Some see the 1980s as a Golden Age, a "Morning in America" when Ronald Reagan revived America's economy, reoriented American politics, and restored Americans' faith in their country and in themselves. Others see the 1980s as a new "Gilded Age," an era that was selfish, superficial, glitzy, greedy, divisive, and destructive. This multifaceted exploration of the 1980s brings together a variety of voices from different political persuasions, generations, and vantage points. The volume features work by Reagan critics and Reagan fans (including one of President Reagan's closest aides, Ed Meese), by historians who think the 1980s were a disastrous time, those who think it was a glorious time, and those who see both the blessings and the curses of the decade. Their essays examine everything from multiculturalism, Southern conservatism, and Reaganomics, to music culture, religion, crime, AIDS, and the city. A complex, thoughtful account of a watershed in our recent history, this volume will engage anyone interested in this pivotal decade.

Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University and the author of Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents and Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s, among other titles. Vincent J. Cannato is Associate Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and the author of American Passage: The History of Ellis Island and The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and his Struggle to Save New York.

Introduction by Vincent J. Cannato and Gil Troy 1. Ronald Reagan's 100-Day Revolution...--Gil Troy, McGill University 2. The Conservative Renaissance: from the Invasion of Washington, DC to the Moral Majority--Ed Meese, The Heritage Foundation 3. Conservatism - and the South - Rise Again--Joseph Crespino, Emory University 4.The Liberal Eclipse - and Reorientation--David Greenberg, Rutgers University 5. Bright Lights, Doomed Cities: Crime, AIDS and the Literature of Excess and Apocalypse--Vincent J. Cannato 6. Madonna Feminism: Steps Forward and Back in the 80s--Sara Evans, University of Minnesota 7. The Disuniting of America?: The Rise of Multiculturalism--Mark Brilliant, University of California, Berkeley 8. Reaganomics: The Rise of the Yuppie, the Decline of Labor, the Lure of Wall Street--Kim Phillips-Fein, Gallatin School, New York University 9. Did Ronald Reagan Make the Berlin Wall Fall Down?--Peter Schweitzer, Hoover Institution 10. "Just Where is Graceland?": 80s Pop Culture through Music--Steve Greenberg, S-Curve Records 11. The Privatization of Everyday Life: Public Policy, Public Services and Public Space in Reagan's America--Bruce J. Schulman, Boston University 12. "Gimme that Old Time Religion": Personal and Political Revivalism in the 1980s--Lauren Frances Winner, Duke Divinity School