Followers of contemporary political history will appreciate how Seib gathers together the many strands of people and events culminating in present realities..

... well-written if familiar.

... informative.

... a judicious and approachable chronicle of the evolution of the Republican Party from the Reagan revolution in the 1980s to the rise of Trumpism. Rather than focusing on demographics and statistics, Seib tells a more human story of the individuals and grassroots infrastructure that drove the evolution of the conservative movement.

The author also has numerous kind things to say about George W. Bush ('an instantly likable man with a quick mind and an air of self-assurance'), words that will no doubt surprise some readers. Seib calls the Iraq War a 'misadventure' and argues that the primary problem for Bush regarding Hurricane Katrina was that 'the optics were bad'.