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The Clothes Have No Emperor: A Chronicle of the American '80s
A political humorist's caustically hilarious month-by-month archive of the 1980s includes memorable photographs, newspaper headlines, press clippings, pop quizzes, outrageous quotes, bizarre facts, and implausible yet true events.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 6, 2022
You'll never catch me saying anything positive about Reagan (ok, maybe I'll go with a backhanded compliment on an issue here or there) and I'm big enough to admit that any review of a Reagan book -- even one as funny as this one -- is liable to descend into vitriol. So I'll just list a few of my favourite takeaways from The Clothes Have No Emperor, a slyly humorous account of the Reagan years that serves as a great contrast to the more serious
Reconsidering Reagan: Racism, Republicans, and the Road to Trump
...
Hilarious book. Horrifying book.
Further reading
"There are times when you really need him to do some work, and all he wants to do is tell stories about his movie days." - unnamed White House aide
"The White House really badly, badly needs china. It's badly needed" - Nancy Reagan defending her elaborate spending
'The White House announces that President Reagan -- who often wonders why people think he's anti-civil rights -- has signed off on Ed Meese's plan to grant tax exempt status to South Carolina's Bon Jones University and other schools that practice racial discrimination.'
'"We've got a $120 billion deficit coming," says Packwood, "and the President says, 'You know, a young man went into a grocery store and he had an orange in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, and he paid for the orange with food stamps and he took the change and paid for the vodka. That's what's wrong." And we just shake our heads."'
"Now we are trying to get unemployment to go up, and I think we are going to succeed." - Ronald Reagan
'Meanwhile, Reagan defends his visit to Bitburg by claiming the German soldiers "were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps."'
"On the surface, selling arms to a country that sponsors terrorism, of course, clearly, you'd have to argue it's wrong, but it's the exception sometimes that proves the rule." - George H.W. Bush
"Even though there may be some misguided critics of what we're trying to do, I think we're on the wrong path." - Ronald Reagan, launching his welfare reform program with disarming (and accidental) honesty.
"I even saw him do a cowboy doodle the other day. He used to do that when he was in his prime." - Sen. Alan Simpson
Hilarious book. Horrifying book.
Further reading
April 1, 2011
This book thoroughly answers the question: Were the Reagan years really as awful as many people believe? The answer, it turns out, is no. They were far, far worse.
Published in 1989 (and therefore without intervening years to romanticize and deify our most inept president) this book is a scathing indictment of not only Reagan but also the media that largely allowed him to emerge unscathed. Teflon, indeed. When things really start to unravel in 1987 (remember Ed Meese? or, oh yes, the Iran-Contra Affair?) it seems like there's no way that the American public could possibly elect a Republican like George Bush the elder. But Slansky expertly shows how, with the help of Michael Dukakis, the Democrats managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The book also documents pop culture and a few of the things that went right in the 80s (mainly Bruce Springsteen). It's an enormously enjoyable read, especially for those of us who kind of lived through that decade but didn't know what the hell was going on.
Published in 1989 (and therefore without intervening years to romanticize and deify our most inept president) this book is a scathing indictment of not only Reagan but also the media that largely allowed him to emerge unscathed. Teflon, indeed. When things really start to unravel in 1987 (remember Ed Meese? or, oh yes, the Iran-Contra Affair?) it seems like there's no way that the American public could possibly elect a Republican like George Bush the elder. But Slansky expertly shows how, with the help of Michael Dukakis, the Democrats managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The book also documents pop culture and a few of the things that went right in the 80s (mainly Bruce Springsteen). It's an enormously enjoyable read, especially for those of us who kind of lived through that decade but didn't know what the hell was going on.
November 22, 2015
This is one of my favorite books, I re-read it often. It's a day-by-day compilation of all the stupid things that happened during the reagan administration. It's set in the context of relevant pop-culture though I think it's missing references to most political movements of the era (AIDS, Central America, Anti-Nuke). Still, it's brilliant and deeply enjoyable.
December 16, 2008
THE essential chronicle of the Reagan presidency. No other historical text comes close to capturing the bankrupt political philosophy, corruption, strange popular culture, and ruinous policy of the 80s and the conservative rise to power that began with Reagan and has ended so disastrously with Bush II.
As a bonus, the book is riotously funny, and makes most of its points with sly comments and direct quotes. A cynic's necessity, if everyone had read this book before 2000, we might have been spared the latest Republican executive.
As a bonus, the book is riotously funny, and makes most of its points with sly comments and direct quotes. A cynic's necessity, if everyone had read this book before 2000, we might have been spared the latest Republican executive.
