Why read The Politics of Rage?

Book cover of The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics

Book description

Combining biography with regional and national history, Dan T. Carter chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of George Wallace, a populist who abandoned his ideals to become a national symbol of racism, and later begged for forgiveness. In The Politics of Rage, Carter argues persuasively that the four-time Alabama governor…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Politics of Rage as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Marsha E. Barrett

Author

Rich in detailed scene-setting, Dan T. Carter’s biography of George Wallace is as much about the governor of Alabama as it is about everyone who attended his rallies and cast ballots with his name. I love biography as a medium for rethinking standard periodization, blurring boundaries, whether that be regional or cultural, among others, and using one person’s life to clarify sweeping societal trends.

This book explains, as much as possible, the extreme contradictions of one of the twentieth century’s most consequential firebrands. Carter demonstrates how unadulterated racism and commitment to white supremacy could be repackaged in the 1960s as…

From Marsha's list on The best books on where the Republican Party might go based on history.