Ronald Reagan, the Movie: And Other Episodes of Political Demonology

Chicago Law Review
"One of the best books on American politics published in the last decade."


Ralph Braccio, The Christian Science Monitor
"Rogin provides examples sufficient to convince the reader that policies engineered to control subversion have been of major importance and have been a constant feature of American politics. . . . [An] important book."


Book Description
The fear of the subversive has governed American politics, from the racial conflicts of the early republic to the Hollywood anti-Communism of Ronald Reagan. Political monstersthe Indian cannibal, the black rapist, the demon rum, the bomb-throwing anarchist, the many-tentacled Communist conspiracy, the agents of international terrorismare familiar figures in the dream life that so often dominates American political consciousness. What are the meanings and sources of these demons? Why does the American political imagination conjure them up? Michael Rogin answers these questions by examining the American countersubversive tradition.


From the Back Cover
"Fresh, provocative, and full of vitality, this is a first- rate contribution to the study of political culture. It should be read not only by political scientists, political theorists, and sociologists, but also by students of American studies and literature." (Sheldon Wolin, Princeton University)


About the Author
Michael P. Rogin is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Subversive Geneology: The Politics and Art of Herman Melville (California, 1985).


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In this collection of essays, political scientist Rogin postulates a demonological tradition in the mainstream of American politics. This demonology entails the "creation of monsters...by the inflation, stigmatization, and dehumanization of political foes'' as a counter to feared subversion. Although the work's main thrust is aimed at Ronald Reagan, Rogin claims that political demonology has had a long existence, and he traces its history in several essays. The book's argument suffers from sweeping generalizations and from the essay format (all of the pieces except a summarizing chapter have, in some version, been published previously). Nevertheless, this is a provocative work suitable for academic and large public libraries.Steven D. Zink, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno


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