by Amity Shlaes
First published 2019
Amity Shlaes takes on President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society initiative in this critical reexamination of 1960s domestic policy. The bestselling author of The Forgotten Man and Coolidge argues that Johnson's ambitious social programs created a backlash among dispossessed citizens who felt left behind by federal overreach. Shlaes draws parallels between Roosevelt's New Deal and Johnson's Great Society, showing how both initiatives overshadowed certain groups while attempting to help others. She traces how this silent majority later found voice through Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. The book connects past policy failures to present challenges, noting that poverty persists despite decades of government intervention, while Medicare and Medicaid costs continue rising. Shlaes examines how the same issues that troubled Kennedy and Johnson still plague America today: racial tensions, economic inequality, political corruption, and abuse of power. She contends that understanding this historical record offers the only path to realistic solutions for contemporary problems. The book provides readers with fresh perspective on how government policy shaped modern American politics and society over five decades.
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction
Setting: America, United States
Period: 1960s, 21st-century
880 pages · Paperback · Harper Large Print