January 16, 2009
One of the finer chronicles of the Reagan era, filled with the cultural context that makes the 80s seem so much more absurd than I remember (then again, I was 11 when the 80s ended, so what do I know?). Helps to support the theory that Ronnie was just an empty-headed puppet, with a lot of evil right-wing bastards pulling the strings. I could read this a billion times and never get sick of its dry humor.
March 13, 2011
This made me feel better and worse at the same time. The 80s were as depressing a political time as any other so that made me feel better about the world (and reinforced my distaste for Reagan). Then the depressing idea that nothing really changes settled in. I think it's time for some lighthearted fiction.
February 27, 2011
The Clothes Have No Emperor is an incredibly biased book, and that should be very obvious. But its wry, understated humor, along with the sheer WTFery of some of its items, makes it a great read for anyone who doesn't buy the St. Ronnie Ray-gun nonsense.
February 24, 2011
This is basically how I imagine VH1's "I Love the 80s" would look if Stewart and Colbert produced it. Definitely a skewed view in favor of my personal politics, but still a big help in rectifying my sad lack of knowledge about my birth decade. I am even more retroactively outraged about Reagan and his constant veneration now makes me want to throw things even harder. If he ever gets put on money I will never use cash to buy anything ever again. He deserves nothing; James Baker et al maybe deserve an Oscar for best directing, but that's it.
May 25, 2017
Ah, remember when...? This is a fascinating time-capsule, but frankly, not an engaging one. Somewhat nostalgic, mostly self-righteously condemning of the American herd and its figurehead. Yes, all these 'events' happened, but this compilation is so outrageously negative, I just had to stop. So much for my idea to collect all that's happening in the current administration, because it's far too horrific. Imagine seeing one page after another of the big T's blunders and dishonors--no thank-you, please make it go away!
November 16, 2008
Simply one of the greatest pieces of political humor of all time. Slansky -- in the pre-internet era! -- simply provides a daily catalog of the absurdities and outrages of the Reagan Era. Recommended to everyone, but especially those too young to remember how awful it was when modern Republican non-governance began.
August 24, 2015
A blow-by-blow (and sometimes even day-by-day history of the Reagan presidency, serving as a catalogue of the bizarre mediatised waking nightmare of the 80s in American politics. The daily format gives Slansky room for plenty of juxtaposition, narrative threads and continuity, and makes it a pretty zippy read (I finished it over the weekend). There's plenty of decent snark to temper the sense of staggering frustration and dread that comes from having almost every major event of the Reagan administration laid out in sequence. Equally infuriating is the campaign coverage, with figures like Michael Dukakis eagerly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
One thing I was unprepared for was just how many modern political figures and issues would have their genesis under Reagan - it sometimes reads like the origin story of a cast of supervillains, and Slansky is happy to maintain that tone, writing with a sense of grim disbelief. It's a very good book, a candid history untainted by time (it was first published in 1989) and I wish it were better-known.
One thing I was unprepared for was just how many modern political figures and issues would have their genesis under Reagan - it sometimes reads like the origin story of a cast of supervillains, and Slansky is happy to maintain that tone, writing with a sense of grim disbelief. It's a very good book, a candid history untainted by time (it was first published in 1989) and I wish it were better-known.
October 28, 2007
Paul Slansky scribed a humorous and irreverent look at the 1980's, by weaving the politics of the day with human interest stories, (inter)national news items, and pop culture tidbits, as they occurred (almost) daily. Clearly, Slansky has little love for Reagan or the right-wing, but Reagan gave his critics plenty of ammo for use against him.
March 21, 2008
A great day-by-day account of the Reagan years. I didn't know what to expect when I checked it out from my library, but I was pleasantly surprised.
February 9, 2011
Helped me remember why I was in a state of perpetual fear & frustration from ages 5-14.
June 2, 2021
An in-depth look at the news events of my favorite decade with daily headlines, quotes, happenings, and even pop quizzes from 1980-1988.
Really interesting insight into the politics of the time and the beginnings of some well-known politicians (Joe Biden, George W. Bush) and pop culture icons (Madonna, Michael Jackson). It also made me feel like we were in the Twilight Zone under Trump with the wild similarities between his reign of infamy and Ronald Reagan's. While I'm glad that we didn't end up with eight years of Trump, it was reassuring to see that - even with a completely inept administration during the anxiety-inducing years of the Cold War - the nation managed to emerge okay. The world didn't end. It kept on going.
