The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan by Rick Perlstein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Rick Perlstein wrote a four book series about the rise of the far right in American political life, and it is something that anyone who wants to understand how we got to where we are today (I write this in 2026) needs to read. This is the third book in that series, and it starts with Nixon after his massive win in 1972, where he should have had political capital like no one ever had it, but there is this problem: Watergate. So the book traces that first, and we go through the fall of Nixon. But other politicians had to navigate this environment as well. Nixon was brought down finally because Republicans in the Senate refused to look the other way and sweep it under the rug. Of course, in 2026 we know that any Republican that shows a spine has been eliminated by the Trump regime. But one notable Republican who tried to sweep it all away was Ronald Reagan, who was beginning be thought of as a future President, so the book also traces the background and history of Reagan, much like the previous book did with Nixon.
Of course, when Nixon resigned Gerald Ford became President, and one his worst decisions came early on when he pardoned Nixon. From there his administration stumbled in a number of ways, which opened up the possibilities for Reagan, who began to listen to friends and advisors who wanted him to run for President. He finally agrees to do so, and Perlstein lays out all of the politcial maneuvering for the Republican Nomination. AS we know, Ford ultimately got the nomination, and ran with Bob Dole as his running mate, but it was a close thing. And that is where the book ends. Ford has the nomination, and Perlstein in his last sentence says that it was too bad for Reagan, for he was now too old to come back in a future election. An interesting way to end the book, but now that we know of Reagan’s dementia later in his Presidency Perlstein had the right of it. As for Ford, he was not a bad man the way Nixon and Trump both were, but he was not up to the task at the time, that is clear.
I regard this series as absolute “must read”, and having finished this one I am starting the final volume, “Reaganland” next.
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