
The Invisible Bridge
The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan
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Narrated by:
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David de Vries
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By:
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Rick Perlstein
About this listen
From the bestselling author of Nixonland: a dazzling portrait of America on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the tumultuous political and economic times of the 1970s.
In January of 1973 Richard Nixon announced the end of the Vietnam War and prepared for a triumphant second term - until televised Watergate hearings revealed his White House as little better than a mafia den. The next president declared upon Nixon’s resignation “our long national nightmare is over” - but then congressional investigators exposed the CIA for assassinating foreign leaders. The collapse of the South Vietnamese government rendered moot the sacrifice of some 58,000 American lives. The economy was in tatters. And as Americans began thinking about their nation in a new way - as one more nation among nations, no more providential than any other - the pundits declared that from now on successful politicians would be the ones who honored this chastened new national mood.
Ronald Reagan never got the message. Which was why, when he announced his intention to challenge President Ford for the 1976 Republican nomination, those same pundits dismissed him - until, amazingly, it started to look like he might just win. He was inventing the new conservative political culture we know now, in which a vision of patriotism rooted in a sense of American limits was derailed in America’s Bicentennial year by the rise of the smiling politician from Hollywood. Against a backdrop of melodramas from the Arab oil embargo to Patty Hearst to the near-bankruptcy of America’s greatest city, The Invisible Bridge asks the question: what does it mean to believe in America? To wave a flag - or to reject the glibness of the flag wavers?
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Well Written & Narrated But Too Much Hero Worship
- By Nostromo on 11-17-13
By: A. Scott Berg
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Nixon's Secrets
- By: Roger Stone, Mike Colapietro
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 20 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Learn the inside scoop on Watergate, the Ford Pardon, and the 18-minute Gap. Roger Stone, The New York Times best-selling author of The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ, gives the inside scoop on Nixon’s rise and fall in Watergate in his new book Nixon’s Secrets. Stone charts Nixon’s rise from election to Congress in 1946 to the White House in 1968 after his razor-thin loss to John Kennedy in 1960, his disastrous campaign for Governor of California in 1962, and the greatest comeback in American Presidential history.
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Great book but....
- By Alan on 11-20-14
By: Roger Stone, and others
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Penman of the Founding
- A Biography of John Dickinson
- By: Jane E. Calvert
- Narrated by: Kitty Hendrix
- Length: 24 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite the key part he played in the country's founding, few Americans today have heard of John Dickinson. Early chroniclers and historians, seeking to create a patriotic narrative and taking their cues from his political enemies, cast him as a coward and Loyalist for not signing the Declaration. Many later historians have simply accepted and echoed this distorted and dismissive view. Jane Calvert's fascinating, authoritative, and accessible biography restores him to a place of prominence in the nation's formative years.
By: Jane E. Calvert
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Reagan
- An American Journey
- By: Bob Spitz
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 32 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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More than five years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews and access to previously unavailable documents, and infused with irresistible storytelling charm, Bob Spitz's Reagan stands fair to be the first truly post-partisan biography of our 40th president, and thus a balm for our own bitterly divided times. Absorbing and richly detailed, it is a revelatory chronicle of the full arc of Ronald Reagan's epic life - giving full weight to the Hollywood years, his transition to politics and successful run as California governor, and ultimately, his iconic presidency.
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Pretty obvious this was written by a Democrat
- By Amazon Customer on 11-04-19
By: Bob Spitz
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A Godly Hero
- The Life of William Jennings Bryan
- By: Michael Kazin
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Politician, evangelist, and reformer William Jennings Bryan was the most popular public speaker of his time. In this acclaimed biography - the first major reconsideration of Bryan's life in 40 years - award-winning historian Michael Kazin illuminates his astonishing career and the richly diverse and volatile landscape of religion and politics in which he rose to fame.
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Excellent Bio of Important Figure
- By steve thomas on 03-19-25
By: Michael Kazin
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Seasons in the Sun
- The Battle for Britain, 1974-1979
- By: Dominic Sandbrook
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 41 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early 1970s, Britain seemed to be tottering on the brink of the abyss. Under Edward Heath, the optimism of the '60s had become a distant memory. Now the headlines were dominated by strikes and blackouts, unemployment and inflation. As the world looked on in horrified fascination, Britain seemed to be tearing itself apart. And yet, amid the gloom, glittered a creativity and cultural dynamism that would influence our lives long after the nightmarish '70s had been forgotten.
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Carry on, Britain!
- By Steven on 07-12-14
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FDR
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 32 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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One of today's premier biographers, Jean Edward Smith, has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt's restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR's personal battles and also tackles head-on and in depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt's political career.
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Interesting but flawed
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-15-13
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The Glory and the Dream
- A Narrative History of America, 1932 - 1972
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 57 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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This great time capsule of a book captures the abundant popular history of the United States from 1932 to 1972. It encompasses politics, military history, economics, the lively arts, science, fashion, fads, social change, sexual mores, communications, graffiti...everything and anything indigenous that can be captured in print.
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Fabulous book, good narration, bad recording
- By Paula on 07-10-08
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Reagan
- His Life and Legend
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 32 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In this “monumental and impressive” biography, Max Boot, the distinguished political columnist, illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, revealing the man behind the mythology. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred of the fortieth president’s aides, friends, and family members, as well as thousands of newly available documents, Boot provides “the best biography of Ronald Reagan to date” (Robert Mann).
