About the Author

Nelson Lichtenstein is Research Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His books include State of the Union: A Century of American Labor (Princeton). Judith Stein (19402017) was Distinguished Professor of History at City College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her books include Pivotal Decade: How the United States Traded Factories for Finance in the Seventies.

Reviews

"Dazzlingly impressive in its scope and depth. . . . A Fabulous Failure serves as an indispensable resource to anyone, providing fresh insight into topics like the health care debacle (including a careful discussion of why Obama succeeded where Clinton failed), the NAFTA debate, and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, all of which have been covered elsewhere. At the same time, it spotlights issues such as trade policy with Japan and workplace management that have been given short shrift by other historians."---Lily Geismer, American Prospect

"In demonstrating both the internal and external limits on the Clinton administration’s ability to strengthen the welfare state, Lichtenstein and Stein have not only provided a singularly useful analysis of global capitalism at the end of the twentieth century — they have also shown how popular movements are crucial in realizing meaningful social change. . . . And in dissecting the passion play that was the Clinton administration, A Fabulous Failure provides an immensely usable history. Because the problems with which Clinton struggled — how to create growth and redistribute it in the context of a world characterized by strong economic competition — remain with us."---Jason Resnikoff, Jacobin

"Splendid."---James K. Galbraith, EH.net

"A progressive perspective on why the Clinton administration delivered so little."
*Kirkus Reviews*

"A Fabulous Failure does a marvelous job delivering on both [Clinton’s] policy and politics in a highly readable narrative."---Paul A. Myers, Myersbooks History

"[A] very persuasive read."---David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews

"The most comprehensive and scholarly account of the administration of President Bill Clinton focused on domestic policy that one could hope to read. . . . An excellent work."
*Choice*

"Timely and valuable. . . .An intricate account of the Clinton administration’s indeed many failures, as judged in retrospect."---Grit Grigoleit-Richter, H-Soz-Kult