
When the Clock Broke
Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s
John Ganz(Author)
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc (Publisher)
Published on 15. July 2024
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-0-374-60544-5 (ISBN)
Description
With the Soviet Union extinct, Saddam Hussein defeated, and U.S. power at its zenith, the early 1990s promised a "kinder, gentler America." Instead, it was a period of rising anger and domestic turmoil, anticipating the polarization and resurgent extremism we know today.
In When the Clock Broke, the acclaimed political writer John Ganz tells the story of America's late-century discontents. Ranging from upheavals in Crown Heights and Los Angeles to the advent of David Duke and the heartland survivalists, the broadcasts of Rush Limbaugh, and the bitter disputes between neoconservatives and the "paleo-con" right, Ganz immerses us in a time when what Philip Roth called the "indigenous American berserk" took new and ever-wilder forms. In the 1992 campaign, Pat Buchanan's and Ross Perot's insurgent populist bids upended the political establishment, all while Americans struggled through recession, alarm about racial and social change, the specter of a new power in Asia, and the end of Cold War-era political norms. Conspiracy theories surged, and intellectuals and activists strove to understand the "Middle American Radicals" whose alienation fueled new causes. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton appeared to forge a new, vital center, though it would not hold for long.
In a rollicking, eye-opening book, Ganz narrates the fall of the Reagan order and the rise of a new and more turbulent America.
In When the Clock Broke, the acclaimed political writer John Ganz tells the story of America's late-century discontents. Ranging from upheavals in Crown Heights and Los Angeles to the advent of David Duke and the heartland survivalists, the broadcasts of Rush Limbaugh, and the bitter disputes between neoconservatives and the "paleo-con" right, Ganz immerses us in a time when what Philip Roth called the "indigenous American berserk" took new and ever-wilder forms. In the 1992 campaign, Pat Buchanan's and Ross Perot's insurgent populist bids upended the political establishment, all while Americans struggled through recession, alarm about racial and social change, the specter of a new power in Asia, and the end of Cold War-era political norms. Conspiracy theories surged, and intellectuals and activists strove to understand the "Middle American Radicals" whose alienation fueled new causes. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton appeared to forge a new, vital center, though it would not hold for long.
In a rollicking, eye-opening book, Ganz narrates the fall of the Reagan order and the rise of a new and more turbulent America.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
636 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-374-60544-5 (9780374605445)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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E-Book
06/2024
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
€13.49
Available for download
Person
John Ganz writes the widely-acclaimed "Unpopular Front" newsletter for Substack. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Artforum, the New Statesman, and other publications.