Thanks to this I learned about:
-creeps like that guy who stalked poor Jodie Foster (and shot Reagan) and subway shooter Bernhard Goetz,
-Nancy Reagan's penchant for expensive clothes and backstabbing,
-the beginnings of reality TV, with Geraldo Rivera's exploitation express train,
-the U.S. homelessness and hunger crisis,
-the mishaps of VP Dan Quayle and failed candidates Gary Hart and Dukakis,
-and that Michael Jackson tried to both marry Elizabeth Taylor AND buy the Elephant Man's remains
-and much, much more.
Although towards the end I was tired of the editor's doom and gloom narrative (it's clear he's a cynic with a passionate distaste for anything Republican), it did make me want to read up more on 80s history.
Next stop: The Counterfeit Wisdom Of Shallow Minds: A Critique Of Some Leading Offenders Of The 1980s to read more about the impact and thinking of Reagan, Shirley MacLaine, Stallone, and the wacky Bakkers.
Really interesting insight into the politics of the time and the beginnings of some well-known politicians (Joe Biden, George W. Bush) and pop culture icons (Madonna, Michael Jackson). It also made me feel like we were in the Twilight Zone under Trump with the wild similarities between his reign of infamy and Ronald Reagan's. While I'm glad that we didn't end up with eight years of Trump, it was reassuring to see that - even with a completely inept administration during the anxiety-inducing years of the Cold War - the nation managed to emerge okay. The world didn't end. It kept on going.
Thanks to this I learned about:
-creeps like that guy who stalked poor Jodie Foster (and shot Reagan) and subway shooter Bernhard Goetz,
-Nancy Reagan's penchant for expensive clothes and backstabbing,
-the beginnings of reality TV, with Geraldo Rivera's exploitation express train,
-the U.S. homelessness and hunger crisis,
-the mishaps of VP Dan Quayle and failed candidates Gary Hart and Dukakis,
-and that Michael Jackson tried to both marry Elizabeth Taylor AND buy the Elephant Man's remains
-and much, much more.
Although towards the end I was tired of the editor's doom and gloom narrative (it's clear he's a cynic with a passionate distaste for anything Republican), it did make me want to read up more on 80s history.
Next stop: The Counterfeit Wisdom Of Shallow Minds: A Critique Of Some Leading Offenders Of The 1980s to read more about the impact and thinking of Reagan, Shirley MacLaine, Stallone, and the wacky Bakkers.
November 3, 2020
“Ronald Reagan is merely an anthology of the worst of American popular culture, edited for television."- Media critic Mark Crispin Miller
A lot of people will have you believe that the Reagan administration was good. That it was a prosperous time in America, that Reagan was pretty much universally loved, and that the administration did good, especially for crime and the economy.
These people are either 1. dumb as rocks or 2. liars.
The Reagan administration was a mess. A scripted, alzheimer's-ridden, bigoted mess. Imagine the Trump administration if Trump had fairly competent criminals working for him or if he had one braincell.
And this book does a really good job of showing it. Made up of newspaper headlines, quotes, and short summaries, this book quickly guides the reader through 9 years of Reagan's (and Nancy, and Bush, and everyone working for him) bullshit. The structure, along with the commentary of the author, makes this a really fun and entertaining read, even with the HORRIFYING shit that all of these people said and did. I really enjoyed it, and I basically flew through it (for my standards) and was almost constantly reading it for most of my free time (well, class time) on Thursday and Friday.
I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't incredibly interested in the Reagan years. It's a good crash course to the reasons why people despise this man and also a good overview of the culture and politics in the 80s. Also its super short for a book covering a decade in politics. Maybe if you want the sparknotes I can email you my notes from the book, which is basically just me highlighting either 1. Reagan insults that I love 2. revolting shit people said/did 3. Democrats destroying their own chances at the white house and 4. dirt of Reagan to use when people try to argue he was a good person or did any good. Plus a lot of commentary that can be boiled down to me going "oh, you motherfucker" or something along those lines.
A lot of people will have you believe that the Reagan administration was good. That it was a prosperous time in America, that Reagan was pretty much universally loved, and that the administration did good, especially for crime and the economy.
These people are either 1. dumb as rocks or 2. liars.
The Reagan administration was a mess. A scripted, alzheimer's-ridden, bigoted mess. Imagine the Trump administration if Trump had fairly competent criminals working for him or if he had one braincell.
And this book does a really good job of showing it. Made up of newspaper headlines, quotes, and short summaries, this book quickly guides the reader through 9 years of Reagan's (and Nancy, and Bush, and everyone working for him) bullshit. The structure, along with the commentary of the author, makes this a really fun and entertaining read, even with the HORRIFYING shit that all of these people said and did. I really enjoyed it, and I basically flew through it (for my standards) and was almost constantly reading it for most of my free time (well, class time) on Thursday and Friday.
