of these developments will be most useful to readers as they think critically about this recent era in American history."--Parameters
"James Patterson's Restless Giant is a marvel of clarity, fair-mindedness, and narrative power. It is a pleasure to read one of America's best historians as he puts the recent past into such sharp perspective."--Alan Wolfe, author of Return to Greatness: How America Lost Its Sense of Purpose and What It Needs to Do to Recover It
"Jim Patterson has done it again! Restless Giantis a worthy successor to his prize-winning Grand Expectations. Patterson writes with flair, an admirable sense of balance, and complete command of his sources. He covers the full gamut of American life; politics, economics, international affairs, race, sex, and the culture wars all get their due. Anyone wishing to understand modern America would do well to begin with this book."--Michael J.
Klarman, author of the Bancroft Prize-winning From Jim Crow to Civil Rights
"Restless Giant provides a comprehensive and authoritative account of American political, cultural, and social developments during the last quarter of the twentieth century. This is elegant history, both fluent and judicious."--John Morton Blum, author of A Life in History, The Progressive Presidents, and V is for Victory
