When the Clock Broke by John Ganz

A Fractured Nation on the Brink

The early 1990s were supposed to be America’s moment of triumph. The Cold War was over, the Gulf War had been won swiftly, and U.S. power seemed unrivaled on the global stage. And yet, as John Ganz vividly illustrates in his new book “When the Clock Broke,” this period was marked not by unity and optimism but by rising anger, paranoia, and social fracture that in many ways presaged our current era of extreme polarization.

With a novelist’s eye for character and a historian’s command of detail, Ganz takes us on a whirlwind tour of an America coming apart at the seams—from David Duke’s insurgent political campaigns to armed standoffs in Ruby Ridge, from the rise of Rush Limbaugh to the L.A. riots. It’s a dizzying, often disturbing journey that reveals how many of today’s political and cultural fault lines were forming even as America stood astride the world as the sole superpower.

A Nation Adrift

Ganz opens with a keen sense of the disorientation many Americans felt as the certainties of the Cold War era slipped away. Without the Soviet threat to organize itself against, the country seemed to lose its bearings. As Ganz puts it:

“The sudden end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union made everything worse. Militant anti-communism had long provided the glue that bound the various factions of the right together and gave them common purpose. The loss of the USSR was so traumatic that the John Birch Society went into full-blown denial: they insisted that the breakup of the Soviet Union was a KGB ploy to get the West to drop its guard.”

Into this vacuum rushed a host of fringe movements and conspiracy theories. Ganz deftly traces how once-marginal ideas began to seep into the mainstream, as politicians and media figures sought to capitalize on a growing sense of grievance and alienation among certain segments of the populace.

The Roots of Rage

One of the book’s strengths is how it contextualizes the angry populism of the early ’90s within broader economic and social trends. Ganz shows how deindustrialization, the farm crisis of the 1980s, and widening inequality laid the groundwork for figures like Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot to emerge as tribune of the dispossessed.

He’s particularly insightful on how demographic anxieties fueled much of the backlash politics of the era. Ganz doesn’t excuse or glorify these impulses, but he does help us understand their origins and appeal to many Americans who felt left behind by globalization and social change.

Voices of Discontent

The book really comes alive in its portraits of the outsized personalities who came to prominence during this tumultuous period. We get vivid snapshots of figures like:

• David Duke, the former Klan leader who nearly became governor of Louisiana
• Pat Buchanan, Nixon’s pugnacious former speechwriter turned populist rabble-rouser
• Ross Perot, the quirky Texas billionaire whose independent presidential run upended the 1992 election
• Rush Limbaugh, the bombastic radio host who became the voice of conservative outrage

Ganz has a knack for revealing character through small, telling details. We see Buchanan gleefully baiting protestors at campaign events, Perot obsessing over charts and graphs on his infomercial-style TV spots, Limbaugh cultivating his “lovable little fuzzball” persona even as he stokes resentment among his listeners.

These sections crackle with energy and give us a visceral sense of how these figures tapped into and amplified the discontent bubbling up from below.

Seeds of Dysfunction

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of “When the Clock Broke” is how it illuminates the origins of so many of our current political pathologies. We see the first stirrings of the anti-immigrant fervor that would later fuel Trump’s rise to power. We witness the emergence of right-wing militias and sovereign citizen movements that would later spawn groups like the Oath Keepers. And we observe the splintering of the conservative movement between neoconservatives and “paleo-cons” that presaged today’s battles between establishment Republicans and MAGA true believers.

Ganz draws these connections explicitly at times, but often he simply lets the parallels speak for themselves. The effect is to give us a new appreciation for how deep-rooted many of our present-day divisions truly are.

A Flawed Consensus

If there’s a weakness to the book, it’s that Ganz sometimes overreaches in trying to fit everything into his overarching narrative of national fracture. Bill Clinton’s rise and the apparent forging of a new centrist consensus get somewhat short shrift. Ganz acknowledges Clinton’s success in co-opting some of the populist energy of the era, but he perhaps underplays how much the early Clinton years did represent a period of relative stability and optimism for many Americans.

Additionally, while Ganz is rightly focused on the rise of right-wing populism, he could have devoted more attention to concurrent developments on the left. The book would have benefited from a more in-depth look at how progressives were responding to the end of the Cold War and grappling with their own identity in a changing political landscape.

A Timely Warning

These are minor quibbles, however, in what is overall a richly rewarding read. Ganz’s prose is lively and engaging throughout, leavening what could be heavy subject matter with flashes of wit and memorable turns of phrase. He has a particular talent for finding the perfect quote or anecdote to crystallize a larger point about the national mood.

Perhaps most importantly, “When the Clock Broke” serves as a timely reminder that our current political dysfunction has deep roots. By excavating this pivotal but often overlooked period of recent history, Ganz helps us better understand how we arrived at our present moment of extreme polarization and institutional mistrust.

The Verdict

“When the Clock Broke” is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the origins of our current political moment. Ganz has produced a work that is at once deeply researched, compellingly written, and disturbingly relevant to our present circumstances.

While the book occasionally tries to do too much in connecting every thread of the early ’90s to today’s divisions, it succeeds brilliantly in its core mission of illuminating a pivotal moment when American politics began to take on a darker, more fractious character that we’re still grappling with today.

Ganz’s previous work as a journalist shines through in his eye for telling details and ability to synthesize complex historical forces into a gripping narrative. Fans of books like Rick Perlstein’s “Nixonland” or Jefferson Cowie’s “Stayin’ Alive” will find much to appreciate here.

For its vivid portrayal of a nation in flux and its invaluable insights into the roots of our current divisions, “When the Clock Broke” earns a strong 4 out of 5 stars. It’s no surprise to see it featured as one of Barack Obama’s summer reading picks for 2024.

What Could Be Improved

• A more in-depth examination of left-wing movements and thinking during this period would have provided useful context and balance.
• The connections drawn between early ’90s events and current politics occasionally feel a bit strained or overly deterministic.
• More international context around the end of the Cold War and how other Western democracies were responding to this shift would have been welcome.

Similar Books

Readers interested in this topic might also enjoy:

• “The Age of Fracture” by Daniel T. Rodgers
• “The Nineties” by Chuck Klosterman
• “What It Took to Win” by Michael Kazin

Final Thoughts

In an era when many Americans feel we’re living through unprecedented levels of political dysfunction and social division, “When the Clock Broke” offers a bracing reminder that these forces have been building for decades. By shining a light on this pivotal period in recent history, Ganz has produced a work that is not just informative but genuinely important for understanding our present moment.

As we grapple with the challenges of our own era, this book serves as both a cautionary tale and a call to action. It reminds us that the forces of extremism and division, once unleashed, are not easily contained. But it also suggests that by understanding our history more deeply, we might yet find a way to forge a more united future.

In the end, “When the Clock Broke” leaves us with a profound appreciation for how fragile democratic norms can be and how vigilant we must remain in defending them. It’s a lesson we would do well to heed as we navigate our own turbulent times.