Rick Stack

Rick Perlstein, born in 1969, is an American historian, writer, and journalist. He has gained significant recognition for his extensive works chronicling the evolution of the post-1960s American conservative movement. His career includes writing for various publications and authoring several bestselling books.

Perlstein's early life in suburban Milwaukee involved a fascination with 1960s culture, nurtured by visits to used bookstores. After studying history at the University of Chicago and American studies at the University of Michigan, he began his journalism career in New York. He worked as an associate editor at Lingua Franca and contributed book reviews to publications like The Nation and Slate. An essay in Lingua Franca in 1996 brought him public attention and led to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

His major contribution lies in his comprehensive books on American conservatism. These works, including 'Before the Storm,' 'Nixonland,' 'The Invisible Bridge,' and 'Reaganland,' have been widely acclaimed by critics and have earned him numerous awards and accolades. He has been described as a "chronicler extraordinaire of modern conservatism."

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rick Perlstein's formative years were shaped by a Reform Jewish upbringing and family trips. A pivotal aspect of his youth was his discovery of a sprawling used-book warehouse in downtown Milwaukee. This environment, filled with old magazines from the 1960s, became an early archive for his developing interest in the era's cultural landscape. Perlstein himself described this period as the genesis of his lifelong engagement with the "culture wars" of the 1960s. His academic journey led him to the University of Chicago, where he pursued a history degree. He characterized his university years as a vibrant, "dissident" experience, a stark contrast to the perceived confinement of his suburban upbringing. This period also allowed him to engage with local music scenes, further enriching his intellectual and cultural immersion.

Following graduate studies in American studies, Perlstein relocated to New York City. He began his professional writing career with an internship at Lingua Franca, a publication focused on academic and intellectual discourse, where he eventually became an associate editor. Concurrently, he contributed book reviews to prominent outlets such as The Nation and Slate. A significant moment in his career was the publication of his 1996 Lingua Franca essay, "Who Owns the Sixties?" This piece garnered widespread attention for its analysis of differing historical perspectives on the 1960s and attracted the notice of a literary agent, subsequently leading to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In later years, he contributed a weekly column on media criticism and history to The American Prospect.

Rick Perlstein is most celebrated for his in-depth historical analyses of the modern American conservative movement. His seminal works include 'Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus' (2001), which earned him the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History. This was followed by 'Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America' (2008), lauded for its vivid detail and readability. 'The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan' (2014) was described as a "Rosetta stone for reading America and its politics today." His extensive four-volume series culminated with 'Reaganland: America's Right Turn, 1976–1980' (2020), a nearly 1,200-page examination of the ideological shift that propelled Ronald Reagan to power. These books have been recognized for their thorough research and insightful narrative, establishing Perlstein as a leading historian of the American right.

“I ended up getting my own archive on the 1960s culture wars. That's where it started.”

“A sixties obsessive since childhood, I misspent my teenage years prowling a ramshackle five-story used-book warehouse that somehow managed ... to stay one step ahead of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's building inspectors.”

“delightfully noisy and dissident”

“felt like a jail”

“It's an amazing story, and Perlstein, a man of the left, does it justice.”