Reviews for The Great Society and the High Tide of Liberalism

The average rating for The Great Society and the High Tide of Liberalism based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-10-18 00:00:00 David Obrien This anthology offers a cautionary tale of why not to aim your academic writing entirely into the moment you're writing in. It's borderline bizarre to read the writers--a solid set of political science/policy people with a few historians in the mix--writing in the immediate post 9/11 era as if it represented a reestablishment of public trust in politicians and a resurgence of pluralism. There's some disagreement among the essays, but since so much of the volume is about the Great Society's legacy, and so much of what they say no longer applies, the anthology's 70% or so historical curiosity (with way too much theoretical poly sci jargon for my taste). Having said that, the high points remain cogent and valuble. Editor Sidney Minks' introductory essay "Lyndon Johnson, the Great Society, and the 'Twilight' of the Modern Presidency" is an illuminating discussion of LBJ's attempt to juggle New Deal-style initiatives, participatory democracy, and New Frontier-style technocracy. Also of lasting value: Nelson Lichtenstein on unions, Ellen Boris on jobs policy and welfar

Review # 2 was written on 2012-08-27 00:00:00 Kathryn Bryant quick and easy. not much news here for those of us who follow how corporations strike it rich in war. but this is a good primer.