Reading recommendation: When the Clock Broke

Finished this one this past weekend.   Ganz is part of the Unclear and Present Danger podcast with Jamelle Bouie, a frequent but not quite regular podcast listen of mine.   Bouie is one of my favorite writers.... commentators.... thinkers out there.   But in listening to the podcast,  I've come to like where Ganz comes from by way of thought. 

I'd been on the lookout for this one since it released last summer, and was happy to find it on sale on Audible. 

A bit of an answer,  thirty years years after the fact,  to Francis Fukuyama's End of History,  and an unintentional companion to Chuck Klosterman's book The Nineties,  it follows a handful of media and political figures who rose to prominence and perhaps infamy in the early 90s, as the world wandered through Desert Storm, the economic downturn,  the L.A. Riots and the 1992 presidential election and beyond. 

The sections on David Duke and Pat Buchanan were my favorites for underlining the growing power and voice of those who felt underserved by the political establishment.   The same goes for the history and candidacy of H. Ross Perot, in what was maybe the most enlightening part of the book.... despite being 15 and then 19 for his runs, i realized i knew very little about Perot's history. 

Other names that popped to the forefront: Gates, Sister Souljah....Ice Cube.

The section on Ruby Ridge,  and the up close look at a family that lost faith in the American system was actually chilling.....

Strong read.   Especially for those of us who lived through these events,  but still look around and wonder how the hell we got into this handbasket.....

Strong read,  with a lot of good for thought.   I recommend.