The Populist Persuasion

Michael Kazin enables us to begin to understand the way in which populism has changed from a politics of the left to a politics of the right. The important questions raised by the success of the populist right in the United States are illuminated in Kazin's splendid and timely book.-Thomas Bender, The Nation "Kazin shows populism's canny ability to mix homespun rhetoric and political savvy. . . . The book explains something very important in American life with scrupulous fairness and a keen eye for the humanizing detail. It is as good a road map as we have to the politics of the people who work hard and play by the rules."-Christopher Caldwell, The Wall Street Journal "A perceptive and passionately liberal book. . . . Beginning with the antislavery crusade of the 1840's, [Kazin] skillfully surveys more than a century of mass protests, using imagery and symbolism as his guides."-David Oshinsky, The New York Times For this revised edition, Michael Kazin has rewritten the final chapter, bringing his coverage of populism up to the present (including a discussion of the 1996 presidential election) and added a conclusion.