The Paranoid Style in American Politics

Richard Hofstadter

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Jun 10, 2008 - Political Science - 368 pages

This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs.In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence — and derail — the larger agendas of a political party. He investigates the politics of the irrational, shedding light on how the behavior of individuals can seem out of proportion with actual political issues, and how such behavior impacts larger groups. With such other classic essays as “Free Silver and the Mind of 'Coin' Harvey” and “What Happened to the Antitrust Movement?, ” The Paranoid Style in American Politics remains both a seminal text of political history and a vital analysis of the ways in which political groups function in the United States.

Contents

• The Paranoid Style in American Politics: 3
• The PseudoConservative Revolt1954: 41
• PseudoConservatism Revisited1965: 66

About the author

Born in 1916, Richard Hofstadter was one of the leading American historians and public intellectuals of the 20th century. His works include The Age of Reform, Anti-intellectualism in American Life, Social Darwinism in American Thought, 1860-1915, The American Political Tradition, and others. He died in 1970. Robert sean Wilentz was born in 1951 in New York City. He earned his first B.A. from Colunbia University in 1972 and his second from Oxford University in 1974 on a Kellett Fellowship. He continued his education at Yale University where he earned his M.A. degree in 1975 and his PhD. in 1980. His writings are focused on the importance of class and race in the early national period. He has also co-authored books on nineteenth-century religion and working class life. His book The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln, won the Bancroft Prize. He has also written about modern U.S. history in his book, The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008. He has been the Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor of History at Princeton University since 1979. Robert Wilentz is also a contributing editor at The New Republic. He writes on music, the arts, history and politics. He received a Grammy nomination and a 2005 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for musical commentary on the musician Bob Dylan.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Paranoid Style in American Politics
• Author: Richard Hofstadter
• Contributor: Sean Wilentz
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2008
• Original from: Northwestern University
• Digitized: Jun 29, 2011
• ISBN: 0307388441, 9780307388445
• Length: 368 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / American Government / General; Political Science / Essays; Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / Political Process / General