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When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s
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About This Book
A lively, revelatory look back at the convulsions at the end of the Reagan era—and their dark legacy today. 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.
Reviews
"Throughout his book Ganz spotlights the rage and rancor that spread beneath the surface of American life in a period now remembered for its peace and prosperity."
"Ganz does his most dogged work in the political trenches, particularly in dissecting what would come to be known as the culture wars ..."
"Devotees of Ganz's pugilistic writing on Substack may be surprised by the restraint he displays in his first book."
"Lucid and propulsive ..."
"Ganz writes about the right's trolls and brawlers with an unusual perceptiveness ..."
"Ganz's story is compellingly told, with a sharp eye for detail and for unexpected connections, and his implicit argument is largely persuasive, yet one might still quibble with his decision to stop where he does."
"The book confirms his reputation as one of America's most astute observers of the Right and allows readers to see the 1990s with new eyes ..."
"It is also one of the most entertaining history books I have read in years."
"He puts his full range of interests into this book, braiding together history, theory and cultural criticism."
"A must-read for every American wondering how we got here."
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