The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics

by Matthew Dallek

Returning to the roots of Ronald Reagan's political career, the author retraces the former president's first big victory in California, where he came from nowhere in 1966 to win the governorship.

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Liam]

"[F]air housing was a turning point that liberals failed to notice. They still thought that their only opponents were the anticommunist crackpots. They still believed that the future was theirs for the taking, even if the populace was trailing behind the march of progress just a bit." (61)

"The Democratic infighting of the sixties is often described as a split between liberals and leftists; but the divisions were both more complex and more damaging than that. Brown endured an equally potent, and in many ways more popular assault, from the Right. Men like Yorty and Parker -- even Unrah -- challenged Brown on the issue of law and order that would also be instrumental in Reagan's rise." (157)

"Historians have only a poor understanding of why Pat Brown wanted to face Reagan in November. It was not primarily because Reagan was an actor, though that was a factor, nor because he was inexperienced and of modest intelligence, nor because he was a novice; it was because he was conservative." (209)

"Creative Society" (Reagan campaign slogan, 227)

[Todd Kruse]

Governor Pat Brown dominated this book not Reagan. I was struck by the author’s comment that Reagan had “modest intelligence “.

[Milo Gonzalez]

Horribly boring but necessary nonfiction read. Discusses just how Ronald Reagan was able to turn the tides of the democrat/republican balance before he ever ran for president, shoving out Governor Brown who had such a firm ideological hold on California. This book speaks to the degree in which charisma, rhetoric, and just the right arguments can make for a political celebrity- and the fervor that goes along with it. A good reminder in this day and age, where political candidates (namely presidential and congressional) are overly glorified and face less criticism from their own parties as time goes on.
Unfortunately, it would be a fun story of political enthusiasm and revolution if not for the horrible policies that the Reagan administration inflicted upon the country- slashing social spending, consequences of which we see today. This book provides an objective narrative on the nuance and reasoning behind Reagans fast rise to governmental stardom.

[Riley Lewis]

Focuses too much on Pat Brown’s errors and fails to recognize Reagan’s success in building a movement and avoiding radicals simultaneously.