Rick Perlstein

@rickperlstein

Rick Perlstein is the author of, most recently, Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976–1980, as well as Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus and Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.

How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes (Part 2)

How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes (Part 2) How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes (Part 2)

Ronald Reagan was an early adopter of, and key propagandist for, gun culture's vigilante turn.

Jan 10, 2013 / Rick Perlstein

How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes (Part 1)

How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes (Part 1) How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes (Part 1)

The turn in American firearms culture from the province of sportsman to one of macho revenge fantasies started in the 1960s.

Jan 9, 2013 / Rick Perlstein

Why I Am A Liberal

Why I Am A Liberal Why I Am A Liberal

It is liberals who have been at the forefront of struggles for freedom and liberty.

Jan 7, 2013 / Rick Perlstein

Exclusive: Lee Atwater’s Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy

Exclusive: Lee Atwater’s Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy Exclusive: Lee Atwater’s Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy

The forty-two-minute recording, acquired by James Carter IV, confirms Atwater’s incendiary remarks and places them in context.

Nov 13, 2012 / Rick Perlstein

The GOP Throws a Tampa Tantrum The GOP Throws a Tampa Tantrum

The long-running feud between moderates and conservatives is over. The wackos have won.

Sep 10, 2012 / Feature / Rick Perlstein

That Seventies Show

That Seventies Show That Seventies Show

The continuous readjustment of expectations downward: For historians like Jefferson Cowie and Judith Stein, that was the key experience of the 1970s.

Oct 20, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Rick Perlstein

That Girl: The Captivity and Restoration of Patty Hearst That Girl: The Captivity and Restoration of Patty Hearst

Was Patty Hearst really a rebel in search of a cause?

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Rick Perlstein

All Aboard the McCain Express All Aboard the McCain Express

The conservative noise machine is coming around to support him--if it can keep its stories straight.

Apr 3, 2008 / Feature / Rick Perlstein

The Best Wars of Their Lives The Best Wars of Their Lives

A historian plugs some suspicious gaps in two revisionist histories of Vietnam.

Sep 27, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Rick Perlstein

Will the Progressive Majority Emerge? Will the Progressive Majority Emerge?

New polling data shows that the majority of Americans are leaning liberal. How long will it take politicians and the media to get that?

Jun 21, 2007 / Feature / Rick Perlstein

x