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Has An Agenda
- By CC on 01-07-25
By: Max Boot
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Legacy of Ashes
- The History of the CIA
- By: Tim Weiner
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.
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Flawed but Important
- By Michael on 07-18-08
By: Tim Weiner
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G-Man (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
- J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
- By: Beverly Gage
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 36 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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A major new biography of J Edgar Hoover that draws from never-before-seen sources to create a groundbreaking portrait of a colossus who dominated half a century of American history and planted the seeds for much of today's conservative political landscape.
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Amazing!
- By Jessica Armas on 12-06-22
By: Beverly Gage
If Audible continues to censor it's offerings I will cancel my Long Standing Membership, I will not be treated as a child and have a Audible dictate for the purpose of Political Correctness what I am allowed to hear and not hear.
All else aside this is a Very Well done Documentary series of the Politics and Culture of the 1960s and 70s, I highly recommend.
Great Political Series
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Interesting study of recent history.
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Superb political narrative, bias notwithstanding
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A bit slow-moving
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Discaimer: I didn’t finish
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good history
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Reagan’s story and ascendance is always lurking as the backdrop to the scandalous events ranging from Vietnam to Jimmy Carter. Perlstein gives the reader a good biography of Reagan’s development and history, but this is not comprehensive. The emphasis of IB is a microanalysis of political and cultural events that affected Americans between 1971 and 1976. I must admit, I had forgotten how turbulent and chaotic these years were in American history; especially the high degree of domestic terrorism.
IB is not a love letter to Republicans, Democrats, or Reaganites. Perlstein appears to treat all of the players between 1971 and 1976 with equal contempt and cynicism. If you interested in learning about a fairly turbulent time in the United States that set the occasion for a conservative agenda, IB is a winner. If you are a fan of Rush Limbaugh looking to re-affirm your existing worship of the 40th President, look elsewhere.
Setting the occasion for the Reagan Revolution
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In this rather long narrative, the Bush family is conspicuous by their absence. Despite the fact that Nixon and Reagan owe a lot to the Bush family and the CIA for their political careers, neither are mentioned except to be portrayed as minor players.
Nonetheless, George H.W. Bush was at the time the GOP party chairman appointed by Nixon. H.W. was also appointed UN ambassador by Nixon and later envoy to China by Ford and his only qualification seems to have been his Bush surname. None of this is mentioned.
All the major White House players in Nixon's downfall are CIA connected and this is barely mentioned either.
A disappointing reading experience for me, but if you're fuzzy on the published narrative of the Watergate era, this will serve as a catechism for the orthodox story.
A regurgitation of the publicly published story
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What did you love best about The Invisible Bridge?
The story is presented in a way that is never dull and yet you feel like you learn so much.What was one of the most memorable moments of The Invisible Bridge?
I can't pick out one moment. I feel like I have lived the 70s as an adult (I was a child). I'm inspired to learn more.Of course, it's like "history teaches us that history teaches us nothing". Or "history teaches some of us (let's hope) that history teach us nothing".
What about David de Vries’s performance did you like?
He sucks you in with his style. It could be so boring. Although to be fair to Rick Perlstein, the continual interest is mostly generated by the flow of the book.Any additional comments?
I hope Audible.com makes other books by the author available. I will snap them up.Just an awesome history
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I was both an adult and paying attention during the 1970s and it became clear to me fairly quickly that Mr Perlstein’s views of this period were highly partisan and the world he described seemed to quiver with the highly charged emotions of the period in spite of the passage of years.
In the author’s view:
1) those captured POWs who tried to prevent their use by the North Vietnamese for propaganda and chose to resist the torture they suffered are referred to with the derogatory term “spit and polish” soldiers. Among others this apparently includes John McCain who was tortured so badly that he can no longer raise his arms above his head,
2) Richard Nixon had no right to try to manage the optics of the POW’s return. This seems like an odd view since all modern Presidents try to control the optics of everything surrounding their term in office,
3) parents who are concerned about what their children are taught in Public Schools are fit subjects to be mocked. In the author’s view parent’s religious views are worthy of derision,
4) Ronald Reagan, who grew up with an alcoholic father, but managed to survive the experience and form a positive view of the world needed a psychiatrist to convince him how wrong he was in that view. In my experience children who survive that sort of childhood and have learned to be positive are called optimists and are to be admired, not mocked with the phrase “everything always works out in the end - gloriously”. Indeed, that phrase is used throughout the book as the author’s signature comment concerning Ronald Reagan.
These are but a few examples of the world view of this book and I could, but will not, list more but will only say that I found this book to be so partisan that I was only able to finish the first half. I had come across so many snide comments, half-truths and twisted facts that I was no longer able to continue trying to get through it. However, in fairness, I should mention that part of this book covers the entire Watergate scandal from its first notice in the news to the resignation of Richard Nixon and that coverage was complete and engrossing. It seems a shame that Mr Perlstein was unable to disassociate his dislike of Ronald Reagan from his writing of this book and description of the events leading to the fall of Richard Nixon and the rise of Ronald Reagan.
The book is well narrated but even Mr de Vries cannot rescue this book. While I gave the narration 5 stars the best I felt I could rate this book was 3 stars, given its extreme partisanship. If you believe that Ronald Reagan was duplicitous, untrustworthy and an empty suit and that the 60% of the voting population that gave him their vote for his second term were made up of ignorant and bigoted people, then this is your book. Otherwise, not so much.
Don't expect balance
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