Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-260) and index.

In 1980, President-Elect Ronald Reagan ushered in conservatism as the most powerful political force in America. His efforts to reshape the government with tax cuts, deregulation, increased military spending, and a more conservative social policy faltered at first. But the economy roared back, and the Reagan revolution was on. Seib shows how this conservative movement came to dominate national politics, then began to evolve into the populist movement that Donald Trump rode to power. He shows how a populist revolution was brewing-- and became a precursor of the Trump takeover. -- ,Adapted from jacket