Books › Before the storm
Before the storm
First published 2001 · 704 pages
A cinematic, deeply researched plunge into the chaotic grassroots birth of modern American political divides.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into the smoke-filled back rooms and raucous convention halls of the 1960s. Despite its hefty page count, the narrative moves with a propulsive, almost novelistic energy, driven by a cast of larger-than-life characters and the electric hum of a nation in transition. The prose is densely textured and cinematic, pulling you into the granular, day-to-day mechanics of grassroots organizing and ideological warfare. It captures the tumultuous, polarized mood of an era often remembered only for its left-wing counterculture, revealing the equally passionate, simmering rebellion on the right. It is an absolute feast for political junkies and history buffs who want to feel the ground shifting beneath their feet as they read.
- Mood
- tumultuous
- electric
- polarized
- urgent
- Tone
- analytical
- vivid
- ironic
- authoritative
- energetic
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- ideological realignment · grassroots mobilization · political polarization · clash of establishments · birth of a movement
- The writing
- Cinematic and densely textured, weaving granular archival details into a sweeping, novelistic narrative.
- The arc
- Begins with the quiet simmering of marginalized outsiders and builds to a chaotic, roaring crescendo of a national political earthquake.
- Who it's for
- Political junkies and history enthusiasts who crave immersive, character-driven accounts of how modern ideological battlegrounds were forged.
Content notes
- historical racism
- political polarization
- assassination references
About the book
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 Republican 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.
Description from Open Library.
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