Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years

(Hardback)

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Description

This is a ready-reference source on the Reagan-Bush years, 1980-1992. It provides readily available and concise information on the key developments and figures of this period. Organised A-Z, it features over 250 entries on key personalities, issues, events, political and governmental developments, foreign and domestic concerns, laws, terms and catchphrases, and social and cultural trends of the era. Entries are 100-1000 words in length and conclude with a list of suggested readings. The work also features a chronology of events, statistical charts and tables, and photographs and is cross-referenced in boldface for ease of use. The organising principle of the work is a focus on individuals and events that directly relate to Presidents Reagan and Bush and their administrations. In addition there are entries on social trends, world events, and popular culture. The book presents a balanced account of the Reagan-Bush years. Entries favour description over judgement while at the same time offering a sense of the controversy that surrounded and in some cases still surrounds the events and actions of the Reagan-Bush presidencies. Biographies of key figures in their administrations, Supreme Court appointments, related players on the national and world stage, summaries of significant pieces of legislation, and balanced analyses of their domestic and foreign policies are featured. Entries also include many terms and catchphrases such as Reaganomics, "No New Taxes", and "A Thousand Points of Light". This is a useful first-stop for information on all aspects of this important period in American history and should find a gap in public and high school library reference collections.

Reviews

.,."the encyclopedia profiles individuals prominent in the era both in and out of office, recaps significant domestic and international events, explains major legislation, and summerizes the state of key topics such as the U.S. economy and homelessness...Levy has produced a balanced, reliable, exposition of the key events and players of the Reagan-Bush years that will continue to be useful for factual information..."-Rettig On Reference
"During the 12 years Ronald Reagan and George Bush occupied the White House, the U.S. saw a recession and inflation; military actions in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, and Somalia; the Challenger disaster, and other events that continue to shape our lives. Levy...gives a balanced picture of those years... [It] will be useful in academic and medium-size to large public libraries. It is also an attractive purchase for high-school libraries as a starting point for assignments on the issues, events, and personalities of the period."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
...the encyclopedia profiles individuals prominent in the era both in and out of office, recaps significant domestic and international events, explains major legislation, and summerizes the state of key topics such as the U.S. economy and homelessness...Levy has produced a balanced, reliable, exposition of the key events and players of the Reagan-Bush years that will continue to be useful for factual information...-Rettig On Reference
During the 12 years Ronald Reagan and George Bush occupied the White House, the U.S. saw a recession and inflation; military actions in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, and Somalia; the Challenger disaster, and other events that continue to shape our lives. Levy...gives a balanced picture of those years... [It] will be useful in academic and medium-size to large public libraries. It is also an attractive purchase for high-school libraries as a starting point for assignments on the issues, events, and personalities of the period.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
Levy provides an objective summary in encyclopedic format of the most important events, issues, laws, and trends during the often complex and seemingly contradictory Reagan-Bush presidencies... he offers reliable and accurate descriptive information with a minimum of judgment and analysis.-Choice
Levy...uses a detailed dictionary approach to the personalities and political events of 1980-1992...Except for the major events and people, the entries are several paragraphs long and take a neutral tone. Most entries contain cross references, and all include citations to suggested readings. A useful timeline of key events and a statistical profile of the Reagan-Bush years offering mostly economic indicators round out the book. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.-Library Journal
More than focusing on the political climate, the book addresses social issues, popular culture, foreign concerns, and events of those years. Much of the terminology associated with those presidencies is explained, for example Reagonomics, Reagan Doctrine, and Points of Light...Recommended.-The Book Report
This volume includes information on the people, places and events of importance during the Reagan-Bush presidential era...Levy takes an objective stance and his narrative is easy to read. A useful title for research.-School Library Journal
..."the encyclopedia profiles individuals prominent in the era both in and out of office, recaps significant domestic and international events, explains major legislation, and summerizes the state of key topics such as the U.S. economy and homelessness...Levy has produced a balanced, reliable, exposition of the key events and players of the Reagan-Bush years that will continue to be useful for factual information..."-Rettig On Reference
"Levy provides an objective summary in encyclopedic format of the most important events, issues, laws, and trends during the often complex and seemingly contradictory Reagan-Bush presidencies... he offers reliable and accurate descriptive information with a minimum of judgment and analysis."-Choice
"Levy...uses a detailed dictionary approach to the personalities and political events of 1980-1992...Except for the major events and people, the entries are several paragraphs long and take a neutral tone. Most entries contain cross references, and all include citations to suggested readings. A useful timeline of key events and a statistical profile of the Reagan-Bush years offering mostly economic indicators round out the book. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries."-Library Journal
"More than focusing on the political climate, the book addresses social issues, popular culture, foreign concerns, and events of those years. Much of the terminology associated with those presidencies is explained, for example Reagonomics, Reagan Doctrine, and Points of Light...Recommended."-The Book Report
"This volume includes information on the people, places and events of importance during the Reagan-Bush presidential era...Levy takes an objective stance and his narrative is easy to read. A useful title for research."-School Library Journal

Author Bio

PETER B. LEVY is Associate Professor of History at York College, York, Pennsylvania. He is the author of 100 Key Documents in American Democracy (Greenwood Press, 1993), Let Freedom Ring: A Documentary History of the Modern Civil Rights Movement (Greenwood Press/Praeger, 1992), and The New Left and Labor in the 1960s. He is currently working on a case study of the race relations in Cambridge, Maryland, an analytical overview of the civil rights movement, and a reader on the 1960's.