In this gripping, brilliantly written narrative, prize-winning historian William Chafe offers a vibrant chronicle of America's roller-coaster journey through the past forty-five years. Now revised and expanded to assess the impact of the Reagan years, The Unfinished Journey offers substantial new material on Reagan's first legislative victories, the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev and improved relations with the Soviet Union, and the Iran-Contra affair. Chafe examines the Reagan credo in detail, explores the conditions in American society that helped Reagan gain the presidency and stay in power for eight years, and surveys the effects of conservative policies on the economic, social, and cultural fabric of America. In addition, Chafe looks briefly at the first years of the Bush administration, and adds an epilogue analyzing America's prospects in the 1990s. Compelling and controversial, The Unfinished Journey captures the pulse of the nation, and brings its recent history to life.