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  • Published: 4 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9780806544465
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $65.00
Categories:

Summer of '71

Five Months That Changed America



From award-winning journalist and author John A. Jenkins comes a revolutionary exploration of the summer before Watergate—a parallel world of a half-century ago when America faced events and crises strikingly similar to those of today—told through the lives and words of those who lived it.

Inflation rages. Crime is rising. Abortion rights take center stage at the Supreme Court. China poses an existential threat. Black lives are under attack. The president battles the press as he seeks to subvert not just the political order but the rule of law itself. This is the Summer of ’71—a pivotal, operatic season of hope and despair, missed opportunities and era-changing decisions.

More than a half-century later, it’s difficult to overstate the importance of events that defined the American experience during that fateful five-month period spanning May to September 1971. On May Day, President Nixon orchestrates a massive police-military response to disrupt the biggest anti-war demonstration in history. Two days later, the Supreme Court announces that it will take up Roe v. Wade. In the weeks and months that follow, friction escalates between the police and the Black Panthers, Congress debates universal healthcare, Attica prisoners riot, and the New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers—a turning point that ultimately dooms Nixon’s presidency and his legacy.

Summer of ’71 brings it all to the page through first-person accounts that are only now becoming available: the papers, diaries, and oral histories of key players. Award‑winning journalist and author John A. Jenkins witnessed many of the events himself, and draws on a multitude of sources, including Nixon’s White House tapes, to tell the story of that time as no one else could. Here is both a fascinating, brilliantly researched read in its own right, and a critical lens through which to view today’s political discord.

  • Published: 4 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9780806544465
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $65.00
Categories:

Praise for Summer of '71

Praise for John A. Jenkins

“Here is both a fascinating, brilliantly researched read in its own right, and a critical lens through which to view today’s political discord.” —Daily Kos on Summer of ‘71

“Brilliantly encapsulates a frenzied period in US history, where society was in upheaval, a revolutionary spirit hung in the air, and a presidency was about to surrender to its paranoia. John A. Jenkins has written an absorbing history book with more than topical subject matter, a book filled with complex heroes and villains.” —San Francisco Book Review on Summer of ‘71

“Award-winning journalist John A. Jenkins returns to a tumultuous season early in his career to unearth unforgettable stories and striking parallels with the crises we now face — including never-published accounts of the wrangling behind the publication of the Pentagon Papers.” —Washington Independent Review of Books on Summer of ‘71

“Engaging and perceptive.” —The New York Times on The Partisan

“As [Jenkins] chronicles in his new book, “ Summer of ’71, Americans 55 years ago were arguing about an ill-defined war on the other side of the world, inflation, abortion rights, and a United States president who seemed to be dragging the nation into authoritarianism. Sound familiar?” —Boston Globe on Summer of ‘71

“Chronicles the life of one of the court's most important modern justices … worth reading and considering, especially today, as voters contemplate the alternative futures of the court.” —Los Angeles Times on The Partisan

The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist is no quick hit job. Mr. Jenkins and his research assistants pored through Rehnquist archives and the papers of other justices to illuminate some little-known corners of Chief Justice Rehnquist's life.” —The Wall Street Journal on The Partisan

“The first full biography of the Wisconsin native…thoroughly researched…based in part on a lengthy profile from 1985 by Jenkins, who conducted the last major interview given by the private Rehnquist.” CNN.com on The Partisan

“Sure to incite passions among both conservative and liberal court watchers.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on The Partisan

“Jenkins's explorations are fascinating and break new ground; they fill out the profile of an enormously powerful and significant man.” —The Nation on The Partisan

“Meticulously researched.” —Slate on The Partisan

“Accessible and satisfying…Jenkins finds the right balance between the law and the man, the legal and the human.” —Publishers Weekly on The Partisan

“What made Rehnquist tick? Jenkins, who did a remarkable—and rare—interview with the justice in a 1985 profile in the New York Times Magazine, provides a tantalizing clue.” —Washington Lawyer on The Partisan

“Jenkins illuminates both the human side of Rehnquist . . . and his judicial philosophy.” —Booklist on The Partisan

“Jenkins uncovers some nuggets about the private man, some amusing . . . some startling.” —Kirkus on The Partisan

Praise for John A. Jenkins

“Here is both a fascinating, brilliantly researched read in its own right, and a critical lens through which to view today’s political discord.” —Daily Kos on Summer of ‘71

“Brilliantly encapsulates a frenzied period in US history, where society was in upheaval, a revolutionary spirit hung in the air, and a presidency was about to surrender to its paranoia. John A. Jenkins has written an absorbing history book with more than topical subject matter, a book filled with complex heroes and villains.” —San Francisco Book Review on Summer of ‘71

“Award-winning journalist John A. Jenkins returns to a tumultuous season early in his career to unearth unforgettable stories and striking parallels with the crises we now face — including never-published accounts of the wrangling behind the publication of the Pentagon Papers.” —Washington Independent Review of Books on Summer of ‘71

“Engaging and perceptive.” —The New York Times on The Partisan

“As [Jenkins] chronicles in his new book, “ Summer of ’71, Americans 55 years ago were arguing about an ill-defined war on the other side of the world, inflation, abortion rights, and a United States president who seemed to be dragging the nation into authoritarianism. Sound familiar?” —Boston Globe on Summer of ‘71

“Chronicles the life of one of the court's most important modern justices … worth reading and considering, especially today, as voters contemplate the alternative futures of the court.” —Los Angeles Times on The Partisan

The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist is no quick hit job. Mr. Jenkins and his research assistants pored through Rehnquist archives and the papers of other justices to illuminate some little-known corners of Chief Justice Rehnquist's life.” —The Wall Street Journal on The Partisan

“The first full biography of the Wisconsin native…thoroughly researched…based in part on a lengthy profile from 1985 by Jenkins, who conducted the last major interview given by the private Rehnquist.” CNN.com on The Partisan

“Sure to incite passions among both conservative and liberal court watchers.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on The Partisan

“Jenkins's explorations are fascinating and break new ground; they fill out the profile of an enormously powerful and significant man.” —The Nation on The Partisan

“Meticulously researched.” —Slate on The Partisan

“Accessible and satisfying…Jenkins finds the right balance between the law and the man, the legal and the human.” —Publishers Weekly on The Partisan

“What made Rehnquist tick? Jenkins, who did a remarkable—and rare—interview with the justice in a 1985 profile in the New York Times Magazine, provides a tantalizing clue.” —Washington Lawyer on The Partisan

“Jenkins illuminates both the human side of Rehnquist . . . and his judicial philosophy.” —Booklist on The Partisan

“Jenkins uncovers some nuggets about the private man, some amusing . . . some startling.” —Kirkus on The Partisan