I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't incredibly interested in the Reagan years. It's a good crash course to the reasons why people despise this man and also a good overview of the culture and politics in the 80s. Also its super short for a book covering a decade in politics. Maybe if you want the sparknotes I can email you my notes from the book, which is basically just me highlighting either 1. Reagan insults that I love 2. revolting shit people said/did 3. Democrats destroying their own chances at the white house and 4. dirt of Reagan to use when people try to argue he was a good person or did any good. Plus a lot of commentary that can be boiled down to me going "oh, you motherfucker" or something along those lines.
December 30, 2019
I’ll be honest: I was aggressively not into this book when I first started reading it. I knew very little about the 80s (history stops after the civil rights movement, after all!) and the writing style of presenting day-by-day snippets really did not jive with my preference for narratives and characters. However, once I committed to getting this off my “Currently Reading” list, I grew to appreciate what it offered: the 80s were just as bad as today.
I know what you’re thinking: how can our experiences in the Donald Trump era ever compare? Trust me when I say: Ronald Reagan was a total moron. He had no idea what was going on in the White House, and the American people loved him for it. If anything, this book has taught me that we’ve weathered plenty of idiotic leaders before and we probably will continue to do so as long as democracy remains intact.
I know what you’re thinking: how can our experiences in the Donald Trump era ever compare? Trust me when I say: Ronald Reagan was a total moron. He had no idea what was going on in the White House, and the American people loved him for it. If anything, this book has taught me that we’ve weathered plenty of idiotic leaders before and we probably will continue to do so as long as democracy remains intact.
March 3, 2023
Every time some kid goes on YouTube and writes "Gosh, I envy you growing up in the Eighties. I wish I had been there to enjoy the times" I tell him or her, "It was nothing but Reagan, Rubik's Cube and AIDS". That's all here is Paul Slansky's ultra-hilarious month by month, year by year chronicle of the worst decade in the history of the human race. Cro-Magnons had more fun than we did. And, they didn't have ti suffer through, Dan Quayle, Delta Airlines multiple plane crashes, crack, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Papal bull on sexuality, Dallas, Dynasty, teen sexploitation flicks, trade-union bashing, The Laffer Curve, USA TODAY, the Christian fundamentalists, Christian fundamentalist sex scandals, "The Sandinistas are only 600 miles away from the Texas border", RED DAWN, DUNE, Mondale and Dukakis, and "die, yuppie scum!"
May 20, 2020
I picked this up in a Books-a-Million 30 years ago, and it remains one of my prized possessions in the "Political" section of my bookshelves.
People forget how bad Reagan was. They really do. He gets credit for "winning" the Cold War, and he gets a lot of credit because he followed a decade of three unsuccessful presidents.
But Reagan was a spaced-out puppet who spoke in empty platitudes. He stubbornly believed certain things whether they were true or not. Somebody once told him there were welfare queens who picked up their government checks in Cadillacs, and he could never get the image out of his head. He was Trump before Trump. (Although he wasn't as bad as Trump because no president is.)
Also, the book is really funny. In a scathing kind of way.
People forget how bad Reagan was. They really do. He gets credit for "winning" the Cold War, and he gets a lot of credit because he followed a decade of three unsuccessful presidents.
But Reagan was a spaced-out puppet who spoke in empty platitudes. He stubbornly believed certain things whether they were true or not. Somebody once told him there were welfare queens who picked up their government checks in Cadillacs, and he could never get the image out of his head. He was Trump before Trump. (Although he wasn't as bad as Trump because no president is.)
Also, the book is really funny. In a scathing kind of way.
July 23, 2025
Fantastic collection of news articles with commentary and associations that really brings out the political BS of the era. All of it is absurd, some of it is frustrating, and too much of it is downright infuriating.
May 25, 2017
I liked when Nancy Reagan fell or almost fell
February 18, 2018
A great day by day account of what happened during the 1980s.
May 1, 2021
Read the decline of Ronald Reagan.
January 27, 2024
So nostalgic! Also, if you think our current politicians are dumb, they have nothing on some of the imbeciles mentioned in this book.
February 6, 2013
I am the type of person that likes to know, and understand, points of view other than my own when it comes to politics. Being a fan of Ronald Reagan, I decided to search Google for the "best anti-Reagan books". Listed among them on one site was this book by Paul Slansky, The Clothes Have No Emperor. I found out on that site that it was out of print, but worth reading. I hit eBay, found a cheap copy (the only one on there at the time), and grabbed it.
