Before the Storm
Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus
Rick Perlstein
March 2009
ISBN: 1568584121
Acclaimed historian Rick Perlstein chronicles the rise of the conservative movement in the liberal 1960s. At the heart of the story is Barry Goldwater, the renegade Repulican from Arizona who loathed federal government, despised liberals and mocked "peaceful coexistence" with the USSR. Perlstein's narrative shines a light on a whole world of conservatives and their antagonists, including William F. Buckley, Nelson Rockefeller and Bill Moyers.
Vividly written, Before the Storm is an essential book about the 1960s. When Before the Storm was originally published, it caused a critical outburst and went on to win the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History. Telling the tale of the Goldwater campaign and the rise of the conservative movement in the liberal 1060s, it was a tale that—until this book—had never been told.
"Before the Storm is smart and lively, and the description is delightfully thick," writes Louis Menand of The New Yorker. "The point of Rick Perlstein's animated re-creation of the Goldwater campaign is that Barry Goldwater is as much a man of the 1960s as Abbie Hoffman or Malcolm X, and, what's more, his shadow looms a good deal larger than theirs."
What readers are saying
"A detailed and dramatic narrative of the rise of the modern right... It's an amazing story, and Perlstein, a man of the left, does it justice."
—William Kristol, New York Times Book Review
"Perlstein retells this story with energy and skill... His vibrant, detailed narrative moves swiftly and brings a large cast to life."
—Sam Tanenhaus, The New Republic
"Perlstein is a gifted writer and a talented storyteller. His sweeping narrative amounts to nothing less than a social history of modern conservatism."
—Steven M. Gillon, The Chicago Tribune
"One of the most stylish, riveting achievements in narrative history to appear."
—Mark Greif, The Village Voice
About the Authors
Rick Perlstein is the bestselling author of Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. His reviews, reporting and essays have appeared in The New York Times, New York Observer, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The London Review of Books, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation and The New Yorker. A senior fellow at Campaign for America's Future, he lives with his wife in Chicago.
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