Following up Grand Expectations in the Oxford History of the United States, Restless Giant provides a crisp, concise assessment of the 27 years between the resignation of Richard Nixon and the election of George W. Bush, in a sweeping narrative that seamlessly weaves together social, cultural, political, economic, and international developments.

In exploring a wide range of cultural, social, and economic concerns, Patterson and engrossing narrator Robert Fass show how the persistence of racial tensions, high divorce rates, alarm over crime, and urban decay all led many writers to portray this era as one of decline.

Restless Giant is the 11th volume of the Oxford History of the United States, which includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times best seller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The Atlantic Monthly has praised it as 'state of the art' and 'the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship.'