What a mistake that was. There are so many things that I like that this author detests, that I couldn't even be brought to finish the book 100%. It's just a painful read. That having been said, here is a short write-up of it.
The chapters in the book are setup as years. It ranges from 1980 through 1989, and each chapter is broken down further into months. And from there broken down to days, though not every day is "chronicled". Each day that is "chronicled" has some sort of item that happened that day, or something that someone said, or something of the sort. Ranging from pop culture to the Reagan administration, there is something noted for many of the days of each month during the years in the decade... phew!
The problem is, it is short of substance and full of snark. Everything listed that happened with the administration is supposed to make the reader think, "Boy, that Reagan sure was an idiot." Not just for policy, but for simply _breathing_. If there is someone out there looking for a rational book that is against Reagan, stay far away from this one. It is intended only for a far left audience.
Furthermore, the subtitle, "A Chronicle of the American 80's," should be changed to, "I Hate the 80's and Everything About Them". The author puts forth short bursts of disgust against such things as the movies E.T., Top Gun, and Beverly Hills Cop. He also hates the song Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.
What a mistake that was. There are so many things that I like that this author detests, that I couldn't even be brought to finish the book 100%. It's just a painful read. That having been said, here is a short write-up of it.
The chapters in the book are setup as years. It ranges from 1980 through 1989, and each chapter is broken down further into months. And from there broken down to days, though not every day is "chronicled". Each day that is "chronicled" has some sort of item that happened that day, or something that someone said, or something of the sort. Ranging from pop culture to the Reagan administration, there is something noted for many of the days of each month during the years in the decade... phew!
The problem is, it is short of substance and full of snark. Everything listed that happened with the administration is supposed to make the reader think, "Boy, that Reagan sure was an idiot." Not just for policy, but for simply _breathing_. If there is someone out there looking for a rational book that is against Reagan, stay far away from this one. It is intended only for a far left audience.
Furthermore, the subtitle, "A Chronicle of the American 80's," should be changed to, "I Hate the 80's and Everything About Them". The author puts forth short bursts of disgust against such things as the movies E.T., Top Gun, and Beverly Hills Cop. He also hates the song Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.
March 21, 2016
Reading Paul Slansky's "The Clothes Have No Emperor" nearly thirty years after its publication is a bittersweet, almost tragic experience. The book is a virtually day-by-day breakdown of the Reagan era, and its outrage at things like (gasp!) the president being insensitive about the plight of poor people or (swoon!) the times he appeared slightly less than presidential on the world stage seem almost immensely quaint in light of what has followed in the years since. One gets the impression that Slansky might have fainted dead away had he been confronted with Blowjobgate or "Mission Accomplished" or, perish forbid, the Day-Glo orange shitheel who wants to be commander in chief now. But to Slansky's credit, he gets the important things right, and it's good to be reminded of things like the hypocrisy-rich shitstorm that was Iran-Contra or (to cite a recently revived atrocity) the administration's non-response to the AIDS crisis...or, as I'm sure Nancy referred to it as until the day she died, "that horrible thing that happened to Rock."
I am a big believer in revisiting the sins of the past so they don't become the catastrophes of the future. That's why, dated outrage and all, every American should read this book before November. Or, if you're a Trump voter, have it read to you.
I am a big believer in revisiting the sins of the past so they don't become the catastrophes of the future. That's why, dated outrage and all, every American should read this book before November. Or, if you're a Trump voter, have it read to you.
February 25, 2016
Definitely worth reading, especially during this election year. The book is broken down by year and each year contains wonderfully brief but informative diary-style entries about the wackiness that was the Reagan administration. All of the stuff that really happened but Republicans ignore at all costs. My favorite part was a quote from Donald Trump when asked how to improve Manhattan in 1985. Trump wanted to ban all street food vendors.
October 19, 2016
This book was perfect for reading just a tiny bit at a time. It’s some comedian’s take on the Reagan years, choosing the most perfectly odd or iconic bit of news every day or so and giving you the money quote. I had it on my phone and for a while when I was bored I could just flip through a few days instead of checking the same social site for the umpteenth time. Very good for an irreverent take on this president.
September 8, 2015
Ideal for anyone who wants to get a feel for what was really going on politically and socially in the 1980s U.S. Funny, horrifying, and educational. Should be required reading, so that history never repeats itself.
November 23, 2016
This chronicle of the Reagan administration goes chronologically through a definitively "post-truth" presidency. It is far more grotesque than you might imagine, which is exactly why you should read this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews