Perlstein weaves together varying strands of historical knowledge, such as economics, foreign policy, cultural trends, and even religious transformations. And as a man of the liberal left, Perlstein pulls no punches with the political order that emerged in the era of his study. Goldwater was a political neophyte; Nixon a calculating bully; and finally Reagan, whose outsized presence in history stands as the culmination of the corporate class’s victory over social democracy in America.