concluding with his role in the first Persian Gulf
War. It also details his reasons for starting a war
with Iran and invading Kuwait.
LeoGrande, William M. Our Own Backyard: The
United States in Central America, 1977-1992. Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.
LeoGrande focuses on El Salvador and Nicaragua
in his discussion of Central America, examining
how these countries were shaped by the Cold War.
He also discusses the United States’ policy in Cen-
tral America and how the Vietnam War affected
America’s involvement in that region.
North, Oliver.Under Fire: An American Stor y. New
York: HarperCollins, 1992. Oliver North was
heavily involved in the Iran-Contra affair, and in
this autobiography he defends that operation
and his participation in it.
Sick, Gary.All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter
with Iran. Lincoln, Nebr.: iUniverse.com, 2001.
Sick, a former aide who worked for the National
Security Council and focused on Iran during the
Carter administration, presents this blow-by-blow
account of the Iran hostage crisis. He places the
incident in context by reviewing American policy
toward Iran before the crisis, including the activi-
ties of the Nixon administration.
___.October Surprise: America’s Hostages in Iran
and the Election of Ronald Reagan. New York: Ran-
dom House, 1991. Sick argues that Reagan sup-
porters managed to maneuver the Iranians into
waiting until after the November, 1980, elections
to release the hostages, in return for arms and
other concessions after Reagan was elected. The
claims are controversial, but Sick’s position in the
National Security Council during the Reagan,
Carter, and Ford administrations bolsters his
claims.
Thornton, Richard C.The Reagan Revolution, I: The
Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1987. Thornton describes foreign pol-
icy in the early years of the Reagan administra-
tion, focusing on Ronald Reagan’s opposition to
the Soviet Union.
Walsh, Lawrence.Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy
and Cover-Up. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.
Walsh, the independent prosecutor in the Iran-
Contra investigation, maintains that President
Ronald Reagan knew about the affair and that the
cover-up protected Reagan from any legal ramifi-
cations.
Woodward, Bob.Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-
1987. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. This
work, by one of the reporters who broke the Wa-
tergate story, focuses on the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) during the Reagan administration.
It presents a picture of the CIA as dangerously ac-
tive under the leadership of William Casey, and
this picture embroiled the book in controversy.
Woodward also maintains that the CIA was ac-
tively involved in the Iran-Contra affair.- Culture and Entertainment
Cullen, Jim, and Daniel Cullen.Born in the U.S.A.:
Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition. New
York: HarperCollins, 1997. In the 1980’s, many
people used Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Born in
the U.S.A.,” as a rallying cry for Americans. Cul-
len examines the roots of the song and many oth-
ers written by Springsteen and places Springsteen
within American musical and literary traditions.
Freiberger, Paul, and Michael Swaine.Fire in the Val-
ley: The Making of the Personal Computer. Berkeley,
Calif.: McGraw-Hill, 1999. This work chronicles
the early days of Silicon Valley, beginning in the
1950’s, with the creation of large computers such
as UNIVAC, as well as discussing the birth of the
personal computer in the 1970’s. Freiberger and
Swaine focus on important figures in the com-
puter’s development, including Bill Gates and
Doug Englebart.
Fuller, Linda K.The Cosby Show: Audiences, Impact, and
Implications. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press,
1992.The Cosby Showwas one of the most popu-
lar television programs in the 1980’s, and Fuller
examines the reasons for this popularity, along
with the show’s effect on the television market-
place and the nationwide image of African Ameri-
cans. She also surveys people in other countries
in order to demonstrate the show’s worldwide im-
pact.
Kallen, Stuart A.A Cultural Histor y of the United States
Through the Decades: The 1980’s. San Diego, Calif.:
Lucent Books, 1998. This overview of the United
States during the 1980’s not only examines popu-
lar culture but also discusses the Reagan Revolu-
tion and the Cold War. It features information
about AIDS, music, women’s rights, technology,
science, and the start of the computer revolution.
Mansour, David.From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture En-
cyclopedia of the Late Twentieth Centur y. Kansas City,
The Eighties in America Bibliography 1159