Historical Dictionary of the Reagan-Bush Era

摘要

In the early 1960s I remember the satirist Tom Lehrer expressing incredulity at the very idea of Ronald Reagan achieving high political office (he was a candidate for the Governorship of California). Who would then have thought that he would one day become President, let alone that he would give his name to an era which would prove one of the most momentous in the history of the USA and the world? This volume follows the usual pattern of the series, with about 350 entries, some only a paragraph or two in length and some stretching to several pages. About half the entries cover personalities, mostly US politicians but also foreign leaders of importance, and others who came to public attention, such as Rodney King, the victim of police violence. Many of these would be difficult for readers outside the USA to find out about; which of us could name the successive Secretaries of Agriculture? An unusual feature is the inclusion of details of the later careers of those mentioned. The text was updated to late 2006 and thus too soon to include the environmentalist fame of Al Gore. Other topics include parties and movements, government agencies, legal cases, political issues, countries important to US policy, and famous phrases like "Read my lips, no new taxes" which was to contribute to the downfall of the first President Bush.