Publisher's Weekly Review
May (America and the Pill), a University of Minnesota history professor, provides valuable historical and cultural context for the current political moment with this sweeping and detailed examination of how Americans came to perceive the world as overwhelmingly dangerous. She begins with the Cold War, pinpointing fears of nuclear war as having motivated a shift of responsibility for security away from the government and toward individuals, who were encouraged to transform their private homes into shelters, or "fortresses," capable of withstanding atomic fallout. That mind-set was accompanied by a more general movement away from communal engagement and toward "hunkering down" in isolation. She methodically dissects and debunks the rampant fearmongering, whether by alarmist politicians or violent Hollywood thrillers, that has led to hyperbolic views of the threats Americans actually face. While May is far from the first to question how likely it is that the average citizen will be the victim of a terrorist, few have been as effective at connecting the broad sweep of 20th-century U.S. history to modern-day policies, such as broadly defined gun rights and highly aggressive and punitive law enforcement. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the anxieties that occupy American politics. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choice Review
In places Fortress America reads like a dystopian novel. According to May (American studies and history, Univ. of Minnesota), many Americans--in their quest to feel secure from external and internal threats to their families--have unwittingly abandoned democratic values. From the late 1940s to the present, politicians have exaggerated and manipulated the fears of voters, and this has led at times to bad public policy, further eroding the faith and confidence Americans have placed in the democratic traditions that have defined the nation. Fear of nuclear attacks from the Soviets eventually gave way to fears about urban race riots spreading to predominantly white suburbs. More affluent Americans adopted a bunker mentality, fleeing the suburbs to even more insulated gated communities. May argues that many of the hallmarks of the US's current, hyper-partisan climate--growing distrust of government, unresolved racial and ethnic tensions, concerns about immigration, and questions about changing gender roles that have impacted the family and workplace--can be traced to the early days of the Cold War Era. When political and presidential scholars begin to unpack the results of the tumultuous election of 2016, they would do well to consult this book. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Bob Miller, University of Cincinnati-Clermont
Library Journal Review
May (Regents Professor of American Studies and History, Univ. of Minnesota) characterizes the years since World War II as perhaps the most fearful in U.S. history, demonstrating how Cold War-era fears of nuclear weapons attacks and communist subversion became a potent motivating force affecting elections, public policy, social models, and everyday American life. May further suggests this reaction expanded and generalized in the late 1960s and 1970s-the era of antiwar and social justice demonstrations-to include a fear of crime and distrust of specific cities and the people found there, even though crime steadily decreased during the period. An isolated culture of retreat resulted, characterized by an abandoning of public spaces, mass incarceration, walled and gated residential communities, private security companies, and a rise in gun ownership. The author's wide research cites popular contemporary journalism, motion pictures, public opinion polls, political speeches, census data, advertising copy, crime statistics, and countless scholarly monographs. VERDICT This thoroughly researched and thoughtfully written social history is recommended to all who seek to understand our divided society.-Paul A. D'Alessandro, -Brunswick, ME © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
